A New Hampshire mother has been given custody of her son, despite leaving him in the woods after giving birth.
Alexandra Eckersley, the adopted daughter of Major League Baseball star Dennis Eckersley, appeared in court in Manchester on Friday for a pre-criminal trial hearing.
Eckersley is charged with child endangerment, among other crimes, after she gave birth to her now one-year-old son in a wooded area in December 2022.
Prosecutors allege she abandoned the child and tricked police into finding the newborn after she gave birth in a freezing tent.
On Friday, Eckersley was reunited with her son in court, and the couple has been fully reunited after months of limited visitation, according to WMUR.
On Friday, Eckersley was reunited with her son in court and the couple has been fully reunited after months of limited visitation
Eckersley is charged with child endangerment, among other crimes, after she gave birth to her now one-year-old son in a wooded area in December 2022.
Her lawyer Kim Kossick told the newspaper: “She had a baby that she didn’t know she was having.
“I think people need to understand that there is some room for compassion for people who have a medical emergency.
‘This really was it. We have maintained that from the beginning.’
Kossick said Eckersley had remained sober since the day she gave birth, and the two were now living with her family in Massachusetts.
She added: “She did everything she had to do. She has entered treatment. She did everything that was asked of her.
‘That’s why she is reunited with her child. She went to a rehabilitation center. She did all the guidance.”
The hearing was reportedly intended to focus on the use of expert witnesses in her upcoming trial, but was postponed until next week. With a trial set for July.
Eckersley allegedly misled police for 73 minutes by telling them the baby had been born around midnight near the West Side Ice Arena before finally arriving at the tent she shared with George Theberge near the Piscataquag River in Electric St.
According to reports, Eckersley was wearing bloody clothing and was under the influence of drugs
Police were initially misled by Alexandra and after an hour they discovered the baby was struggling to breathe and undressed in 18 degree weather
Eckersley claimed she did not know she was pregnant and gave birth in the tent with Theberge present
When asked why she didn’t take her baby to the bridge to meet with police after calling 911, she replied, “What do they tell you when a plane crashes?” Save yourself first.”
Officers found her baby lying on the floor next to the bed behind a blanket after noticing “a trail of blood that appeared to be running down the side of the bed,” police report, viewed by the Boston Globesaid.
Eckersley was found wearing bloodstained clothing and was under the influence of drugs, the newspaper reported.
Eckersley claimed she did not know she was pregnant and gave birth in the tent with Theberge present.
She also told police that the baby “cried immediately after birth, but it lasted less than a minute,” according to the police report. “Once she gave birth, she didn’t know what to do,” police said.
Last August, Theberge was sentenced to a minimum of one year in prison for endangering the child’s life.
Theberge pleaded guilty to the child endangerment charge after reaching an agreement with prosecutors.
He received an additional six months in prison for a probation violation stemming from his January arrest and a drug charge.
Eckersley’s father, Dennis Eckersley, nicknamed ‘Eck’, was an American professional baseball pitcher and former commentator.
Last August, Theberge was sentenced to a minimum of one year in prison for endangering the child’s life
Dennis Eckersley, nicknamed ‘Eck’, was an American professional baseball pitcher and former commentator who adopted Alexandra with his ex-partner Nancy O’Neil
Between 1975 and 1998, he pitched in the MLB for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals
Between 1975 and 1998, he pitched in the MLB for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals.
The 68-year-old rose to prominence after becoming the first of two pitchers in Major League history to have both a 20-win season and a 50-save season in his career.
He played 24 seasons and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004.
The Eckersley family released a statement at the time of her arrest saying they had no prior knowledge of Alexandra’s pregnancy. They said she had suffered from a ‘severe mental illness’ all her life and they were doing their utmost to get her help and support.