Abusive mom, boyfriend charged with murder 20 years later after son’s death is linked to childhood torture, beatings

A little over 20 years after suffering traumatic abuse as a toddler, a North Carolina man has died, and authorities say his death was directly linked to the gruesome beatings and torture his mother and her boyfriend dealt to him. They’re now both facing murder charges.

NBC 8 reports that David Stuart was only a year old when his mother, Robyn Noffsinger and her boyfriend at the time, David Tripp, broke his legs and arms, put him in boiling water, burned him, and dropped some form of toxic liquid, possibly bleach, into his eyes. The suspects ended up doing around 10 years in prison for child abuse charges.

Authorities removed David from the home as a toddler. Two psychologists, Beth Schmitt and Lori Stuart, adopted David in 1999. Under his new parents’ care, David received a wonderful life, albeit confined to a wheelchair and in need of 24-hour care and feeding tubes. Despite the obstacles, David’s parents took him on roller coasters, go-kart rides, road trips, and hot air balloon rides, making his childhood as enjoyable as possible.

David Stuart [Photo via GoFundMe]
On Tuesday, at the age of 22, David passed away, and prosecutors said that his death is linked directly to the horrific abuse he endured as a toddler.

“It was a tremendous amount of head trauma,” Jon David, Brunswick County’s District Attorney said. “His arm was pulled in such a way that he had a spiral fracture of his arm. He was dipped in hot liquids which produced a bad burn.”

Although doctors didn’t expect David to live past age six or seven and his survival for 22 years is considered a miracle, it doesn’t lessen the pain for Lori Stuart, who told The Herald Sun that since David was confined his entire life to a wheelchair, the people responsible for his confinement should be detained for life as well.

“I felt like, David has had his sentence his whole life. I am having my sentence without my son, so I think they should do their sentence.”

Both suspects remain behind bars on murder charges.

[Feature Photo: Robyn Noffsinger, David Tripp/Brunswick County Detention Center, Police Handout]