Babysitter Charged in 2-Year-Old’s Death; Father Accuses Her of Torture

A Tragic Loss and a Call for Vigilance

A tragic incident on Martha’s Vineyard has left a family shattered and the community in shock. A 40-year-old babysitter, Aimee Cotton of Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, is now facing a manslaughter charge after a two-year-old boy in her care died. Frankie Rodenbaugh passed away in March 2025, just days after being allegedly left in a car for hours without food or water.

“The amount of damage she’s done to our community is unimaginable,” said Frankie’s father, Matt Rodenbaugh. “If I could help one family and save a child from a situation like Frankie’s, I’ll do anything I can for that.”

Frankie was described as a lively and joyful child. “Every day I’d come home from work,” Rodenbaugh recalled, “he would hear me coming and the dogs would bark, and he’d run to the gate here and yell, ‘Dada!’ and (give me) a big, huge hug. He’d hug everyone. Just a super happy little kid.”

Someone We Trusted

The Rodenbaughs lived on the Vineyard and had relied on a well-known and trusted babysitter to watch Frankie during the day. Aimee Cotton came highly recommended and had been part of their lives for over 10 years. She had even watched Matt’s daughter, who is now 6, for the first three years of her life.

“She was somebody really close to us and somebody we trusted,” Rodenbaugh said.

On March 13, 2025, Cotton brought Frankie to her home on Great Rock Road in Oak Bluffs. Hours later, she allegedly called 911 saying Frankie had stopped breathing. Matt’s wife, Julie, called him at work.

“She said Frankie’s in an ambulance. He’s not breathing. I’m headed to the hospital now. I just kept saying ‘What do you mean, what happened?’ She’s like ‘I don’t know, I don’t know anything. Aimee called me crying,'” Rodenbaugh said.

Frankie was taken by medical rescue helicopter to Boston Children’s Hospital in grave condition. “They lost his heart rate, there’s not a lot of neurological signals going on right now. We’re not really sure what happened. He’s not doing well. They keep telling me we’re very, very worried about Frankie and that’s exactly how they would tell me. I knew, I knew what that meant,” Rodenbaugh said.

While Frankie was fighting for his life, Matt received more devastating news. His father, Frank, who Frankie was named after, died after having a pacemaker put in.

“I looked at Julie and she’s like, ‘What’s wrong?’ and I said, ‘My dad died,'” Rodenbaugh said.

Without a moment to grieve, Massachusetts State Police told Rodenbaugh they had an update on the case.

Babysitter Arrested

“They said we want to tell you that we’re arresting Aimee. I remember my wife and I both were like, ‘You can’t do that. We love Aimee. She’s great,” Rodenbaugh recalled.

The family was shocked, until the police told them about the evidence they had. “We reviewed the video of the camera on the outside of the house. We saw that Aimee came home at 9 something, she exited the vehicle and went into her house,” Rodenbaugh said. “He said she didn’t come back to the vehicle until around 12:30 or 1. I said OK. They said she was the only one who exited the vehicle.”

According to police reports, Cotton’s Nest video camera showed that another child and Frankie were left alone, strapped in car seats in her SUV for about three hours. The video allegedly does not show that Cotton ever took Frankie out of his car seat, changed him or gave him any food or water.

“She tortured my child,” Rodenbaugh told the I-Team. “They enhanced the audio of the video, and he can be heard calling out for Dada over and over and over again, until the video went silent.”

Police said Cotton admitted while the children were in the car she was inside the house cooking bacon, conducting personal hygiene and preparing her son’s hockey bags.

A Difficult Decision

While police were making their case, Frankie’s condition worsened, and the couple made the difficult decision to take him off life support. “It was horrible,” Rodenbaugh said. “I held his hand, and I just kept saying, ‘Go to Pap Pap.’ That’s what he called my dad. I held his hand for a long time and just kept saying, ‘Go to Pap Pap.'”

Rodenbaugh has some peace believing Frankie is with his grandfather. At the same time, he’s demanding justice for his son. “She played Russian roulette with my son’s life every day apparently and he didn’t win this one,” Rodenbaugh said. “Aimee killed my son.”

Babysitter Free on Bail

Aimee Cotton is currently free on bail awaiting trial. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Attorney Harrison Barrow III represents Cotton in the criminal case. He declined the I-Team’s request for comment.

In February, the Rodenbaughs filed a civil suit against Cotton. They also started a foundation and built a playground in Frankie’s name.

Advice for Parents

Matt Rodenbaugh has this advice for parents. “I think trust but verify is a big one. Trust your caregivers but ask questions, pop in, stop by, see if they’d be ok with a camera. It’s not to spy on them, it’s to make sure your child’s safe.” he said. “And listen to your kids.”

There is a bit of happy news. Just last week the couple welcomed their third child, a boy.