Nancy Trottier, a 65-year-old teacher who dedicated four decades to helping children at the North Dakota School for the Deaf, was arrested on April 7 for an alleged crime she committed in the 1980s.
The case had gone cold until 2019, when investigators decided to revisit it using DNA technology.
During an October 2021 interview with police about her wrongdoing, Trottier avoided admitting guilt, giving answers such as “Maybe it was me” and “It could have been me.”
Netizen reaction to the development in the case has been mixed, with some siding with Trottier because of her experience as a special needs educator, and others labeling her “heartless.”
“Her conduct following the crime should be taken into consideration by prosecutors,” one said, while another asked, “How do you live with yourself?”
A teacher of special needs children was imprisoned following the reveal of her decades-old secret
Image credits: Stutsman County Correctional Center
Trottier was charged with the homicide of a child named Rebecca, who lost her life in 1981 at Valley City State College.
The infant was found with a plastic covering over her face and her umbilical cord attached, Valley News Live reported.
An autopsy determined the child was alive at birth and passed away from acute asphyxiation.
Image credits: ND School for the Deaf/Resource Center for Deaf/Hard of Hearing
Trottier attended Valley City State College from 1978 to 1982 and was 20 years old in 1981.
Police collected DNA samples from Trottier and her husband, whom she was dating at the time, in 2019, and testing determined they were the biological parents of Rebecca.
“The defendant’s DNA was also confirmed to be present on items found at the location where the victim was located, including on a fingernail clipper and other items that contained human blood,” attorney Tonya Duffy said during Trottier’s first court appearance on April 13.
Image credits: ND School for the Deaf/Resource Center for Deaf/Hard of Hearing
Duffy also revealed that when Trottier was scheduled to meet with the police to discuss the DNA results, she attempted to take her own life.
Trottier is being held at the Stutsman County Correctional Center on a $750,000 bond.
Her next court appearance is scheduled for May 21.
Image credits: Stutsman County Correctional Center
A Valley City local has shared his thoughts on the case.
“I was a senior in high school when this happened at the college. Our family was involved in this. We had a funeral home in Valley City,” Lance Peterson told a local news station.
“It’s been a long, trying ordeal. ” It’s closure for Valley City,” he added.
After allegedly ki**ing Rebecca, Trottier finished school and went on to have four more children with her husband.
Some social media users sought to contextualize Trottier’s actions, while others strongly condemned them
Image credits: 12 News
“I am not making excuses here, but in the ’80s, it was not acceptable to have a child out of wedlock. It wasn’t like today, where no one even bats an eye if a 15-year-old is pregnant,” one said.
“I think these kids giving birth alone must be under great stress. They must have no clue what their next course of action should be,” a second added.
“I think her life of helping children and having those four other children was her way of trying to atone for her past. We don’t know the dynamics of the household she grew up in,” shared a third.
Image credits: ND School for the Deaf/Resource Center for Deaf/Hard of Hearing
Someone countered this comment by writing, “I think the life you lead after you’ve m**dered someone is irrelevant.”
“How do you look at your four children and not want to d**?” another asked.
“Time to pay,” the next simply wrote.
The case bears similarities to a 2024 arrest of a 19-year-old
Image credits: Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
The U.S. Marshals Task Force worked with the Tampa Police Department to arrest a 19-year-old student, Brianna Moore, in connection with the passing of an infant found at the University of Tampa on April 28, 2024.
Image credits: Facebook / Eric Moore
The investigation began when university safety employees were alerted about a possible miscarriage on campus.
Further investigation led to the discovery of a baby’s body in a trash can, later identified as the suspect’s child.
Image credits: FOX NEWS
An autopsy determined that the infant lost their life as a result of asphyxia and multiple rib fractures.
Moore was charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child, child neglect with great bodily harm, failure to report a d**th, and unlawful storage of human remains.
She was initially held at the Lauderdale County Jail in Mississippi, pending extradition to Hillsborough County, Florida.
Image credits: Facebook / Eric Moore
Her trial was scheduled to begin on March 30, but was postponed indefinitely.
She has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
“Wonder if her husband assisted her. If so, he needs to be prosecuted as well,” a netizen wrote about Trottier’s case
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