CONCORD, N.H. — The trial began Thursday for the daughter of baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley, who is accused of abandoning her baby after giving birth in the woods in subfreezing temperatures on Christmas night in 2022.
Attorneys for Alexandra Eckersley, 27, said she didn't know she was pregnant, thought the child had died, and was suffering from substance use disorder and mental health issues.
She was homeless at the time and gave birth in a tent in New Hampshire. Prosecutors said her son was left alone for more than an hour as temperatures dipped to 15 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 9.4 degrees Celsius) and suffered respiratory distress and hypothermia.
Alexandra Eckersley pleaded not guilty to charges of assault, reckless conduct, falsifying evidence and endangering the welfare of a child.
She was bleeding heavily and thought she had suffered a miscarriage, defense attorney Jordan Strand said during opening statements in the Manchester trial. A boyfriend who was with her said the baby did not have a pulse, Strand said.
''She was in a heightened emotional state, not thinking clearly, and suffering from symptoms of her bipolar disorder,'' a condition she was diagnosed with as a child, Strand said.
Strand said 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, and that one had lived for less than a minute, and the other died immediately, Strand said.
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, Strand said. She also was afraid to return to the tent because her boyfriend, who had left when police arrived, told her he didn't want anyone else there, Strand said.
