A Martha’s Vineyard father, Matt Rodenbaugh, is urging other parents to “trust but verify” the people who care for their children, one year after his 2‑year‑old son, Frank “Frankie” Rodenbaugh, died while in the care of his nanny, Aimee Cotton.
What led to the child’s death
Cotton, 40, is accused of leaving Frankie strapped in his car seat in her vehicle for about three hours on a cold day in March 2025, while the nanny was inside her home caring at the same time for a 1‑year‑old girl. The child was found blue and unresponsive, and Cotton called 911, but Frankie was later determined to have died from hypothermia after being hospitalized and then airlifted to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where he passed away six days later.
Cotton was indicted in September 2025 on charges of manslaughter and reckless endangerment and pleaded not guilty in October; she remains free while awaiting trial.
Father’s message and lawsuit
Matt Rodenbaugh has said he and his wife, Julie, never expected this from Cotton, who had cared for their older daughter for the first three years of her life and was someone they considered close and trusted. He described viewing camera footage from that day, including enhanced audio in which he could hear his son calling out “Dada” repeatedly until the recording went silent.
Rodenbaugh told WBZ‑TV that parents should “trust your caregivers but ask questions, pop in, stop by, see if they’d be okay with a camera,” emphasizing that it is about safety, not spying. Weeks before the interview, the family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Cotton, seeking $260,000 in damages plus unspecified punitive damages.
