North Carolina man dies 20 years after abuse, parents charged with murder
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.
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.
"He was always happy," his coach, Kellie, said. "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."
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.
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