Alexandra Eckersley, the adopted daughter of MLB Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley, is facing a felony charge after her newborn baby was found unclothed and freezing in 18-degree weather.
Cops respond to call of woman giving birth in the woods
Police officers in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Monday responded to a report at about 12:40 AM of a woman who had given birth to a baby in a tent in the woods.
Cops arrived to find Alexandra Eckersley, the adopted 26-year-old daughter of MLB Hall of Fame pitcher and recently retired broadcaster Dennis Eckersley, the New York Post reported. Alexandra reportedly suffers from mental illness and is currently homeless.
Alexandra directed the officers to a dark, wooded area to look for her newborn baby. She claimed she had given birth prematurely but allegedly lied to the authorities, with emergency personnel searching frantically in the area for about an hour to no avail, Yahoo reported.
She eventually revealed the correct location, where officers found the newborn baby boy alone in a tent, unclothed, and suffering from hypothermia in 18-degree weather. When authorities uncovered the baby near the Piscataquog River, they found it struggling to breathe, officials said.
“The search was difficult,” said Manchester Fire District Chief John Starr. “It was dark, we had cold temperatures—about 18 degrees last night and we were not getting accurate information.”
The newborn was transported and treated at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. The baby weighed only 4 pounds and was intubated at the hospital upon arrival. The baby is reportedly improving, according to Manchester Police.
“There’s no excuse for this,” said Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg. “If you choose to live in the woods and choose to live your life a particular way, and you don’t want to accept our outreach that goes every day in this city — and you want to live out there and do that with your life — fine.”
“But you don’t get to do this – what we’re alleging here,” Aldenberg added. “You don’t get to do this to a child.”
Under New Hampshire’s Safe Haven Law, babies up to 7 days old may be left at any fire station, hospital, police station, or church.
Woman arrested and additional charges filed
Alexandra Eckersley was also transported to the hospital, and authorities say once she is released, she will be arraigned in court on a charge of felony reckless conduct for hiding the baby and endangering the welfare of a child. She was expected to be arraigned on Tuesday in Hillsboro Superior Court-North, according to the Manchester Police Department.
On Wednesday, WCVB reported that Alexandra, who remains hospitalized, will also face counts of second-degree assault with extreme indifference and falsifying physical evidence, the New York Post reported.
According to an affidavit cited by WCVB, she told police she did not realize she was pregnant. She admitted to using cocaine and marijuana in the days before the baby’s birth.
