Tragic story of Alexandra Eckersley: Mental illness from age TWO hit MLB star Dennis Eckersley's daughter
MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE: Alexandra Eckersley's long history of mental illness contributed to her homelessness and estrangement from her adoptive parents, Nancy and MLB Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley. This week, Alexandra gained notoriety after it was alleged that Manchester police found her newborn baby boy in a dark wooded area in New Hampshire in the early hours of Monday, Dec. 26, unclothed and shivering in 18-degree weather. The 26-year-old, who had given birth in the woods and is still hospitalized, was initially charged with felony recklessness when it was alleged she lied to officers about the baby's whereabouts.
On Tuesday, December 27, Alexandra was charged with new offenses, including endangering the welfare of a child, second-degree assault with great disregard, and fabricating physical evidence. She was charged by phone. Eckersley told police she didn't know she was pregnant and admitted to using cocaine and marijuana in the weeks before the child was born, according to an affidavit cited by WCVB.
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Many would assume Alexandra enjoys a life of luxury with the world at her fingertips as the multimillionaire daughter of a legendary MLB player. But that's far from the truth, especially since she moved out of the Massachusetts home of the Eckersley family in late 2017. Nancy, Alexandra's mother, told the prosecution that she and Dennis, her ex-husband, offered their daughter drug treatment for years, but she turned it down and decided to be homeless instead. “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 said, as reported by New York Post.
“At age two Allie was diagnosed with mental illness, which worsened considerably through the years, leading to multiple hospitalizations and eventually institutionalization,” the Eckersley family said in a statement in May 2019, when Ray Duckler, a journalist, spoke with Alexandra about her time as a homeless person in Concord. “Our hearts are broken. Unfortunately, in her situation, the issue is less about homelessness and more about mental illness. We continue to hope Allie seeks the mental health treatment she desperately needs so she can get her life back on track.” The Eckersley family added that Alexandra has seen “countless therapists, doctors, psychiatrists, neurologists, and child health advocates.”
According to Alexandra, Nancy and Dennis adopted her at birth since her original father was abusive and in control of her mother. Since she was six years old, according to Alexandra, she has been in and out of different facilities for behavioral issues and mental health issues, with one episode leading to hospital confinement. The first winter after she became homeless, Alexandra slept in a tent equipped with cots, and a heater, and she occasionally couch-surfed.
Back then, Alexandra was said to be living with her boyfriend in the "still-bare woods behind the closed liquor store on Storrs Street," battling bipolar disorder, sadness, and anxiety. She claimed that she and her boyfriend were looking for another campsite in the 2019 interview after police gave them a week to leave because they had trespassed on someone else's land. “When I was in Mass., before I moved up here, I didn’t learn from any of my mistakes,” Alexandra said. “I didn’t realize they were mistakes and that I had to admit that and take those responsibilities. They are mistakes that I don’t really want to mention.”
However, Alexandra disputed that her family had been supportive of her during the interview, alleging that Dennis, in particular, had become fixated on her homelessness. “He found a way to bring my homelessness in every single conversation,” Alexandra said. “What I’ve wanted my entire life is to be accepted by my own family. In my own home, I felt like an outsider, an outcast.” When asked about her efforts to better herself during the interview, Alexandra told Duckler that she had recently "checked into a Riverbend supported emergency unit to get back on track... Went there on my own.”
Duckler said that Alexandra had requested that he inform her relatives of her progress. She was using food assistance and taking her medications at the time. Alexandra stated in the 2019 interview that she intended to enroll in college and enter the medical industry in order to work in mental health, give back, and utilize her knowledge to assist others. “Money doesn’t matter,” Alexandra said. “Homelessness can happen to anyone.” Despite the fact that her parents supported her and delighted in events like the high school prom, Alexandra claimed that these aspects did not "outweigh the bad." In February 2019, Alexandra recalled calling her parents to inform them that she had received acceptance letters from Granite State College and the New Hampshire Technical Institute, but she did not receive the enthusiastic response she had hoped for because they were only concerned about the fact that she was homeless. “I know they do,” she said, acknowledging that her parents love her. “But I don’t want to take the easy way out just because I want a home and an education.”
As for now, Eckersley might be freed on a $3,000 cash bail, according to Judge Diane Nicolosi, provided that she has no contact with the child or anyone else under the age of 18 and that she resides in a sober facility with a parent or a house that has been certified by the state.