A toddler has died after allegedly being left for hours in an SUV on Martha's Vineyard by a babysitter, prosecutors said Thursday, announcing that a charge against the babysitter has been upgraded to manslaughter.
The child, a 2-year-old boy, died of his injuries at Massachusetts General Hospital on Thursday, according to the Cape & Island District Attorney's Office.
WATCH ANYTIME FOR FREE
 |
Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are. |
Aimee Cotton had previously been charged with assault and battery on a child with injury and reckless and endangerment, and was released on $2,800, with conditions, after her bail hearing.
Get updates on what's happening in Boston to your inbox. Sign up for our News Headlines newsletter.
It wasn't immediately clear if she had an attorney who could speak to the charges.
Investigators previously gave the child's age as 3 years old, and Cotton's as 40.
According to the arraignment report, Cotton called 911 last Thursday afternoon for help after finding the child, who she was babysitting, unresponsive in her vehicle in the driveway of her Oak Bluffs home. She initially told dispatchers that she had left the child in the car for around 15 minutes, buckled into a third-row car seat in her SUV.
When first responders arrived Cotton was performing CPR on the child, according to the report. The child, who was reported to be in grave condition, was rushed to the local emergency room and ultimately airlifted to MGH in critical condition.
According to the report, video evidence provided by the Nest camera at Cotton's home showed that she left the toddler, along with another child she babysits, in the car for an extended period of time. Cotton later admitted that the child had been in the car much longer than 15 minutes — closer to around three hours. Investigators said she also admitted that she did not give either child food, water or supervision during this period. When she found the child unresponsive, she called 911.
