A jury reached a split verdict on Friday in a case involving a mother charged with abandoning a newborn child in the woods in subfreezing temperatures.
Jurors found 27-year-old Alexandra Eckersley guilty of reckless conduct, endangering the welfare of a child and falsifying physical evidence, but not guilty of two felony assault charges.
Eckersley, the daughter of Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley, visibly exhaled and held her defence counsel's hand in a Manchester, New Hampshire, courtroom as the not guilty verdicts were read. She was allowed to leave the court until her sentencing at a later date.
She had testified during her trial last month that she didn't know she was pregnant and thought the child had died after she gave birth in the Manchester woods on Christmas night 2022. A psychologist testified that Eckersley was suffering from substance use disorder and mental health and developmental issues, and that she wasn't receiving treatment.
Eckersley was homeless at the time and gave birth in a tent. Prosecutors said her son, who survived, was left alone for more than an hour, suffering from respiratory distress and hypothermia as temperatures dipped to 15 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 9.4 degrees Celsius).
Her jury trial started July 25, and jurors got the case Wednesday. Eckersley faces a maximum prison sentence of seven years for the felony charge of falsifying physical evidence. The reckless conduct and endangerment of child charges are misdemeanors, which in New Hampshire are punishable by a maximum one year in prison.
Eckersley testified that a man who was with her said the baby did not have a pulse. The couple had no cellphone service to call for help and started walking toward an ice arena. On their way, Alexandra Eckersley experienced afterbirth, but thought she had a second child. She told a 911 dispatcher that she had given birth to two children, one who died immediately and the other who lived for less than a minute.
She told the dispatcher and police where she lived and pointed to the area, which was across a bridge. But police ignored what she told them, her lawyers said. She also was afraid to return to the tent because the man, who had left when police arrived, told her he didn't want anyone else there, they argued.
The man arrested along with Alexandra Eckersley was sentenced last August to a year in jail after pleading guilty to a child endangerment charge.
Prosecutors said Eckersley intentionally led first responders to a different location, because she did not want to get into trouble.
She eventually led police to the tent. The baby was found cold, blue, covered in blood — but alive, prosecutors said.
"It made me happy" to find out the baby was alive, Eckersley testified Wednesday.
Eckersley has been living full-time with her son and mother in Massachusetts since earlier this year. The Eckersley family released a statement shortly after she was arrested, saying they had no prior knowledge of her pregnancy and were in complete shock. The family said she has suffered from "severe mental illness her entire life" and that they did their very best to get her help and support.
Dennis Eckersley, who attended the trial this week, was drafted by Cleveland out of high school in 1972 and went on to pitch 24 seasons for Cleveland, Boston, Chicago, Oakland and St. Louis. He won the AL Cy Young and MVP awards in 1992 while playing for the Oakland Athletics. After his playing days, Eckersley broadcast Boston Red Sox games, retiring in 2022.
