Alexandra Eckersley pleads not guilty to multiple charges, including assault

Alexandra Eckersley pleads not guilty to multiple charges, including assault

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Alexandra Eckersley pleads not guilty to multiple charges, including assault

A judge set bail Tuesday for a homeless woman accused of giving birth in the woods and abandoning her newborn on Christmas night.

Alexandra Eckersley, 26, appeared in court by phone from a hospital and pleaded not guilty to charges including second-degree assault, endangering the welfare of a child, falsifying physical evidence and reckless conduct.

In court Tuesday, prosecutor Carl Olson requested Eckersley be held on preventative detention. He argued that she was already out on bail for a separate endangering-the-welfare-of-a-child case out of Concord and failed to appear for an October court date in that case.

"Sometimes, actions really do speak louder than words, and her actions were not of somebody seeking help," Olson said.

According to Olson, her family said they had offered to help and give her a place to stay – if she sought out treatment – and she did not do so. Her mother said she feels the safest place for Eckersley to be is incarcerated, according to officials.

"This is an incredibly fortunate circumstance that the child was found when it was, and it didn't delay further," Olson said.

Defense attorney Jordan Strand argued that Eckersley should be released on personal recognizance bail and that her actions, including calling 911 after the birth, show no evidence of dangerousness.

"I think that what this affidavit shows is that someone asked for help when they needed it," Strand said. "This is a woman who unexpectedly gave birth while she is being unhoused and living in a tent, and we don't penalize people for being unhoused and living in a tent."

In her order, Judge Diane Nicolosi set bail at $3,000 cash. Conditions of bail include that Eckersley cannot have direct or indirect contact with her newborn son and that she must live at a sober living facility or with her parent or another residence approved by the state or court if no agreement is reached.

Eckersley was arrested Monday. She is accused of telling first responders she gave birth to a prematurely born baby boy on a soccer field. Crews searched in the wrong area for an hour before police said she informed them of the true location of the tent, officials said.

First responders raced down a footpath in the dark to reach the child, who was described by fire officials as moving, not crying, exposed and in the cold, without a blanket and next to a bed covered in blood. The temperature was around 15-18 degrees.

According to court paperwork, Eckersley said she did not know she was pregnant, but detectives said they spoke with someone who knew Eckersley and that she told them a week prior she was at least four months pregnant.

>> See raw video of Tuesday's arraignment

Court documents related to Eckersley that News 9 Investigates uncovered date back to 2018 and are out of Concord. The charges reveal a history of methamphetamine use and long-term homelessness.

News 9 Investigates has learned Eckersley was arrested in Concord last year. She was accused of being high on methamphetamine with an infant in the car. It is not clear if that baby was hers, but police told News 9 they don't believe Eckersley has any other children.

Other court cases included a shoplifting charge, a trespass violation charge and numerous drug possession charges.

Most of the cases were settled with suspended sentences or tossed. Eckersley was sentenced in one case to six months in prison on a drug conviction.

Police told News 9 Investigates there was a man who was with Eckersley when she called 911 about the baby. He has vanished, but investigators said they want to talk with him.

According to the state, more charges are possible.

The baby boy is being treated at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. The state did not have an update on his condition but said they believed he had been intubated.

Eckersley is the daughter of retired Red Sox broadcaster and Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley.

New Hampshire has a safe-haven law. Babies up to seven days old can be left at any fire station, hospital, police station or house of worship registered with the state, where someone is present to receive the child, no questions asked.

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