Aimee Nicole Cotton, 40, of Oak Bluffs, pleaded not guilty to felony charges of manslaughter and reckless endangerment of a child during her arraignment on Tuesday at the Superior Court in Edgartown, following a Dukes County grand jury indictment last month.
Cotton’s charges stem from the tragic death of 2-year-old Frank “Frankie” Edward Rodenbaugh, who Cotton was babysitting on March 13.
Cotton appeared at the Edgartown court room surrounded by her family where she kept a steady, emotionless expression.
Cotton’s case was elevated from district court to superior court, including her already fulfilled bail of $23,800, and ordered to stay away from and not contact the victim’s family, and to wear a GPS monitoring device. No violations of these conditions were reported at the hearing, and a pretrial conference was scheduled for Feb. 18 where all discovery made throughout the investigation will be made available to the defense council.
According to court documents and case investigators, Cotton left Rodenbaugh and a 1-year-old girl both strapped into car seats unattended in her SUV for roughly three hours outside her home in Oak Bluffs. Surveillance footage from a home camera showed Cotton arriving around 9:20 am to her home and entering and exiting the residence multiple times without removing the children from the vehicle. Cotton called 911 at approximately 1:15 pm, reporting that Rodenbaugh was unresponsive, not breathing, and turning blue; she was performing CPR when first responders arrived; Rodenbaugh would die days later at Massachusetts General Hospital Boston.
The Rodenbaugh family, who attended Tuesday’s hearing, issued a statement following the arraignment expressing their grief and commitment to seeking justice for Frankie, describing him as a child who greeted everyday with joy.
“Following today’s arraignment of Aimee Cotton, our family remains focused on seeking justice for Frankie and ensuring the full truth is understood. Hearing the details continues to be heartbreaking, and it’s still difficult to comprehend how someone we trusted could allegedly do something so unthinkable,” said the Rodenbaughs in a statement shared with the Times. “Frankie was full of love, laughter, and curiosity. He was known for his running hugs, shouting ‘Mama!’ or ‘Dada!’ with pure excitement every time he saw us. The playground our community built with our help through the Frankie Fund reflects that same spirit — full of laughter, energy, and the sound of children playing. It’s a place that captures who Frankie was and what he brought into our lives.”
Sorry excuse! She needs to take responsibility for what she’s done.
She should be in jail.
This is and always will be incredibly difficult for these parents. How very brave of them to turn Frankie’s death into an ongoing area of pleasure and joy for other children.
Sadly this almost certainly is also a life-altering event for Ms. Cotton. I cannot imagine that she thinks of her actions with aplomb and doesn’t wish she could have that dreadful day back as well.
This is involuntary manslaughter and she should get 3 years in jail and no probation and no suspended sentence. I know 3 years is not a long time but she acted carelessly and not with malice. She is a disordered individual. Lets wait and see what MS justice system does.
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