The criminal case and a separate wrongful death lawsuit continue more than a year after 2-year-old Frankie Rodenbaugh was found unresponsive in Oak Bluffs.
OAK BLUFFS, Mass. — The father of a 2-year-old Martha’s Vineyard boy who died after prosecutors say he was left strapped in a babysitter’s SUV for hours is speaking publicly as the woman charged in the case remains free on bail and awaits trial.
Frankie Rodenbaugh’s death has become one of the island’s most painful court cases, blending a criminal prosecution, a civil lawsuit and a family’s push to keep attention on what happened. Aimee Cotton, 40, of Oak Bluffs, has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and reckless endangerment of a child. Prosecutors say the case centers on surveillance video, timing records and Cotton’s statements to police. The immediate stakes now are whether the criminal case moves toward trial and whether the family’s separate wrongful death suit brings additional scrutiny to the events of March 13, 2025.
Matthew Rodenbaugh told reporters he and his wife had known Cotton for years and had trusted her with their children. On the morning of March 13, 2025, Frankie was dropped off for care at Cotton’s home on Great Rock Road in Oak Bluffs. Hours later, Cotton called 911 and said the child was not breathing. Rodenbaugh said the call that reached him at work came through his wife, who told him Frankie was in an ambulance and that no one yet knew what had happened. Frankie was first taken to Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and then flown to Boston for specialized care. Rodenbaugh later described the shock of the first hospital updates, saying doctors told the family Frankie had lost heart activity and showed very little neurological response. The boy died on March 19 after nearly a week in intensive care.
Investigators say the strongest evidence came from a camera at Cotton’s home. According to police accounts summarized in court reporting, the footage showed Cotton arriving at about 9:20 a.m. and going inside while Frankie and another young child remained strapped in car seats in the SUV. Prosecutors say the children stayed there for roughly three hours. Police said Cotton first told investigators she had left the children alone for only about 15 minutes before bringing them inside, but surveillance footage contradicted that account. Court reporting has said Cotton later acknowledged leaving the children in the vehicle while she handled chores inside, including cooking and preparing hockey gear. Frankie’s father said police told him enhanced audio captured the boy calling for his father before the sound eventually stopped. Defense lawyer Harrison Barrow has declined public comment on the substance of the case, and Cotton has denied the charges in court.
The case has also drawn attention because of what officials say Frankie suffered physically and because of how widely known Cotton was in the community. Prosecutors have said the child was later diagnosed with hypothermia before his death, though one outside report described the condition as hyperthermia, leaving that medical detail unsettled in public accounts until trial testimony or court filings clarify it. What is not in dispute is that first responders found Frankie in critical condition on March 13 and that he died days later in Boston. The Rodenbaugh family has said Cotton had previously cared for their older child and came highly recommended. That history has deepened the sense of betrayal described by the parents, who have said the person they trusted with daily childcare is now accused of acts they still struggle to understand.
The legal process has stretched across two courts and more than one set of charges. Cotton was first arraigned in district court on child-related charges after Frankie was found unresponsive. After the boy died, the case was elevated, and a Dukes County grand jury returned indictments in September 2025 charging manslaughter and reckless endangerment of a child. Cotton pleaded not guilty in Dukes County Superior Court on Oct. 7, 2025. A judge kept bail in place, ordered her to stay away from the Rodenbaugh family and required GPS monitoring. Court reporting later said Cotton had previously been found in violation of an order to stay away from the family in April 2025, but she remained free on bail. At a Feb. 18, 2026, pretrial hearing, prosecutors sought to restore a curfew that had once been part of her release conditions. Judge Daniel Wrenn declined, saying he would revisit the issue only if there were new violations. Cotton was due back in court on April 27.
Outside the courthouse and in recent interviews, Rodenbaugh has tried to keep the focus on Frankie rather than only on the defendant. He has described his son as energetic, affectionate and quick to run to the gate yelling for his father when he came home from work. The family has since filed a wrongful death suit in Dukes County Superior Court, alleging negligence, severe pain and suffering, medical expenses and lasting emotional loss. Their lawyers wrote that Frankie was left in a vehicle for hours with inadequate clothing and without food or water. The family has also said it created a foundation and built a playground in Frankie’s name. Rodenbaugh said he is speaking now because he wants accountability and does not want the boy’s life reduced to court paperwork. “Aimee killed my son,” he said in a televised interview, while Cotton’s lawyer again declined comment.
As of Friday, March 20, 2026, Cotton remained free on bail, the criminal case was still pending in Dukes County Superior Court, and the family’s civil lawsuit was moving on a separate track. The next public milestone was Cotton’s scheduled April 27 court appearance.
Author note: Last updated March 20, 2026.