Horror on Martha’s Vineyard as nanny is arrested over loss of life of two-year-old
A nanny on Martha’s Vineyard has been charged with manslaughter after a two-year-old boy tragically died when she left him unattended in a car for hours.
Aimee Cotton, 41, was arrested on March 13 after she called 911 around 1.15pm to report the toddler she was babysitting ‘was not breathing and turning blue’ inside her car.
She allegedly left the unidentified boy, only referred to as JV-1, and a one-year-old girl, JV-2, alone in her vehicle for three hours while she stayed in her home, according to a criminal complaint obtained by DailyMail.com.
When police arrived at the scene they found Cotton performing CPR on the boy in the third row passenger seat of her 2021 black Chevrolet Tahoe.
First responders then took over medical care before the toddler was airlifted to a Boston area hospital. He died on March 19 after succumbing to his critical injuries.
Cotton, who has children of her own, told police she thought she only left the young girl and boy in her vehicle for about 15 minutes before she found him unresponsive.
Police later discovered Nest home camera footage of Cotton entering her house without the children and not coming back out for about three hours.
After informing the babysitter of the video, Cotton confessed to leaving both children in her car alone ‘the entire time’ while she did various chores around the house, including cooking bacon in the oven, preparing her son’s hockey bags, and personal hygiene tasks, the complaint stated.
Aimee Cotton, 41, was arrested on March 13 after she found the two-year-old boy she was babysitting ‘not breathing and turning blue’ after allegedly leaving him in the car alone for hours
The unidentified toddler and a one-year-old girl were both left alone in Cotton’s car while she did various chores in her home, police said. (Pictured: Stock image of Martha’s Vineyard)
Cotton told police she picked up the baby boy earlier that morning after dropping her two children off, the complaint said.
According to the documents, after picking up the child from his mother – a teacher at Oak Bluffs Elementary School – she returned home just before the other child was dropped off for her to watch.
The three of them then traveled to a nearby area to walk before heading back to her home for lunch, where she said JV-1 ‘appeared to be his normal self.’
She then loaded both children back into her car along with ‘other miscellaneous items,’ and changed their diapers in the process, the complaint detailed.
Cotton then left the children in the car for what she said was only about 10-15 minutes before noticing that the boy looked ‘sick and ill’ in his car seat.
After cops and EMS personnel arrived at the scene, authorities soon pieced together what really happened.
After confronting Cotton about the surveillance footage, Cotton confessed to leaving them alone for hours on end. She said she also did not provide any food or water during that time.
Police said she ‘was remorseful at times’ during her interview, but also ‘attempted to justify her actions.’
Cotton donned a pink Nantucket crew neck, black pants and glasses as she looked down at the floor on Thursday during her arraignment
Pictured: Homes on Martha’s Vineyard
Cotton pleaded guilty to her initial charges of assault and battery on a child with injury by a caregiver, and wanton or reckless behavior creating risk of serious bodily injury to a child.
After the little boy was declared dead she was officially charged with manslaughter. He died from complications with hypothermia, which left him brain dead before he officially died, The Vineyard Gazette reported.
Cotton donned a pink Nantucket crew neck, black pants and glasses as she looked down at the floor on Thursday during her arraignment.
When asked if she thought that leaving the children alone in the car was a risk, Cotton said if the temperature was different then it would have, MV Times reported.
She also noted that she left them in the car out of convenience and that it wasn’t the first time she did this. Cotton told the court she has left children alone at least five times before, according to the outlet.
‘Her inability to admit what happened and lie to the police, and admit that she knew what she was doing was wrong but not so wrong that she did not act upon it for the sake of convenience; conducting activities such as personal hygiene, and making bacon in the house, and putting her child’s hockey gear together, is an intentional callous disregard for human life,’ district attorney Leigh Scalice said.
Cotton posted a $21,000 bail, but was only allowed to do so on certain conditions, including wearing a GPS monitoring device and abiding by a curfew from 6pm – 6am.
She must also stay away from the child’s family and is no longer allowed to provide daycare or childcare services.
Cotton is due back in court on April 3 for a probable cause hearing.
