Nancy Jean Trottier arrested killing newborn baby Rebecca after 45 year secret after DNA testing links her to Sun Valley, North Dakota woods off school campus. DNA genealogy linked now 65-year-old Sun Lakes, Arizona woman as the infant’s child with woman confessing, ‘maybe it was me.’
She held a bold secret for 45 years and believed she had gotten away with it. But she was wrong…
A decades-old cold case out of Valley City, North Dakota has led to justice for a newborn killed at the hands of her then 21-year-old mother.
Nancy Jean Trottier, 65, a former Valley City resident now living in Sun Lakes, Arizona, has been arrested and charged with Class AA felony murder in the death of a newborn found in April 1981 on the Valley City State College campus where she had once been a student.
Breakthrough in ‘Baby Girl Rebecca’ 1981 cold case
At the time of the newborn’s death, the infant —later named ‘Baby Girl Rebecca’—was discovered in a wooded area. Investigators said her face was covered in plastic, the umbilical cord was still attached, and items with biological material, including tissue paper, were found nearby.
An autopsy determined the baby had been dead 24 to 72 hours, with the cause of death consistent with asphyxia. Investigators believe she was suffocated shortly after birth. The case went unsolved for decades.
In 2019, authorities reopened the case using advanced DNA and forensic genealogy. The remains were exhumed, and a DNA profile led investigators to Trottier.
New DNA technology links Nancy Trottier to Baby Rebecca
Court records say Trottier attended the college from 1978 to 1982 and was in a relationship with her boyfriend at the time, now her husband. During questioning in 2021, she allegedly said ‘maybe it was me’ after being told about the DNA connection, Valley News Live reported.
A final forensic report found it was approximately 3,481,000,000,000,000 times more likely the infant was the biological child of Trottier and her husband than an unrelated individual. Evidence from the scene contained DNA consistent with Trottier and the infant, while her husband was excluded from key items.
Trottier who was arrested last week was released from Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office custody and turned over to North Dakota authorities on Saturday.
The mother’s arrest led to one commentator on social media saying, ‘Can you imagine thinking that you’d gotten away with something for 45 years and the cops show up at your door to arrest you?’
Others meanwhile, including this author, wondered if it had been a relief that the then 21 year old had finally been arrested and forced to reckon with killing her newborn.
Trottier who appeared in court on Monday on charges of murder had bail set at $2 million surety or $750,000 cash. She remains in custody according to KXNET.
A preliminary hearing and arraignment are scheduled for May 21, 2026, at 1 p.m.
