US EditionArizona woman charged with killing newborn child 45 years after body was found
Investigators linked the baby to Trottier through genetic genealogy and DNA testing, with results showing a 3.481 quadrillion-to-1 match, court documents said.
- On Monday, April 13, 2026, Barnes County State's Attorney Tonya Duffy formally charged 65-year-old Nancy Jean Trottier with murder in the 1981 death of a newborn infant known as 'Baby Rebecca' found in Valley City, North Dakota.
- Investigators reopened the cold case in 2019 using advanced DNA technology, eventually linking remains to Trottier, who told investigators, "Maybe it was me," during a 2021 interview according to court documents.
- DNA analysis showed it is 3.481 quadrillion times more likely that Rebecca was the biological child of Trottier and her husband than an unrelated individual, according to court documents.
- Judge Nicholas Thornton set bail at $2 million during Monday's initial court appearance, while Trottier's attorney, Luke Heck, argued she poses no flight risk and lacks criminal history.
- A preliminary hearing and arraignment are scheduled for May 21, 2026, as North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley emphasized that justice for the infant continues forward.
20 Articles
20 Articles
Woman Arrested for Murder After DNA Links Her to Newborn Found Dead on a College Campus 45 Years Ago
A woman has been arrested 45 years after her newborn baby was found dead on a college campus in North Dakota, according to online jail records viewed by PEOPLE and multiple reports. Nancy Jean Trotter faces one count of murder in connection with the 1981 incident.
Arizona woman charged with killing newborn child 45 years after body was found – Democratic Accent
More than four decades after a newborn girl was found suffocated and abandoned on a North Dakota college campus, authorities say DNA technology has finally led to a murder charge against a 65-year-old Arizona woman. Nancy Jean Trottier, of Sun Lakes, Arizona, appeared in court Monday in Barnes County after investigators linked her through DNA to the infant known for decades only as “Rebecca,” Valley News Live in North Dakota reported. The newbor…
Arizona woman charged with murdering her newborn in 45-year-old cold case: ‘Maybe it was me’
Nancy Jean Trottier was arrested on April 7 for the murder of the baby, named "Rebecca" by police, who was found on the Valley City State College campus about 100 miles outside of Bismarck, North Dakota, in 1981
Elderly Woman Arrested for Suffocating Her Newborn Decades Ago, Police Allege
A 65-year-old woman from Arizona is finally facing justice decades after she allegedly suffocated her newborn baby to death and tossed her in the woods at a North Dakota college campus. Nancy Jean Trottier was arrested April 7 for the alleged…
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