The daughter of Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley escaped with a suspended sentence for throwing her newborn son into the frozen woods.
Alexandra Eckersley, 27, was sentenced to 12 months and six months for different charges on Thursday, but was allowed to return home as long as she continued to maintain contact with mental health providers.
Prosecutors asked for at least a year in prison followed by probation, and the defense asked for a six-month suspended sentence and for Eckersley to continue to comply with doctors’ mental health recommendations.
Judge Amy Messer said sentencing Eckersley to prison would create a significant likelihood of derailing the gains and stability he has achieved since his arrest.
Alexandra Eckersley, convicted of abandoning her newborn in the woods, hugs her mother, Nancy Eckersley, after her sentence was suspended.
His father is Dennis Eckersley, who between 1975 and 1998 pitched in the MLB for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals.
Eckersley did not address the court.
“Mrs. Eckersley, I have to tell you that whatever your motivation, whether it’s your son or avoiding a period of incarceration, it’s going to be vitally important that you continue down the path you’re on,” Messer said.
“I hope that if you do it you will be successful.”
The sentences would begin Thursday and end in three years, as long as Eckersley continues mental health services. He was due back in court on November 14.
The charges Eckersley was convicted of (falsifying physical evidence, endangering the welfare of a child and reckless conduct) would normally require a prison sentence of four to eight years. The jury acquitted her of two counts of assault.
Alexander Gatzoulis, deputy county attorney, acknowledged that Eckersley admitted his actions at trial and has worked to turn his life around.
Eckersley faced charges including child endangerment after giving birth to her now one-year-old son in a wooded area in December 2022.
Alexandra Eckersley, convicted of abandoning her newborn in the woods, hugs her public defender Kim Cossick.
“On the other hand, Ms. Eckersley’s behavior was disturbing and nearly caused the unthinkable,” he said.
‘Ms Eckersley did not lie or mislead the first responders even once. He did this repeatedly for almost an hour about something as important as hiding the location of a newborn child.
Her attorneys have said that Eckersley, diagnosed with mental health and developmental issues since childhood, did not know she was pregnant and was suffering a medical emergency.
They said she has been sober since her arrest, regularly attends therapy and has lived with her son and mother in Massachusetts since earlier this year.
Her mother, Nancy Eckersley, asked the court for leniency, saying that for the first time in her life her daughter has found happiness, a clear sense of purpose and fulfillment through her son Teddy.
‘Finally, at 27 years old, Ally is thriving, Teddy is thriving and even I am thriving because I have my daughter at home. I finally have her living with me and the three of us are living in what I can only describe as happiness,” said Nancy Eckersley.
Alexandra Eckersley’s friend Kaitlin Reilly fights back tears during Alexandra Eckersley’s sentencing hearing at Hillsborough County Superior Court in Manchester, New Hampshire.
George Theberge, who was arrested along with Eckersley, was sentenced last August to one year in prison after pleading guilty to one count of child endangerment last August.
Eckersley left home when she was in her 20s to meet a man she had met online, her lawyers said. He didn’t receive mental health treatment for years.
She was homeless and living in a tent in Manchester, New Hampshire, when she gave birth on Christmas night 2022, at age 25.
During her trial in July, she had testified that she thought her son had died after she gave birth.
Prosecutors said their son, who survived, was left alone for more than an hour, suffering respiratory distress and hypothermia when temperatures dropped to 15 degrees.
Prosecutors said Eckersley hid her son’s location, deliberately leading first responders in a different direction because she didn’t want to get in trouble. Finally he told them that he had heard the baby crying.
Her attorneys said she called 911 and led them to the baby. They said the police didn’t listen to her at first.
Eckersley’s lawyers said George Theberge, who was with her in the store, told her the baby had no pulse.
The couple had no cell phone service to call for help and began walking toward an ice rink.
Eckersley was found wearing blood-stained clothing and under the influence of drugs, according to reports.
Eckersley claimed she did not know she was pregnant and gave birth in the store with Theberge present.
Along the way, Eckersley experienced childbirth, but thought she had a second child.
She told a 911 operator that she had given birth to two children, one who died immediately and the other who lived less than a minute.
Theberge, who was arrested along with Eckersley, was sentenced last August to a year in jail after pleading guilty to one count of child endangerment.
The Eckersley family released a statement shortly after her arrest, saying they had no prior knowledge of her pregnancy and were in complete shock.
The family said she has suffered from “serious mental illness all her life” and they did everything they could to get her help and support.
Dennis Eckersley, who attended part of his daughter’s trial, was drafted by Cleveland out of high school in 1972 and pitched 24 seasons for Cleveland, Boston, Chicago, Oakland and St. Louis.
He won the American League Cy Young and MVP award in 1992 while playing for the Oakland Athletics. Following his playing days, Eckersley broadcast Boston Red Sox games and retired in 2022.
