Aimee Cotton’s manslaughter and reckless endangerment of a child charges will no longer be prosecuted by the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office.
The state office is now prosecuting Cotton solely on her second-degree murder indictment, as of Nov. 6, according to Barnstable Superior Court records.
The district attorney’s office entered a nolle prosequi, dismissing the charges of manslaughter and reckless endangerment of a child against Cotton, court records show. The manslaughter and reckless endangerment of a child indictment were superseded by the murder charge.
In the case of nolle prosequi, the defendant is typically released if they are in custody for that charge. But in Cotton’s case, she is still being tried for her murder indictment, and nothing has changed in her conditions of release.
Danielle Whitney, director of community programs and spokesperson at the district attorney’s office, told The Times in an email that Cotton’s other charges were dismissed because they are still pursuing the murder charge.
The charges stem from an incident that occurred in March 2025, when Cotton allegedly left Frank (“Frankie”) Edward Rodenbaugh unattended in her SUV for roughly three hours outside her home in Oak Bluffs. He suffered hypothermia and died six days later in a Boston hospital.
Cotton’s conditions include to stay at least 50 yards away from and have no contact with the alleged victim’s parents, to be monitored via GPS with a 50-yard exclusion zone from the alleged victims’ homes, no supervision of children under 5 years old, no running daycares, and no attendance at Martha’s Vineyard lacrosse games. She was released under those conditions on a $23,800 cash bail.
Cotton was initially indicted for the manslaughter and reckless endangerment of a child charges in September of 2025 as result of the initial incident. She pleaded not guilty at her Dukes County Superior Court hearing that October.
Cotton was indicted for second-degree murder, which holds a higher degree of culpability than manslaughter, on Aug. 19 in the Dukes County Superior Court. She pleaded not guilty to the murder indictment on Oct. 8 when family and friends of the Rodenbaughs filled the Edgartown court to show their support for the family who lost their son.
The district attorney’s office didn’t respond to questions on their strategy to convict Cotton.
Matt and Julie Rodenbaugh, Frankie’s parents, are also pursuing a wrongful death civil lawsuit against Cotton, which was filed in the Dukes County Superior Court in January of this year. It is currently on pause as the criminal charges are pursued by the state.
Cotton’s murder charge was transferred to the Barnstable County Superior Court on Oct. 14 to schedule more frequent court dates. Her next event is a pretrial conference scheduled Jan. 7 at 9 am.
