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Arizona 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.
31 Articles
31 Articles
The discovery of a lifeless newborn in 1981 at Valley City State College campus marked one of the state’s most enigmatic cases
Fox 10 Phoenix
Arizona woman charged with killing newborn child 45 years after body was found
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.
Arizona woman charged in the 45-year-old cold case of a dead newborn after shocking breakthrough
One may think that a cold case that remains unsolved for 45 years may never be solved, but there’s always a slim chance that a breakthrough could happen at any moment. Such is the case with baby “Rebecca,” a newborn who was found dead in 1981 at the Valley City State College campus. Police have formally charged 65-year-old, Nancy Jean Trottier with the murder of the baby. The body of baby Rebecca was discovered 45 years ago. The body had been st…
Woman Charged with Murder of Newborn Found Dead 45 Years Ago
Law enforcement arrested a woman linked to the cold case of a baby found dead on a college campus in North Dakota 45 years ago. The post Woman Faces Murder Charge After DNA Links Her to Newborn Found Dead on College Campus 45 Years Ago appeared first on Breitbart.
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