CONCORD, NH — A second arrest came in the case of the daughter of an MLB Hall of Fame pitcher, who was born in the woods and was accused of misleading New Hampshire police about the whereabouts of the newborn, authorities said on Wednesday.
In a police affidavit, the daughter referred to George Theberge as her boyfriend. Other records in the case have been sealed. Theberge has been arrested and charged with witness tampering, reckless conduct and endangering the child’s welfare in connection with the birth on December 26, Manchester City Police said. It was not immediately known if Theberge has a lawyer.
The little boy was left alone in a tent in the freezing cold for more than an hour before officers found him, authorities say.
The mother, Alexandra Eckersley, 26, was accused of leaving her son without warmth or appropriate clothing. She pleaded not guilty to assault, reckless behavior and other charges on December 27 and was released on bail on the condition that she is not allowed to have any contact with her son.
Eckersley’s attorney, Kim Kossick, said she was receiving treatment.
“She’s recovering from that ordeal,” Kossick said. “She’s a young woman who didn’t know she was pregnant. She gave birth alone in the forest. She did the only thing she could do and she called 911.”
Kossick said Eckersley led police to the baby. “In my opinion, she saved the baby’s life,” she said.
She added: “The idea that this woman alone had this child and the first instinct was to arrest her, I think just tells you a lot about what you need to know about our society. She was taken to the police station and interrogated before being taken to the hospital in her bloodied clothes, still bleeding from the birth.”
She is the daughter of Dennis Eckersley, who was drafted by Cleveland as a California high schooler in 1972 and played 24 seasons as both a 20-win starter and a 50-saver assist for Cleveland, Boston, the Cubs, Oakland and the Cardinals. He won the AL Cy Young and MVP Awards in 1992 while playing for the Oakland Athletics. Eckersley retired from broadcasting Boston Red Sox games last year.
The Eckersley family released a statement last month saying they had no prior knowledge of the pregnancy and were in complete shock. They sought guardianship of the boy.
The statement went on to say that Alexandra Eckersley, who she referred to as “Allie,” has “suffered from a serious mental illness her entire life” and that the family have done their best to get her help and support.
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