20-03-2025
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.
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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.
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