A babysitter has been charged with manslaughter in the wealthy Massachusetts enclave of Martha's Vineyard after leaving two young children in her SUV for hours, one of whom died. Aimee Cotton, 41, allegedly cooked a meal for herself, attended to her personal hygiene, and handled some household chores while the girl, age 1, and the boy, 2 or 3, were left alone in the SUV in her driveway, per Fox News. She called police on the afternoon of March 13, reporting that the boy "was not breathing and turning blue," the outlet notes. He was taken to a local hospital, then airlifted to Massachusetts General Hospital in critical condition.
Cotton was arrested March 14 on charges of assault and battery on a child with injury and reckless endangerment, according to state police. A manslaughter charge was added after the child died March 19. Cotton had told police the children had been in her vehicle for no more than 15 minutes when she noticed the boy looked ill. But footage from a home surveillance camera showed neither child was taken out of the vehicle when Cotton arrived home around 9:15am. Cotton spent nearly three hours inside the home before returning to the vehicle, where she loaded the vehicle with her son's hockey gear over the next hour, per Fox.
Cotton's lawyer says the babysitter changed the boy's diaper and gave him a yogurt around 12:15pm, per the Vineyard Gazette. Footage shows she brought the 1-year-old into the home for about 10 minutes before both returned to the SUV, per Fox. That's when Cotton called 911. Police found her performing CPR on the boy, who was suffering from hypothermia, per WWLP and the Cape Cod Times. She eventually admitted this was the fifth time she'd left the kids in the vehicle for an extended period, according to prosecutors. She pleaded not guilty to manslaughter on Thursday, posted $21,000 bail, and was released with a GPS ankle monitor, per Fox. She faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. (More manslaughter stories.)
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