Overview
- Julie and Matthew Rodenbaugh filed the civil complaint on Jan. 28 in Dukes County Superior Court, seeking at least $260,000 plus punitive damages and a jury trial.
- The suit alleges Aimee Cotton left 2-year-old Frank Rodenbaugh strapped in a vehicle for hours on March 13 with inadequate clothing, food, or water, leading to hypothermia and fatal cardiac arrest six days later.
- The complaint asserts Cotton misled first responders about the circumstances, which plaintiffs say delayed the child’s care.
- Police reports and home surveillance cited in coverage indicate the child remained in Cotton’s vehicle from about 9:22 a.m. to shortly after noon, contradicting her initial statement that he was left for roughly 15 minutes.
- In the parallel criminal case, Cotton was indicted in September, pleaded not guilty in October to manslaughter and child endangerment, remains free on $23,800 bail with GPS monitoring and no-contact conditions, and is due in court Feb. 18 for a pretrial conference.