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Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Yahoo
Mass. babysitter charged with manslaughter after child dies in car
MARTHA'S VINEYARD, Mass. (WWLP)– A Martha's Vineyard woman has been charged in the death of a two-year-old boy. According to the Cape & Islands District Attorney's office, Aimee Cotton, 41, of Martha's Vineyard has been charged with manslaughter when a child in her care died after being left unattended in her car. Hampden DA's Office teaches Springfield students about substance use prevention Investigators said that shortly after 1:00 p.m. on March 13, Cotton called 911 and said that a child she was babysitting was not breathing and turning blue. First responders found Cotton performing CPR on the child and took over lifesaving efforts. The child was taken to Martha's Vineyard Hospital and then flown to Massachusetts General Hospital in critical condition. The child died on March 19 as a result of his injuries. The arraignment report stated that Cotton claimed that while babysitting the boy and a one-year-old girl, she left the children in the car for what she estimated was fifteen minutes and returned to find him unresponsive. Surveillance footage from Cotton's home revealed that she reportedly left the children in the car for approximately three hours. Cotton allegedly then told law enforcement that the children were strapped into the car seats while she was in her home cooking bacon and doing household chores. A prosecutor in the case stated that the boy suffered from hypothermia and upon his arrival to the hospital, his body temperature was 14 degrees lower than normal. On March 14, Cotton was arraigned in the Edgartown District Court on the charges of Assault and Battery on a Child w/ Injury and Reckless Endangerment of Child. Cotton was held on $2,800 bail with conditions of release. After the child died, the charges were upgraded to manslaughter, whereupon Cotton was held on $21,000 bail with GPS. She is due back in the Edgartown District Court on April 3 for a Probable Cause hearing. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Yahoo
Babysitter charged with manslaughter after child left in SUV on Martha's Vineyard dies
A Cape Cod woman is now charged with manslaughter after a toddler's death on Wednesday, nearly one week after the child she was babysitting was found unresponsive in her SUV. Prosecutors said the boy was left unattended in the vehicle for hours. Aimee Cotton, 41, of Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard, was arraigned on the manslaughter charge in the Edgartown District Court on Thursday, Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois said in a statement shortly before 12:30 p.m. Thursday. Cotton was held on $21,000 bail with GPS. Prosecutors had asked that Cotton be held on $50,000 bail. She is due back in Edgartown District Court on April 3 for a probable cause hearing. The charges against Cotton were upgraded after the two-year-old victim died of his injuries at Mass General Hospital on Wednesday, six days after being found unresponsive and buckled in a car seat in the SUV, Galibois said. 'District Attorney Galibois's thoughts are with the family and loved ones of the young toddler during this incredibly difficult time,' Galibois' statement said. On Thursday, March 13, at approximately 1:16 p.m., the Dukes County Regional Emergency Communications Center received a 911 call from Cotton, who stated that a child she is babysitting was not breathing and turning blue, Galibois said. Cotton initially reported that she had left the boy in her car briefly, which she estimated to be 15 minutes, and returned to find him unresponsive in a car seat, according to the police report. She later admitted to investigators that she left the boy, and another child, unsupervised in her vehicle for approximately three hours, after investigators reviewed Nest video footage, police stated in their report. 'Cotton stated that for the hours JV-1 and JV-2 were secured, strapped and fastened in their car seats, in her vehicle, she was in her house cooking bacon in the oven, conducting personal hygiene, prepared her son's hockey bags and conducted several household chores,' police wrote in their report. When first responders arrived to Cotton's home in Oak Bluffs following her 911 call, they found Cotton preforming CPR on the young toddler in the second-row passenger seat area of a 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe, according to the police report. Oak Bluffs Police and paramedics took over emergency lifesaving efforts. The boy was taken to Martha's Vineyard Hospital and then flown to Massachusetts General Hospital in critical condition, Galibois said. On March 14, Cotton was arraigned in Edgartown District Court on the charges of assault and battery on a child with injury and reckless endangerment of a child. At that arraignment, Cotton was held on $2,800 bail with conditions of release. Prosecutors had requested $10,000 bail. Oak Bluffs Police and the State Police Detective Unit assigned to Galibois's office are investigating. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Boston Globe
20-03-2025
- Boston Globe
Martha's Vineyard woman arraigned on child abuse charges after children left alone in car, prosecutors say
Police responded to the call, arriving at Cotton's home on Great Rock Road around 1:45 p.m., the report said. Cotton told police that she had left the children alone in her car for about 15 minutes and found the three-year-old unresponsive in the third row car seat of her 2021 black Chevrolet Tahoe, according to the report. An officer began preforming CPR until emergency services arrived and began performing life saving measures, police said. The child was rushed to the Martha's Vineyard Hospital emergency room for treatment, the report said. Advertisement Shortly after, the child was transported by helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital in critical condition, police said. Cotton told police that she was not aware that the child had any medical conditions and said that he appeared 'his normal self' when she loaded him into the car, the report said. After reviewing security footage, police observed inconsistencies in Cotton's account, the report said. Police observed that Cotton left both children, the 3-year-old boy and a 1.5-year-old girl, alone in her car for about three hours without food or water, the report said. Cotton later admitted to police that she left the two children alone in her car 'the entire time,' about three hours, police said. Prosecutors asked that the defendant be held on $10,000 cash bail, according to legal filings. Cotton was ordered held on bail for $2,800 cash bail, according to the Edgartown District Court clerk. Cotton's next date in court is scheduled for April 28. Cotton's defense attorney Harrison T. Barrow, III, did not respond to request for comment. Advertisement Sarah Mesdjian can be reached at
