Jury finds Eckersley guilty on three charges; acquitted of second-degree assault
Aug. 2—Alexandra Eckersley wept and embraced her mother after a jury found her guilty Friday of three charges in connection with abandoning her newborn son in a tent in the freezing cold in December 2022.
The guilty verdicts came after the jury foreman announced that the panel of six men and six women had acquitted her of the two most severe charges, of second-degree assault.
The atmosphere in the Hillsborough County Superior Court courtroom quickly changed as Eckersley was found guilty on charges of endangering the welfare of a child, falsifying physical evidence and reckless conduct.
The endangering and reckless conduct charges are misdemeanors, while the falsifying physical evidence charge is a felony, which carries a sentence of 3 1/2 to 7 years in prison.
Eckersley, 27, and several members of her family, including her mother, Nancy, declined comment as they left the court in Manchester. Public defender Kim Kossick also declined comment.
Sentencing is set to be scheduled in the next 60 days.
Juror Tracy Searle of New Boston said she knew it wouldn't be an easy trial to sit through and it would be tough to set aside her emotions. She said she was "a little surprised" Eckersley took the stand.
Eckersley, who was homeless at the time, testified she now lives with her mother and the little boy, Edward, in Massachusetts and hasn't relapsed on drugs since giving birth. The family calls the boy Teddy.
"I think it is a miracle that the baby survived that start," Searle said. "In the deliberation room I said he was alive by the grace of God because that is a rough way to come into this world."
Searle said the jury spent time watching and listening to some of the evidence, including body-worn camera footage and a 911 call, over the course of more than 12 hours of deliberations over three days.
"At times it was not an easy process," she said. "There were a lot of strong feelings among most people on the jury on all sides of the matter. So we had to work through some of those differences of opinions. "
The trial lasted four days, during which the prosecution called six witnesses, including two police officers, an EMT, a nurse, a doctor and a 911 dispatcher. The defense called two witnesses — an expert in clinical and forensic psychology and Eckersley herself.
Prosecutors with the Hillsborough County Attorney's Office said Eckersley left the baby "lying in a tent freezing to death" and misled rescuers for more than an hour with temperatures dipping as low as 15 degrees in the early morning hours of Dec. 26, 2022, near the West Side Arena in Manchester. Eckersley eventually led rescuers across the trestle bridge off the rail trail in Goffstown where she had been living.
"She knew right from the beginning where the baby was," prosecutor Shawn Sweeney told the jury in his closing argument.
Eckersley testified she had no idea she was pregnant and thought the baby was dead after giving birth. Her boyfriend at the time, George Theberge, said the baby had no pulse.
In her closing argument, Kossick said Eckersley was suffering from a life-threatening medical condition and in shock on the night of the birth. Theberge had returned to the tent three times and turned off a propane heater, she said.
"He just walked away," Kossick said. "He should be the one sitting in that chair, not Allie."
Mathilde Pelaprat, a clinical and forensic psychologist, testified Eckersley has one of the most complex mental health histories she has ever seen, which offered her insight into Eckersley's mental state on the night of the baby's birth.
"They're entitled to present their defense," prosecutor Alexander Gatzoulis said after the verdict. "I think both attorneys on the defense did an exceptional job in defending Allie and I don't want to comment on their strategy."
The prosecution tried multiple times to block the expert testimony, but in a pretrial ruling, Judge Amy Messer allowed it.
Searle said the jury weighed that testimony "to some extent" in its deliberations.
"I think for a lot of us in the jury room we had great sympathy for that, but it should not be the reason for not taking responsibility for your choices," she said.
The case gained national and international attention in part because Eckersley is the adopted daughter of Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley and his second wife, Nancy. Dennis Eckersley was present for two days of the trial and waited with family members during Thursday's full day of deliberations, but was not present for the reading of the verdicts.
The second-degree assault charges stem from the baby having hypothermia and being in respiratory distress.
"We really felt like for the state to have charged her for second-degree assault that it would have required more intent on her part; more awareness of her choices in the situation and all of that," juror Searle said. "We weren't able to quite get there that she had that level of intent."
Searle said she hopes both Alexandra and Edward Eckersley go on to live happy, healthy and safe lives.
"I hope this is something that will be a part of their histories, not present," the juror said.
