A 65-year-old woman has been charged in the decades-old “Baby Rebecca” case from April 1981.
The case was first opened when a deceased infant was discovered in the woods near the Valley City State College campus in North Dakota.
The girl, who would later become known as Rebecca, was found with a plastic covering over her face and her umbilical cord still attached, according to a declaration of probable cause from the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Barnes County State’s Attorney Tonya Duffy confirmed during a press conference on April 13 that Nancy Jean Trottier had been charged in connection with the case. According to Duffy, Trottier, from Sun Lakes, Arizona, was charged with felony murder.
Trottier had previously been interviewed in connection with the case in 2021, according to case documents. During the interview, she had told authorities that “maybe it was me” when referring to the case.
For much of the decades-long investigation, law enforcement officers had been unable to name a suspect in the case or identify the deceased infant.
Rebecca had been given her name by authorities back in 1981, while her body was being interned. An autopsy determined that the infant showed signs of “acute asphyxia” and had been dead for approximately 24 to 72 hours.
During the investigation, items surrounding Rebecca’s body, which contained apparent biological material, were sent to the FBI.
The Valley City Police Department and the state investigators decided to revisit the case in 2019, using advancements in DNA technology.
After Rebecca was exhumed, extensive testing was conducted to identify possible relatives.
Trottier, who attended Valley City State College from 1978 to 1982, was one of the people questioned after the tests revealed a DNA link between the pair, the document says.
During the investigation, Trottier consented to giving a sample to law enforcement officers. Another sample was obtained from her husband through a search warrant.
The test found that it is 3.481 quadrillion times more likely that Rebecca is the biological child of Trottier and her husband than an unrelated individual.
Trottier’s DNA was also consistent with the biological material found near Rebecca’s body, which was handed over to the ND State Crime Lab in 2005. Her husband’s DNA was excluded from items found at the scene.
Trottier is currently being held at the Stutsman County Correctional Center, according to jail records. Her bond has been set at $750,000. According to online court records, a preliminary hearing and Trottier's arraignment is set to take place on May 21.
During a court hearing on April 13, Luke Heck, Trottier’s attorney, disputed Duffy’s claim that the case against his client was “strong.”
Lance Peterson, a longtime resident of Valley City, told KVLY that he was a high school senior when the case first began.
“She’s here now, we’re at the cemetery, " he continued. “Yeah, it’s good closure for Valley City.”
The Independent has contacted Luke Heck for comment.
