Aimee Cotton, 41, has been indicted on a second-degree murder charge in connection with the death of a two-year-old boy, Frank 'Frankie' Rodenbaugh, who allegedly died of hypothermia and cardiac arrest after being left unattended in a vehicle for approximately three hours in March 2025. Cotton was previously charged with manslaughter and child endangerment in October 2025.
According to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Frankie's parents, Julie and Matthew Rodenbaugh, the toddler was found unresponsive and blue in the car. Surveillance footage from Cotton's home reportedly showed the children in the vehicle for about three hours, contradicting Cotton's initial statement to investigators that she had left them for only 15 minutes. During the time the children were allegedly left in the car, Cotton reportedly told officers she was cooking bacon, preparing her son's hockey equipment, and doing household chores.
Authorities stated that surveillance footage showed Cotton arriving home at 9:22 a.m. and bringing items from the vehicle inside. Over the next three hours, she was not seen going to or from the vehicle. At approximately 12:15 p.m., she was seen taking a one-year-old girl out of the car for about 10 minutes before returning to the vehicle. About an hour later, she was observed carrying multiple items, including hockey equipment, from the house to the car. At 1:15 p.m., she opened the rear passenger door, and first responders arrived shortly after.
Frankie was transported to Martha's Vineyard Hospital and later transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where he died six days later on March 19. The wrongful death suit, filed in January, alleges that Cotton misled emergency personnel about the circumstances of the boy's death. A judge placed a stay on the civil suit in June pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings.
Matthew Rodenbaugh, Frankie's father, stated, "My 2-year-old son, Frankie, died calling out my name. I was not there when he needed me most. So I made him this promise after his death: I will be there for him now, and forever. I will never stop fighting for Frankie and advocating for the highest measure of justice in his case." An attorney for the Rodenbaugh family commended law enforcement's sustained efforts in the case.
Cotton pleaded not guilty to the charges of manslaughter and child endangerment in October 2025 and was released on bail. She is scheduled to be arraigned in Dukes Superior Court in Edgartown in October.