Columbus County murder case ends with three consecutive life sentences in 2019 Whiteville family shootings
Three life terms imposed after convictions in 2019 killings
A Columbus County man has been sentenced to three consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole following convictions for three counts of first-degree murder tied to a 2019 shooting that killed a Whiteville-area family. The court also imposed an additional prison term of 207 to 261 months for an attempted murder conviction arising from the same incident.
The sentence concludes a prosecution stemming from a September 2019 attack in which three relatives were killed and a fourth family member survived with injuries. The victims who died were Leonel Ciprian-Noyoloa, 29; Nancy Trujillo-Espinoza, 25; and their 5-year-old son, Alexis Ciprian-Trujillo. A grandmother, Rafaela Noyola, was shot and survived.
Trial outcomes and charges
The defendant, Prentis Deshawne McDuffie, was convicted after a trial in Columbus County that lasted about three weeks. Jurors found him guilty on three first-degree murder counts and one count of assault inflicting serious bodily injury with intent to kill, based on the surviving victim’s injuries. The life sentences were ordered to run consecutively, meaning the terms are stacked rather than served at the same time.
Investigators previously charged two men in the case. The co-defendant, Darieus Rashad Washington, was tried separately and convicted earlier; he received three life sentences without parole. Public records describing Washington’s conviction indicate the case was prosecuted as a robbery connected to the 2019 killings and the grandmother’s severe injuries, with the proceedings held in Whiteville.
What “three consecutive life sentences” means in North Carolina
In North Carolina, first-degree murder is punishable by life imprisonment without parole unless the death penalty is sought and applicable. When multiple first-degree murder convictions are returned, sentencing courts may order those life terms to run consecutively. In practice, consecutive life-without-parole sentences function as a formal accounting of multiple homicide convictions and ensure separate punishment is attached to each count.
Case timeline at a glance
September 2019: Shooting leaves three family members dead and a fourth wounded in the Whiteville area.
February 2020: Two defendants are charged in connection with the case.
March 2025: Co-defendant is convicted in a separate proceeding and receives three life-without-parole sentences.
September 2025: McDuffie is convicted and sentenced to three consecutive life-without-parole terms, plus 207–261 months for attempted murder.
The sentencing outcome reflects separate punishment for each first-degree murder conviction, along with an additional term tied to the surviving victim.
Both convictions close a major Columbus County prosecution rooted in a single event that resulted in three deaths and one survivor. Further appellate activity, if filed, would proceed through North Carolina’s appellate courts under standard post-conviction timelines.