Valley City ND (Valley News Live) – A 65-year-old Arizona woman is in custody in North Dakota, charged with murder in the 1981 death of a newborn infant whose body was found on the campus of Valley City State College more than four decades ago.

Nancy Jean Trottier, of Sun Lakes, Ariz., made her initial appearance Monday in Barnes County court. She faces a Class AA felony murder charge, the most serious felony classification in North Dakota, in connection with the death of a newborn girl on or around April 13, 1981.

A preliminary hearing and arraignment is scheduled for May 21, 2026, at 1 p.m.

What happened in 1981

On April 16, 1981, a deceased newborn girl was found in a wooded area behind 265 Viking Drive on the Valley City State College campus. The infant had a plastic covering over her face, and her umbilical cord still attached.

An autopsy conducted the following day found the infant had been alive at birth and died from acute asphyxia, consistent with suffocation. Valley City police named the infant “Rebecca” when she was interred.

For decades, investigators followed numerous leads but could not identify the baby or a suspect.

DNA cracked the case

In 2019, advances in DNA technology prompted investigators with the Valley City Police Department and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation to reopen the case.

Rebecca’s body was exhumed in July 2019. DNA extracted from her remains was sent to third-party labs for familial and genealogical analysis.

By August 2020, investigators had received a genetic genealogy report pointing to possible relatives of Rebecca. That investigation eventually led to Trottier.

In an October 2021 interview, Trottier, who attended Valley City State College from 1978 to 1982, became emotional and told investigators, “maybe it was me” and “It could be, maybe it was me,” according to the affidavit.

Trottier consented to providing a DNA sample. Her husband’s DNA was collected separately via search warrant in December 2021.

In June 2023, the North Dakota State Crime Lab returned results. According to the affidavit, 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 from the general population.

DNA consistent with Trottier’s profile was also found on tissue paper recovered from the scene in 1981.

What’s next

Trottier’s preliminary hearing and arraignment is set for May 21, 2026, at 1 p.m. before Judge Nicholas Thornton in Barnes County.

This story will be updated as the case develops.

Previously Reported:

Valley City ND (Valley News Live) – Barnes County State’s Attorney Tonya Duffy will announce a formal charge filed in a 1981 cold case during a press conference Monday morning.

Duffy will be joined by Attorney General Drew H. Wrigley, Assistant Attorney General Jessica Zaleski and law enforcement involved in the investigation.

The press conference is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Regional Technology Center, 415 Winter Show Road SE in Valley City.

The event will not be live streamed.