A case that remained cold for nearly 45 years has finally found a suspect. Nancy Jean Trottier, a woman living in Arizona, was recently arrested in connection with the killing of a newborn in North Dakota. For many years, there simply wasn’t enough evidence or information to make any real headway with finding out who killed and abandoned the baby. But thanks to the advances of DNA technology, over the last six years, investigators have been able to put the pieces together and figure out who was connected to the baby. And now, Trottier will face the consequences for what she allegedly did.
The woman appeared in court exactly 45 years later.
Trottier appeared in Barnes County court in North Dakota on April 13, 2026, Valley News Live reported. She faces a Class AA felony murder charge, which is the highest murder charge a person in North Dakota can get.
It is believed that Trottier killed the newborn baby girl on or around April 13, 1981. A judge set her bond at $750,000 cash or $2,000,000 through a surety bond. The 65-year-old, who currently lives in Arizona, must submit to GPS location monitoring at her own expense as a condition of her release.
Here’s what we know happened.
On April 16, 1981, a deceased newborn baby girl was found in a wooded area of the Valley City State College campus in North Dakota. Her umbilical cord was still attached, and she had plastic over her face.
A day later, an autopsy was performed, and it was determined that the baby had been born alive. The baby girl died from acute asphyxia, a sign of suffocation. Before they buried her, the police named her “Rebecca.”
For decades, despite following various leads, they were unable to identify the baby girl or a suspect.
Advances in DNA really gave the police what they needed to find a suspect.
In 2019, investigators used that advancement to reopen Rebecca’s case, KOLD reported. They exhumed her body that July, and parts of her DNA were sent to labs for familial and genealogical analysis.
A genetic genealogy report that pointed to possible relatives was released in August 2020. Those findings led to Trottier.
The DNA results were returned by the North Dakota State Crime Lab in 2023, which confirmed the likelihood that Rebecca was Trottier’s baby.
According to investigators, it’s statistically impossible that the biological parents are anyone but Trottier and her husband.
Trottier attended Valley City State College from 1978 to 1982.
People reviewed the probable cause affidavit after Trottier’s arrest. The woman was interviewed in 2021, and allegedly told investigators, “Maybe it was me,” and “It could be, maybe it was me.” In December 2021, Trottier agreed to provide a DNA sample, as did her husband.
A forensic report from 2023 indicated that Trottier’s DNA matched DNA found on tissue paper recovered from the scene.
Trottier’s arraignment and a preliminary hearing have been scheduled for May 21, 2026, in Barnes County.
