Matthew Rodenbaugh embraces family and friends outside the courthouse. —Nicholas Vukota 
Aimee Cotton exits the courthouse. —Nicholas Vukota 
Aimee Cotton exits the courthouse. —Nicholas Vukota 
Friends and families of the Rodenbaughs attended a second-degree murder arraignment for Aimee Cotton. —Nicholas Vukota
Aimee Cotton was arraigned Thursday afternoon in Dukes County Superior Court in Edgartown on a second-degree murder charge for the death of 2-year-old Frank “Frankie” Edward Rodenbaugh.
At the courthouse, where Cotton, 41, pleaded not guilty to the second-degree murder charge, family and friends of the Rodenbaughs filled the benches for the 2 pm hearing.
Cotton was previously also charged with manslaughter and reckless endangerment of a child for the same incident; those cases were transferred to Barnstable County Superior Court to acquire more frequent court dates and for the purpose of jury selection.
Judge Peter B. Krupp set conditions Thursday for Cotton’s release: stay at least 50 yards away from and have no contact with the victim’s parents and their family, GPS monitoring with a 50-yard exclusion zone from the victim’s homes, no supervision of children under five years old, no running day cares, and no attendance of Martha’s Vineyard lacrosse games. Krupp also set bail at $23,800 cash, which Cotton posted. According to court documents accessed around 3:30 pm by The Times, the case has been transferred to Barnstable County Superior Court.
Outside the courthouse, Matthew Rodenbaugh, Frankie’s father, hugged family and caught up with friends. In an interview with The Times, he said they’ve fought hard to get the case to be a murder trial, but it’s been an effort that proved worthwhile. He added that he understands the move to Barnstable was about expediency.
“It means the world to me to have this level of support,” Rodenbaugh said. “We want justice for Frankie, and we want as much of it as we can get.”
Rodenbaugh also said he is confident in the strength of the case.
“There is a video of it happening from beginning to end,” he said.
All of the charges stem from an incident on March 13, 2025, when Cotton, an Oak Bluffs resident, was babysitting Frankie and a 1-year-old girl. She allegedly left both children strapped in car seats in her SUV for more than three hours outside her home. Court documents said surveillance showed the children remained in the vehicle from 9:22 am until shortly after noon while Cotton went in and out of the house.
Confronted with the footage, Cotton admitted to leaving both children in their car seats, according to court documents previously reported by The Times. Frankie suffered hypothermia and died six days later, on March 19, at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Cotton was first charged with assault and battery on a child and reckless endangerment. After Frankie died, the charges were elevated to manslaughter.
Cotton was indicted in September 2025 on manslaughter and reckless endangerment of a child; she pleaded not guilty at her superior court arraignment that October.
On Jan. 28, Julie and Matthew Rodenbaugh sued Cotton in Dukes County Superior Court, seeking at least $260,000, plus punitive damages for negligence, wrongful death, conscious pain and suffering, and loss of companionship. The civil case, which is currently paused as the criminal case continues, is separate from the criminal prosecution. A grand jury added the second-degree murder indictment in August.
