Prosecutors in North Carolina say a couple who severely abused their son when he was an infant are responsible for his death — 21 years later.

Robyn Lynn Noffsinger and David Raefore Tripp Jr. spent 12 years in prison on child abuse charges after their 15-month-old was taken to the hospital April 11, 1997, with a broken arm, head trauma and burned skin on his backside and genitals, the Raleigh News & Observer reported.

The boy, whose name — David Cody Rhinehart — was changed to David Elei Stuart when he was adopted after the incident, was blinded by the attack, grew to be only 4 feet tall and was never able to say words.

When he got to the emergency room 21 years ago, he was so gravely hurt that doctors thought he’d have “no thinking process for the rest of his life,” Jacob Ward, a Brunswick County prosecutor, said Tuesday.

Stuart died March 6 and the medical examiner determined that the injuries he sustained as a child ultimately led to his death.

His biological parents were charged with first-degree murder Monday.

Noffsinger and Tripp were a couple in 1997 but are no longer together. If convicted, they face the death penalty or life in prison without parole. They are being held on $1 million bond each.

“This young man did have a remarkable quality of life notwithstanding the grievous injuries that were inflicted on him so long ago,” Brunswick County District Attorney Jon David said.

Prosecutors commended the two women from Durham who adopted the boy.

“They took on a child who … needed round-the-clock care,” David said. “They provided the best quality of life he could’ve hoped for under the circumstances.”