Court appearance set for mother, partner charged with child’s death following abuse over 20 years ago

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) - Robyn Noffsinger and David Raeford Tripp Jr. are set to appear in court on Friday, Sept. 8, in connection to the 2018 death of David Cody Stuart due to injuries dating back to 1997 in Longwood.

Noffsinger pleaded guilty to second degree murder on June 26, 2023, but her sentencing was concluded until the charges were resolved for Tripp. Tripp has also been charged with second degree murder.

Officials say that they were sentenced in the initial 1997 child abuse case involving then 15-month-old David. Stuart died in 2018; Noffsinger is Stuart’s birth mother, and she was dating Tripp at the time of the abuse.

Stuart, whose original last name was Rhinehart, was 22 when he died.

District Attorney Jon David has said that the beatings left Stuart permanently disabled, taking away his ability to walk and talk. A medical examiner found that he died due to his injuries from the 1997 assault.

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