Man found guilty in 2019 Columbus County triple murder
WHITEVILLE, NC (WWAY) — A Columbus County man has been found guilty in the 2019 murders of a Whiteville family.
Prentis Deshawne McDuffie was convicted Tuesday on three counts of first-degree murder and one count of assault inflicting serious bodily injury with intent to kill following a three-week trial in Columbus County.
The case stems from a September 2019 shooting that left three family members dead, Leonel Ciprian-Noyoloa, 29, his wife, Nancy Trujillo-Espinoza, 25, son, Alexis Ciprian-Trujillo, 5. Leonel’s mother, Rafaela Noyola, was also shot but survived.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.
McDuffie and a co-defendant were charged in February 2020. Both faced three counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
In March 2025, the co-defendant was also found guilty and is currently serving three life sentences without the possibility of parole.
McDuffie was sentenced Wednesday to three consecutive life sentences without parole, plus an additional 207 to 261 months in prison for the attempted murder charge.
