Daughter of Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley says she thought baby died after birth

CONCORD, NH — The daughter of Baseball Hall of Fame inductee pitcher Dennis Eckersley testified at her trial Wednesday that she was unaware she was pregnant when she gave birth in the woods in sub-freezing temperatures on Christmas night 2022 and that she thought her son, now 19 months old, had died.

Alexandra Eckersley, 27, was homeless at the time and living in a tent in Manchester, New Hampshire. A forensic psychologist testified Wednesday that Eckersley suffered from mental and developmental disorders diagnosed since childhood, as well as a substance abuse disorder. She was not receiving treatment for those conditions at the time. Her trial began July 25, and the jury took the case Wednesday afternoon.

The discussions are expected to continue on Thursday morning.

“Ally had no idea what was happening,” her attorney Kim Kossick said during her closing argument.

Prosecutors said their son was alone for over an hour as temperatures dropped to -9.4 degrees Celsius and suffered from shortness of breath and hypothermia.

Prosecutor Shawn Sweeney noted in his closing argument that Eckersley had had a very difficult life, but “this is about the baby lying on the floor, frozen to death.”

Eckersley pleaded not guilty to charges of assault, reckless conduct, tampering with evidence and endangering the welfare of a child.

She said she had developed stomach pains earlier in the day and thought she was constipated, but after a man who lived with her gave her ibuprofen and medication for her upset stomach, she did not feel any better.

“It felt like a knife was stabbing me in the stomach,” Eckersley said of the pain.

She said she didn't know what labor pains felt like. When asked by her attorney, Kim Kossick, when she realized she was pregnant, she said, “When the baby came out of me.”

She said she didn't look at her baby and asked the man to check his pulse because she didn't know how to do it. “He said there was no pulse,” Eckersley said.

She had been bleeding and said she and the man decided to call for help, but they had no cell reception. They headed to an ice arena. On the way, Alexandra Eckersley experienced an afterbirth. She said she thought she was having a second child.

The baby was left in the tent.

“Did you think about picking him up and taking him with you?” asked Kossick.

“No,” said Eckersley.

“Why not?”

“Well, I thought he was dead.”

Eckersley told a 911 operator she had given birth to two children, one of whom lived less than a minute and the other who died instantly, her lawyers said. She told 911 operators and police where she lived and pointed to the area, which was across a bridge, but police did not listen to her, her lawyers said.

Prosecutor Alexander Gatzoulis said Eckersley deliberately led rescue workers to another location because she didn't want to get into trouble and didn't initially tell them that the baby had been crying after birth. She was the only one who could lead them to the baby because the man had left, he said.

“They didn’t tell them where the baby was,” he said.

“That’s right,” Eckersley said.

She also said “correct” when Gatzoulis stated that she did not tell the dispatcher or first responders that the baby was crying and that she said she would call an officer when the baby was found.

“Essentially, you told them they could stop searching and you would contact them when you found the baby,” Gatzoulis said.

“I didn't mean it that way, but it could possibly be perceived that way,” she said.

Eventually Eckersley led them to the tent, where they found the baby alive.

When questioned, Eckersley said she knew some of her statements to police at the time were false, but she didn't know that. She said she was afraid of the man she was staying with. He was arrested along with Eckersley and sentenced to a year in prison last August after pleading guilty to child endangerment.

Eckersley has been living permanently in Massachusetts with her son and family since the beginning of this year.

The Eckersley family issued a statement shortly after her arrest, saying they had no knowledge of her pregnancy and were in shock. The family said she had suffered from “serious mental illness her entire life” and they had done their best to get her help and support.

Dennis Eckersley, who took part in this week's tryouts, was drafted out of high school in Cleveland in 1972 and pitched for 24 seasons for Cleveland, Boston, Chicago, Oakland and St. Louis. As a player for the Oakland Athletics, he won the 1992 Cy Young Award and the AL MVP Award. After his playing days, Eckersley retired from commentating Boston Red Sox games in 2022.