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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.
Nancy Jean Trottier, of Sun Lakes, Arizona, appeared in court Monday in Barnes County after investigators linked her through DNA to the infant known for decades only as “Rebecca,” Valley News Live in North Dakota reported.
The newborn’s body was discovered on April 16, 1981, in a wooded area behind a dorm on the Valley City State College campus. The baby still had her umbilical cord attached, and a plastic covering had been placed over her face.
An autopsy determined the infant had been born alive about three days before her body was discovered, and that she died from acute asphyxia, consistent with suffocation, the outlet reported.
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For years, investigators had no suspect and no identity for the child. Police gave the baby the name “Rebecca” before she was buried.
The case was reopened in 2019 after advances in DNA technology. Authorities exhumed the child’s remains and used genetic genealogy to track down possible relatives.
The investigation eventually led to Trottier, who attended the college from 1978 to 1982.
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During a 2021 interview, Trottier reportedly became emotional and told investigators, “maybe it was me” and “It could be, maybe it was me,” according to court documents obtained by Valley News Live and KVLY-TV.
DNA results returned in 2023 provided a breakthrough.
Investigators said it is 3.481 quadrillion times more likely that Trottier and her husband are the biological parents of the infant than unrelated individuals, the outlets reported. DNA consistent with Trottier was also found on tissue paper recovered at the scene.
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Trottier now faces a Class AA felony murder charge. She was being held on $750,000 bond, according to online court records.
She is scheduled to return to court for a preliminary hearing and arraignment on May 21.
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