A North Carolina couple who served more than a decade in prison for beating a toddler so badly that he became deaf and blind have been charged with murder now that the man has died 21 years later.
Robyn Lynn Noffsinger, 41, and her former boyfriend, 45-year-old David Raeford Tripp Jr, were in court Tuesday in Bolivia to face charges in the death of 21-year-old David Stuart.
Noffsinger was Stuart’s biological mother.
Brunswick County prosecutors said Stuart was severely beaten in 1997 but did not die until March 8, 2018.
Robyn Noffsinger (left), 41, and her ex-boyfriend David Tripp Jr (right), 45, who served 10 years prison for beating a boy so badly that he became blind have been charged with murder now that the man has died.
Noffsinger was Stuart’s (pictured) biological mother. Brunswick County prosecutors said Stuart was severely beaten in 1997 but did not die until March 8, 2018
Tripp pleaded guilty to child abuse in 1998 and served more than 10 years in prison. Noffsinger was convicted in 1998 and served more than 11 years in prison.
District Attorney Jon David said the injuries Stuart sustained as a child led to his early death.
According to WWAY, trial records show that on April 12, 1997, first responders took Stuart, who was then named David Cody Rhinehart, to the emergency room.
An EMS technician noticed bruises on the 15-month-old child and saw he was barely breathing.
The child had a head fracture, bruises, deformity on an arm and a leg, burns in the diaper region and the child was having seizures, according to a doctor’s report at the time.
Stuart, whose name was changed when he was adopted, was then transported to Duke Medical Center for surgery to relieve pressure on the brain.
When Stuart was 15 months old Stuart had a head fracture, bruises, deformity on an arm and a leg, burns in the diaper region and the child was having seizures. District Attorney Jon David said the injuries Stuart sustained as a child (left) led to his early death
Stuart’s (pictured with his adoptive family) severe injuries left him extremely impaired throughout his short-lived life
His severe injuries left him extremely impaired throughout his short-lived life.
During the trials for Noffsinger and Tripp, a pediatrician testified that the boy was in critical condition, comatose, and had been placed on life support.
Despite life-saving surgery on the child’s brain, his head injury caused severe brain damage.
Stuart was left deaf and blind from the brutal beatings he suffered.
A few days after Stuart died, his cousin, Charlotte, set up a GoFundMe account to raise money in memory of her relative.
According to Charlotte, David played baseball for the Miracle League of the Triangle, a nonprofit organization operating as a baseball league for children and adults with special needs.
A few days after Stuart died, his cousin, Charlotte (left), set up a GoFundMe account to raise money in memory of her relative
According to Charlotte, David played baseball for the Miracle League of the Triangle, a nonprofit organization operating as a baseball league for children and adults with special needs
‘David enjoyed playing baseball so much and we know he would love the idea of giving to this organization so families can experience the same joy he always did,’ Charlotte said on the GoFundMe account. Stuart had played baseball for 24 seasons
Stuart loved baseball and played for 24 seasons.
Charlotte wrote on the GoFundMe account that her ‘goal is to raise money in memory of my cousin, David’.
‘He always gave our family so much joy and love, so we know he would like to give to the miracle league of the triangle.
‘David enjoyed playing baseball so much and we know he would love the idea of giving to this organization so families can experience the same joy he always did,’ Charlotte added.
Bond was set at $1million each for Noffsinger and Tripp. Their next court date is June 6.