The birth of their premie grandson in below-zero temps on Christmas night has left the Eckersley family “devastated” by the “unthinkable” abandonment.
The family’s statement released late Thursday attempted to make sense of the senseless.
Alexandra Eckersley, the 26-year-old adopted daughter of Hall of Fame pitcher and former Red Sox color commentator Dennis Eckersley, faces numerous for allegedly leaving her child uncovered and struggling to breathe in a tent Monday at 12:40 a.m. in Manchester, N.H.
It was 15 degrees out at the time in her homeless encampment near the Piscataquog River.
“We are utterly devastated by the events that unfolded on Christmas night when our daughter Allie delivered a baby while living in a tent. It is heartbreaking that a child was born under such unthinkable conditions and in such tragic circumstances,” the family said. “We learned with everyone else from news reports what happened and are still in complete shock. We had no prior knowledge of Allie’s pregnancy.”
Investigators said the mom admitted to using cocaine and marijuana in the days before giving birth, according to published reports quoting a police affidavit. Her boyfriend, a 45-year-old has not been charged. She has pleaded not guilty.
The Eckersley family who pressed their daughter to reveal the location of the newborn. Even though tragedy was averted and the boy is said to be recovering, the family said the struggle is not over.
“Allie is our beloved daughter who we adopted at birth. Though it is painful to share, we feel it necessary to offer greater context of Allie’s circumstances and background. Allie has suffered from severe mental illness her entire life,” the family said. “Allie was hospitalized numerous times for her illness and lived in several residential programs. We did our very best to get Allie all of the help and support humanly possible.”
The family said they hope “Allie now accepts the treatment she desperately needs for her mental health issues” and comes back home. They are also “in the process of filing a guardianship petition so that we may receive information and have decision making with respect to Allie’s son.”
They then thanked the “support and prayers for this beautiful, innocent baby boy. We hope people understand what an agonizing situation this is and we respectfully ask for privacy.”
They also hit back at the nation’s record dealing with mental health issues.
“Since she was 20, Allie chose to live on the streets in New Hampshire. As in many states, the mental health system in New Hampshire is broken. The state hospital used to have 2,500 psychiatric beds. Now there are less than 200 for more than 1.2 million citizens and the state was forced to eliminate another 48 beds this fall because of staff shortages. Without adequate inpatient beds for crisis, treatment and stabilization, a state mental system fails,” they wrote.
New Hampshire, like Massachusetts and every other state across the country, has a Baby Safe Haven law where moms can turn their newborns over — usually in the first seven days — to a hospital, police or fire department, or sometimes a church, and not face prosecution.
As the Herald reported, the regional Baby Safe Haven hotline is 888-877-HOPE.
Her public defender, Jordan Strand, said in New Hampshire’s Hillsborough County Superior Court that she did everything she could while suffering from blood loss and possible hypothermia after giving birth, the .
“She did what she had to do to get help. Childbirth is incredibly dangerous even under the best of circumstances.”
