Submitted by Dependent_Season_669 t3_zww9p8 in newhampshire
This is Dennis Eckersley's kid, she is obviously severely mentally ill to end up in this situation.
Wow, I didn’t make the connection when I read the first article posted a day or two ago. Mental health is no joke, money or no.
She was adopted FWIW.
Who is that?
Hall of Famer MLB player. He also worked (maybe still works?) for NESN post-retirement.
Former MLB pitcher apparently.
Media loves sensationalism porn for the masses
I see some comments on Facebook pouring out sympathy for this girl but I’m sorry, I don’t care how bad your circumstances are - you do whatever’s best and necessary for the well-being of the child. There were alternatives available including the safe haven law. Instead she left this premature newborn baby unclothed and exposed to harsh winter temperatures. She does not deserve this child and can only imagine the poor life it’s suffer if it were to remain in her care.
Also her father is Dennis Eckersley, it's not like this story started with the vicious cycle of poverty. I think most people no matter how poor would at least find a way to drop the baby off somewhere warm. She's obviously extremely mentally unwell.
She’s clearly incapable of taking care of herself, never mind the baby. This is the consequence of society’s total abandonment of the severely mentally ill. I know the conservatives were really hoping they’d just die of exposure before giving birth, but that’s not how it always works.
I’m genuinely not sure whether society is sicker than she is, though. How the fuck do we just let a pregnant woman with severe mental illness sleep in a tent in the blistering cold and act like that’s her choice? Fucking ridiculous.
She’s unfit to stand trial, I guarantee it. As unfit as a 13 year old would be in the same situation.
And then we have these disgusting fake news reporters making a spectacle out of a horrific tragedy. I hate everything about this.
Just another result of Reaganomics at work. Greatest president in history my ass.
> Everyone, I have a brief announcement to make. Jesus was black, Ronald Reagan was the devil, and the government is lying about 9/11. Thank you for your time and good night.
Her father is a multimillionaire that could literally buy and sell you hundreds of times over, but it was society that is forcing her to be homeless.
Poverty certainly exacerbates mental illness. Hard to imagine someone with severe mental illness remaining stable when they’re unhoused. But money by itself doesn’t cure mental illness if you’re too far gone to try to get help. Just look at Kanye.
We also have no way of knowing whether she’s seen a dime of her dad’s money since turning 18. He may be unwilling to help her. He may have disowned her. He may have abused her. She may have abused him.
Frankly, that’s all irrelevant. Whatever safety net she had from her family, she obviously fell through them. Society has an obligation to catch people like this. Housing First is morally and fiscally correct policy, but in this case, I’m sure that would not have mattered one bit. Perhaps it would have gotten a social worker involved sooner that could have recognized she needed to be hospitalized, but there’s obviously a deeper problem here than poverty.
BuT wHo WiLl PaY fOr It? Bleats the sheep, who sees nothing wrong with paying $80k a year to incarcerate them.
Trillions for war, pennies for the rest, from health care to schools and school lunches, infrastructure, jobs, housing, legal aid, consumer protection, you name it. If any history is still being written 200 years from now we will be remembered as a greedy, warlike empire that was merciless to the weakest among us while lining the pockets of our "defense" industries as if they were our True Gods.
You're making an awful lot of assumptions. You might wait until the truth comes out.
I didn’t make a single assumption there, pal. The circumstances are irrelevant. Society has failed if a pregnant woman is sleeping in a tent in December in NH. There’s no excuse.
There’s barely any homeless shelter
Our local for-profit (!) shelter nearest to where this tragedy occurred only has 148 beds, completely full every night, with some overflow going to a nearby "christian" run building where anyone lucky enough to be let in the door must sit all night in folding chairs, -never- lie down, and doze as best they are able while all the "losers" in this game of Malicious Chairs freeze outside in tents on the sidewalk outside the shelter or various hiding places in the darkness of the city and outlying areas that the authorities call "camps" but are really just people desperately trying to improvise what shelter they can while being constantly hunted by police, local government and property owners. Manchesters city government actually has a "Help Us Hunt Down The Homeless" (my term) webpage where you can inform on homeless people you see trying to survive outside. No, I'm not making this up. They claim they will do "outreach" but somehow the "outreach" usually quickly devolves into "Blue Lights and Pepper Spray outreach", tents being slashed, penniless people being ticketed, desperate freezing people being chased away to seek another place to hide, etc. If you are at the christian "warming station" you must sign a sheet to patiently queue up to use the single bathroom. There are two bathrooms but they say they are not sufficiently staffed to allow both to be used. If you go outside for any reason you are not allowed back in. While they have their reasons for some of these rules and they certainly aren't getting much help from the city, the overall effect is hurtful to the psyche and body and the willful inadequacy of the state and cities response to overwhelming human need and tragedy is resulting in multiple needless deaths at all times of year but especially winter, of course. There are hundreds trying not to freeze to death out in the open every night in Manchester alone. The heartless among us say they "don't want to come inside", "don't want help". Spend a night with the bedbugs, lice, scabies, flu, tuberculosis, Covid & general indifference at the shelter and you'll understand why some are reluctant to go in there even when they have the opportunity. It's shameful, and our politicians, police and a sizable minority of citizens seem fine with it... until it's their relative that freezes to death. Heck, some of them are probably fine with it even then. More than anything else, we have an Empathy Shortage in this country at least as severe as our housing shortage.
No doubt she’ll have an incredibly hard gaining custody, she’d need to show she’s on medication, have a stable job, a place to live, be sober. I’d say next to impossible
Gain custody? She should rot in a jail to the end of her life for doing this to a helpless infant.
I don't want to pay to jail someone. Death penalty instead of life in prison systems if it is beyond even somewhat unreasonable doubt.
That’s what I’m saying, that she really has almost no chance of gaining custody at this point
I’d say completely impossible. I‘d add to your list that she’d need to demonstrate that she has support from close friends and family. She clearly did not have that a month ago. It’s a gargantuan task for her to just live independently, or live in a group home, at this point, never mind mend those relationships in order to take care of a child.
From what’s been reported so far, this is not a case of drug addiction. Weed and coke don’t make someone floridly psychotic by themselves. So she likely has some underlying psychotic disorder. Without social support, who is going to make sure she doesn’t kill the child if she has another episode? The baby didn’t have a pulse when they found it this time…
She does not seem to be in her right mind though. Mental illness can absolutely distort your reality.
[deleted]
Now imagine the mental health he’ll that she lives in. Obviously, she needs treatment and probably has for a long time. I can see why you’re angry, this is a horrific story, however, let us direct our anger where it truly belongs and that is this Country’s lack of adequate mental health services.
>According to an affidavit, Eckersley called 911 around 12:30 a.m. on Monday to report she had given birth in the woods of Manchester.
>At around 1:30 a.m., Eckersley was placed back into an ambulance to warm up. While speaking with an EMT, she said the baby was on the Goffstown side of the footbridge and should still be inside her tent, the report said.
>She said she gave birth around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, an affidavit said, but her boyfriend could not find a pulse on the child.
>One of the officers noted a lot of blood in a bed with blankets and a trail of blood from the bed area. The tent, a tarp, had items strewn inside and on the ground.
A lot going on here.
Don't forget my favorite part.
>When another detective asked Eckersley why she left the baby, she said, “What do they tell you when a plane goes down? Save yourself first.”
As horrible and sensationalist as that is, it’s probably word salad from someone suffering from schizophrenia, not a statement of criminal intent. If you read between the lines of the article, and avoid taking the outrage bait, it’s clear this person was rambling nonsense. Constantly contradicting themselves.
Given the street conditions in Manchester, it’s disturbing that a police detective isn’t familiar enough with psychiatric disorders to recognize that you shouldn’t leak such things to the press. FFS. Was a social worker involved at any point in the last six months? It seems the cops knew there was a pregnant woman at the camp for quite some time…
>According to an affidavit
It wasn't leaked to the press, the quotes are from the court paperwork.
Ah shit. My bad. I did read the article, just didn’t realize that the affidavit is public by default. It definitely needs to be included in the prosecution’s evidence against her.
Yep. Extreme cold, blood loss, etc etc and a probably hypothermic young woman who even in her no doubt disturbed mental state told them exactly where her baby was as soon as someone remembered to have the human decency to have her sit down and be warmed. 10 bucks says it was an EMT or fireman that made it happen.
"This is horrible!"
How do you fix this? Social programs and taxes to fund them.
"TAXATION IS THEFT!"
Pick a lane.
"No take, only throw"
Her family has money, the issue is that nobody has any authority to intervene until something this blatant occurs. And if they did, long-term in-patient care is close to nonexistent now.
Yes, as someone else mentioned our state hospital in NH is a shadow of what it used to be even as the state has grown and the need with it. We do have cages and cells for the convicted though, and mentally ill people locked in them right on the old hospital grounds. Bty of course all that only comes into play -after- a tragedy occurs, becuz 'murica.
Why do you assume social programs and taxes are the most effective way to address this?
Because obviously social programs and higher taxes have proven effective nationwide. I mean look at places like LA, SF, NY, and Baltimore. Most abundant social programs and highest tax rates and the results are glorious! I mean they’re like totally like utopias, with zero crimes and like zero poverty or homelessness. Like, are you like totally blind, or something? It’s like just science!
Then what's your solution?
Why do you assume they aren't?
My questioning your implied assertion does not automatically mean I hold the opposite stance.
I'm simply questioning your assertion.
I am simply questioning your questioning.
If you can't carry the burden of proof, you shouldn't make claims.
Because we don't burn, stone or drown the mentally ill as much anymore as we used to do, though I'd keep an eye on Utah, Texas, Tennessee, Florida and a number of other red states if you're worried we're not doing enough of that sort of thing.
Why do you believe taxes and social services are what made the difference?
Look at you jumping at the chance to be self-righteous. Social programs for what exactly?
Social programs are self righteous? You can't think of any that would help in this situation? Looks like someone picked the low road.
No, you are. And you mentioned them, so now answer the question.
Jesus you are insecure. Just say taxation is theft and move on.
It's not theft, and you don't even know what my position is. Are you going to answer my question or are you going to find another way to dodge it?
I pick the "taxation is theft" lane. Voluntary donations as the solution, but I've stopped giving money to beggars. Giving money to drug addicts enables them, other charities are the solution.
That's certainly the long version of "let babies die, " but I'll take it.
Super sad story. I hope that baby is okay. Shocking that he survived. Mental illness and drug addiction are no joke and often go hand in hand. Family members can try to intervene but there's not a lot you can really do. This woman is an adult and made her own decisions.
I hear that in Mass relatives can force a family member to receive mental health services against their will. In NH this is not the case and -might- be why she remained up here, if part of her condition had caused her to be avoidant.
You could be right. There's a story in the Globe today where the family states she's been on the streets in NH since she was 20. And also that she had been hospitalized prior to that. In MA, if it's determined you are a danger to yourself or others, you can be put on a 72 hour hold. But, you can sign paperwork that says you will be exercising your right to leave in 72 hours. I can also tell you from personal experience (having gone thru this with my child), the patient will not get much help while they are hospitalized. It's a baby sitting service. The benefit is the individual is kept alive for another 72 hours. Then it's back to the family having to figure it out.
Okay I guess I gotta say it. I know everyone is different, but I'm so mad at this woman. I gave birth to my son on December 26, 9 years ago. He was also 4lbs at birth. I was homeless for half of the time i was pregnant. I was a drug addict when I found out I was pregnant. I was also 26. I live in a small area, but I utilized EVERY MF RESOURCE I could find, and got housing, parenting classes, addiction treatment and counseling. Life has not been super easy, but I did everything I could for him. Right now, we're waiting for family to show up for his 9th birthday party, in a warm home, and I work for a recovery program. Yes, she needs help, but people can also express their opinion on this and I agree with them. I just hope that baby is okay.
Wow! That's great! I hope you and your son have many happy and healthy years together! Happy birthday to him!
Who cares about her status, what’s the status of the newborn?
Adam Montgomery vibes….
Piece of work. I feel bad for Dennis.
This entire story makes me feel terrible. Jesus.
Addiction.
I feel bad for the baby and the homeless woman.
The homeless woman? The one that left the baby exposed? Then gave police the wrong location?
She’s clearly not well and needs help. You can acknowledge that while also condemning her and holding her responsible for her actions.
Yet, you did not.
Yeah I kind figured the pile-ons in the comments were enough. It’s bad to leave a baby in a tent to potentially die. Is that good for you?
Better.
Cool, now it’s your turn to say that maybe it’s just a little gross for people to so deeply need to know that they are morally superior to an addicted and mentally ill homeless person.
In an earlier comment, I noted addiction was the reason. This was a totally selfish act.
I agree she needs help, but there are many more deserving of help then her.
Why would someone who needs help not deserve it? This is a pretty dire need.
It’s a miracle the baby survived. Born three months premature, drug addicted, and left in the cold on a 15 degree day.
Survived so far. It still has a long road to recovery.
Being in the cold is the best way to survive. All your processes slow down which also means a slower damage/decay rate.
Not for a premature baby without surfactant.
Wasn't this same reddit jerking themselves into a lather that it was the police being fascists or something and the woman who left a baby to freeze could do no wrong?
cRiMiNaL cHaRgEs DoNt HeLp AnYbOdY iN tHiS cAsE
It’s definitely a crude tool IMO, but the ends absolutely justify the means. She gets a mental health evaluation and is likely found not guilty by reason of insanity, and the baby is removed from her custody.
It never should have gotten to this point, though. We shouldn’t leave psychotic people who are incapable of caring for themselves, out in the cold to freeze. I don’t give a fuck what drugs she was using. You’d turn to drugs if you were schizophrenic and homeless too. I don’t care if they “choose” to refuse assistance either. They’re not capable of making that decision. Shelter is a human right.
Helps her have a warm place to sleep and recover. Hopefully get the meds she needs and can at least regroup. Better than being in tent city
I certainly saw one of the resident morons pushing this.
I had no idea this chick was Dennis Eckersley’s daughter. https://nypost.com/2022/12/27/dennis-eckersleys-daughter-arrested-after-newborn-found-in-woods/
For more information, she was living in Concord a few years ago and the Monitor did an article on her:
https://www.concordmonitor.com/You-know-her-surname-you-don-t-know-the-hardships-25277055
This makes no sense. I've been told on good authority (dumbest_ogre) that it's the police who are to blame.
That doesn't surprise me.
> This makes no sense. I've been told on good authority (dumbest_ogre) that it's the police who are to blame.
Yesterday it was "ACAB" and now there's a "lot going on" and it's nuanced.
Yesterday: this obviously happened bc Russia invaded Ukraine. If we don’t send Ukraine another $100b, more of these poor babies are going to be left in the cold. What kind of monster wouldn’t care about babies!!?? If you have a problem sending a trillion to saint Zelensky, you hate babies and love Putin! Oh, and the baby needs you to pay for high speed rails and free marijuana too 😂
What the actual fuck are you going on about? How does this at all tie into Ukraine?
Don't forget that true communism has never been tried!
Stories like this are why abortions need to be legal.
Nobody clutching their pearls in here actually gives a shit about the baby. They just want their fundie justice porn and forget about the new orphan.
> fundie justice porn
Truth. You're "precious" until you can stand tall enough to get hired for $7.50 an hour and then you can go to Hell and/or a cheap Walmart tent and stay there.
Former Sox pitcher. Used to go see him pitch Sundays when the bleachers at Fenway were like $6.
This is horribly sad all around. I’d say this is why we need legal and safe abortion, but clearly this woman wouldn’t have been in her right mind enough to get one. She wasn’t in her right mind when she got pregnant, or through the whole pregnancy. I know this baby will get the help it needs but then who will care for it? I’m not religious but I pray to whatever in the world that this baby doesn’t end up in some foster care situation.
As for the bio mom, she is unfit to have the baby (obviously) but she won’t get the help she needs. She’ll be punished, and that makes sense, but that won’t make her a better person - for herself, or this baby. Unfortunately it is very difficult, if not impossible, to come out of addiction this bad. She won’t change until she wants to and in her state, that ain’t gonna happen.
I’m so sorry this whole situation has happened. As a new parent, it breaks my heart that this baby was already born into a world of chaos. It didn’t ask for this, it doesn’t deserve this.
For Chrissakes New Hampshire, get your shit together. Homeless women giving birth in the woods, babies in your State custody going missing, WTF? I guess your “live FREE or die” motto is taking things to a whole new level.
That's why it's remained popular - the saying is utterly devoid of any semantic content when used generically other than to evoke a sort of prickly rancor. NH-ites usually think it was coined on the fly by General Stark but WikiP says it was already a popular phrase of the French revolution. No matter who came up with it, it is a revolutionary and militaristic call to arms and vigilance, not a fully formed let's use-this-every-day to hurt others and glorify ourselves lifestyle and governance philosophy that the societally-challenged often try to present it as today.
Wow. People experiencing hypothermia and perhaps especially mentally ill people experiencing hypothermia rave, can be combative or lethargic or both by turns, give non-sensical or hostile responses to questions and generally seem dysfunctional? Add shock, blood loss and possible addiction or intoxication issues, lack of adequate shelter and food over long periods of time, and their responses in a catastrophic situation don't match your standards? Who-da-thunk-it. Good job of virtue-shaming there, pretty standard for patch posts. As soon as they stopped "interrogating" her in the freezing cold and brought her into a warm ambulance she fairly quickly regained her composure and told her captors -exactly- where the child was. This doesn't fit the cruel lurid narrative that many are favoring, so they don't mention it.
This country has given up on mental illness. The leaders of this country and corporations are severely mentally ill. They are unable to lead. Religious leaders are mentally ill. I am the only sane one here. Peace be with you. And peace be with that girl and everyone suffering like she is. Over and out.
It looks like the name isn't the only thing Dennis gave her. But he got his shit together eventually.
Dennis Eckersley and Jerry Remy were two amazing fathers.
Jared Remy was a bigger piece of shit than Eckersley's kid. But still.
Alexandra Eckersley seems to fall in between Jared Remy and Jenna Remy. I'm not sure how Jordan Remy fits into the equation.
Isn't it hilarious how we get down voted because a millionaire let's his pregnant homeless daughter give birth in frigid temps, but we are the 'big pricks.' Want to hear the best part? I golf with former Red Sox players all the time, and a most of them have stories about what a douche Eckersley used to be. I'm happy he got his shit together, but all these people defending him just because they're Red Sox fans is laughable.
She’s an adult. “Let’s” isn’t the word. She said herself in the article she refused housing from them on purpose and wants to do it on her own rather than taking the easy way out.
It’s his adoptive daughter, obviously that doesn’t change how much they loved her, but genetically she didn’t inherit anything from him. It’s a sad situation all around.
Let me tell you something from someone who WAS adopted. You do learn traits from your adopted parents. Nice try though. Nature vs nurture anyone?
Fuck yourself
Because he was at one time a drug user and alcoholic? OK dude. Happy holidays to your wife. She's a lucky gal to have you.
No because you’re a giant prick
Did I say go fuck yourself to a stranger? You have an odd definition of prick.
I don't click on obvious clickbait links, especially when they read like a passage from a bad novel and show no relevance to NH.
It happened in Manchester, so yeah, a little bit of relevance to NH
“Manchester homeless woman” -not nh
PowPowPowerCrystal t1_j1xd1tv wrote
The story is awful but the poverty-porn media coverage and promotion here makes me extra sad.