Martha’s Vineyard father says toddler wailed ‘for Dada’ as nanny ‘tortured’ him before he died

A devastated Martha’s Vineyard father said his two-year-old son could be heard on video crying out for him after his nanny allegedly left him to die in the back of her car while she cooked and pampered herself.

Matt Rodenbaugh accused Aimee Cotton, 40, of torturing his son Frankie, who died of hypothermia days after being found unresponsive in his car seat, where he had been strapped for hours without food or water outside the babysitter’s Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, home last March, WBZ-TV reported.

The heartbreaking March 13, 2025, incident was allegedly captured on Cotton’s Nest camera.

“She tortured my child,” the grieving dad told the outlet, calling his spirited son a “mini-me.”

“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.”

Cotton – indicted in September on manslaughter and reckless endangerment charges – told police she spent three hours inside her house cooking bacon, managing her personal hygiene, and packing her son’s hockey bags while the toddler cried helplessly in her SUV, court documents show.

It wasn’t until she realized Frankie had stopped breathing that she called 911 and alerted his parents, who thought what happened to their son was a tragic incident until state police located the security video.

“We reviewed the video of the camera on the outside of the house,” Rodenbaugh told the outlet, recounting his conversation with police.

“We saw that Aimee came home at 9 something, she exited the vehicle and went into her house. 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.”

Rodenbaugh and his wife, Julie, were shocked when police arrested Cotton, a caregiver they had known for 10 years who came highly recommended and had looked after their daughter until she was three.

The grief-stricken dad said Cotton “was somebody really close to us and somebody we trusted.”

“She played Russian roulette with my son’s life every day apparently and he didn’t win this one,” Rodenbaugh fumed, declaring “Aimee killed my son.”

Cotton, who is free on bail, has reportedly pleaded not guilty to the charges and is currently awaiting trial.

Rodenbaugh, who filed a civil suit against her last month, is now warning parents to take every precaution and make certain their caregivers are looking after their children properly, the outlet reported.

“I think trust but verify is a big one,” he said.

“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. And listen to your kids.”