Alexandra Eckersley, the 27-year-old adopted daughter of Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley, has avoided jail time after being convicted of abandoning her newborn child in the freezing woods of New Hampshire and misleading authorities about the infant’s whereabouts.
On Thursday, New Hampshire Superior Court Judge Amy Messer sentenced Eckersley to 12 months and six months in connection with two charges related to the 2022 incident. However, both sentences were suspended, contingent on Eckersley continuing to receive mental health and substance abuse treatment. She will also be required to check in regularly with the court as part of the agreement.
The sentencing follows a jury’s decision in August, which found Eckersley guilty of one count of child endangerment, one count of reckless conduct, and one count of falsifying physical evidence. Eckersley was acquitted of two counts of assault.
Prosecutors had pushed for a minimum one-year prison sentence for Eckersley, citing her deliberate attempts to mislead first responders about the location and condition of her newborn child, who was left exposed to freezing temperatures shortly after birth. Despite these calls, Judge Messer prioritized rehabilitation over incarceration, citing Eckersley’s progress since her arrest.
“It’s critically important that you continue on the path that you are on,” Messer told Eckersley, according to footage from local news outlet WMUR. “I suspect that if you do so, you will be successful.”
Eckersley’s case gained national attention in December 2022 when authorities discovered her newborn child in a wooded area near Manchester, New Hampshire, after Eckersley initially misled them about the baby’s whereabouts. The infant was found alive and was later treated for hypothermia.
Eckersley’s boyfriend at the time, 45-year-old George Theberge, pleaded guilty to child endangerment last year in connection with the incident and was sentenced to one year in prison.
While her legal battles may have come to a close, Eckersley’s future depends on her ability to comply with the court’s conditions. If she successfully completes her treatment and stays on track, she will avoid further jail time.
