22-year-old man dies 20 years after being abused, biological parents charged with murder

Thursday, April 12, 2018
BRUNSWICK COUNTY, North Carolina -- The biological parents of a 22-year-old man with disabilities who died last month are now facing murder charges in connection with his death.

The new charges come about 20 years after 45-year-old David Raeford Tripp Jr. and 41-year-old Robyn Lynn Noffsinger served time for abusing their son David.
[Ads /]
Authorities say the brutal injuries Tripp and Noffsinger inflicted on David resulted in his death.

He was diagnosed with battered child syndrome.

A court document listed the gruesome condition he was in when he arrived at the hospital 20 years ago.

A doctor testified that he observed, "That the child was not breathing, that he had a head fracture, abnormal pupil response, facial bruising, deformity on an arm and a leg, and a burned area in the diaper region, and that the child was having seizures."



He was later adopted by a Durham couple.

He couldn't walk, talk or do much on his own but he loved baseball and was able to play with the help of a buddy on the Miracle League.
[Ads /]
"He was always happy. And for someone that went through as much as he did in his life, for him to always be happy, I just feel like that was a really good lesson for adults," his coach Kellie told ABC11.

There is expected to be a ceremony for David on a North Raleigh field at the end of the month. His jersey will be retired.

Tripp and Noffsinger are being held on $1 million bond. The state is considering the death penalty in the case.
Copyright © 2025 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.