‘Maybe it was me’: Woman charged decades after baby ‘Rebecca’ was found dead on college campus in 1981

VALLEY CITY, N.D. (KVLY/Gray News) – A woman in North Dakota was charged with murder decades after her newborn was found dead on a college campus in 1981, according to authorities.

On April 16, 1981, a newborn girl was found in a wooded area behind the Valley City State College campus. The infant had a plastic covering over her face, with 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.

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 Nancy Jean 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.

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

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