The adopted daughter of MLB Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley has been slapped with additional charges for allegedly dumping her newborn in New Hampshire woods in 18-degree weather.
Alexandra Eckersley, who was initially charged with felony reckless conduct and endangering the welfare of a child, also faces counts of second-degree assault with extreme indifference and falsifying physical evidence, WCVB reported.
The 26-year-old woman learned of the new charges during her phone arraignment Tuesday afternoon as she remains hospitalized, according to the news outlet.
Manchester police responding to a report of a woman who had given birth in a tent in the woods at about 1 a.m. Monday found the uncovered baby, who was struggling to breathe, near the Piscataquog River, officials said.
According to an affidavit cited by WCVB, Eckersley told police she did not know she was pregnant and admitted to using cocaine and marijuana in the days before the baby’s birth.
She also allegedly lied to police about the baby’s whereabouts and said she had given birth prematurely.
During the arraignment, prosecutors said the baby boy, who weighs just 4 pounds, was intubated at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover.
On Monday, Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg said the baby boy was improving, WCVB reported.
“There’s no excuse for this,” Aldenberg said.
“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,” he said.
“But you don’t get to do this, what we’re alleging here. You don’t get to do this to a child,” Aldenberg added.
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, the news channel said.
Prosecutors said Eckersley’s mom, Nancy, told authorities that she and Dennis offered their homeless daughter drug treatment for years, but that she refused, WCVB reported.
“They had an open offer for her to come home on the condition that she go to treatment for drug use, and she obviously made the choice not to,” Assistant Hillsborough County Attorney Carl Olson reportedly said.
Judge Diane Nicolosi said Eckersley could be released on $3,000 cash bail, on the condition that she has no contact with the child or anyone under the age of 18.
Also, the suspect must live in either a sober facility, with a parent, or at a residence approved by the state, according to the judge.
Dennis, who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004, played for 24 seasons, pitching for the Indians, Red Sox, Cubs, Athletics and Cardinals from 1975 to 1998.
He earned six All-Star nods, as well as the AL MVP award and the AL Cy Young Award in 1992. He was named the ALCS MVP in 1988, before winning a World Series with the Athletics in 1989.
In October, he retired from the NESN booth after a 19-year broadcast career with the Red Sox.
