Dennis Eckersley’s daughter’s history that led to homelessness

Alexandra Eckersley’s long history with mental illness played a significant role in her becoming homeless and estranged from her adoptive parents, Nancy and MLB Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley.

Alexandra made headlines this week after Manchester police allegedly discovered her newborn baby boy unclothed and freezing in 18-degree weather in a dark wooded area in New Hampshire early Monday. The 26-year-old, who remains hospitalized after giving birth in the woods, was initially facing one count of felony recklessness after allegedly lying about the baby’s whereabouts during a police search.

On Tuesday, Alexandra was arraigned over the phone and informed that she is facing additional charges of endangering the welfare of a child, second-degree assault with extreme indifference and falsifying physical evidence.

According to an affidavit cited by WCVB, Eckersley told police she did not know she was pregnant and admitted to using cocaine and marijuana in the days before the baby’s birth.

Prosecutors said Alexandra’s mother, Nancy, told them that she and Dennis, her ex-husband, offered their daughter drug treatment for years, which she refused and chose to be homeless.

“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 the daughter of a multi-millionaire MLB legend, many would believe that Alexandra lives a life of luxury, with the world at her fingertips. But that’s far from her reality, especially after leaving the Eckersley family home in Massachusetts in late 2017, according to a heart-wrenching article in the Concord Monitor, a local newspaper in the capital of New Hampshire.

“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 to the outlet in May 2019, when columnist Ray Duckler interviewed Alexandra about her experience being homeless 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.”

At the time, Alexandra was described as living in the “still-bare woods behind the closed liquor store on Storrs Street” with her boyfriend, while dealing with bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety. She said in the 2019 interview that she and her boyfriend were searching for another campsite after police gave them a week to relocate due to trespassing on private property.

“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.”

Alexandra claimed to the outlet that her biological father was controlling and mean to her mother, which led to Nancy and Dennis adopting her at birth.

Since the age of 6, Alexandra said she bounced from one facility to another for mental health and behavioral problems — with one incident resulting in a hospital lockdown.

When she became homeless, Alexandra slept in a tent during her first winter, with a heater and cots, adding that she would sometimes couch surf.

When asked about his daughter’s homelessness and bipolar disorder, Eckersley declined to address the matter with Duckler at the time the article was published.

Eckersley’s current wife, Jennifer, did email Duckler, saying, “As you can imagine this is an incredibly private and painful situation. Dennis and Nancy decline speaking to you about it, as it’s simply too painful.”

She did, however, provide a statement from Nancy and Dennis.

“As a family, we have been devoted to her health and well-being,” it read. “We have given her unconditional love, nurturing and support. We have left no stone unturned in seeking the help, resources, programs and professionals she has needed throughout her life.

“Once she became of legal age our ability to intervene on her behalf became far more limited.”

Alexandra, however, disputed the support she received from her family during the interview, claiming that Dennis, in particular, 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.”

During the interview, Alexandra explained that she had been working to better herself, telling Duckler that she had recently “checked into a Riverbend supported emergency unit to get back on track… Went there on my own.”

Duckler wrote that Alexandra had asked him to let her family know about her progress. At the time, she was taking her meds and had food stamps.

In the 2019 interview, Alexandra said she wanted to attend college and join the medical field to work in mental health, give back and use her experience to help others.

“Money doesn’t matter,” Alexandra said. “Homelessness can happen to anyone.”

Although her parents were supportive in attending her events, and were happy about things such as high school prom, Alexandra said those things didn’t “outweigh the bad” parts.

In February 2019, Alexandra recalled telling her parents over the phone that she had been accepted to two colleges, New Hampshire Technical Institute and Granite State College, but did not get the excited response she was hoping for, as they only focused on her being 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.”

During the arraignment Tuesday, prosecutors said Alexandra’s baby boy, who weighs just 4 pounds, was intubated at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover. On Monday, Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg said the baby boy was improving, WCVB reported.

Judge Diane Nicolosi said Eckersley could be released on $3,000 cash bail, on the conditions that she has no contact with the child or anyone under the age of 18 — and she must live in either a sober facility with a parent, or at an approved residence by the state.