Alma Noffsinger

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Paulding County Sheriffs Office (OH)

Offense Location:

Oakwood, Ohio

Summary:

On December 17, 1981, 29-year-old Alma Noffsinger, also known as Alma Rosa Delgado, was found murdered in her home on North Fifth Street in Oakwood, Ohio. Alma died of injuries to her head, and her death was ruled a homicide. A Paulding County jury found Steve Noffsinger not guilty of killing his former wife three decades ago. The case remains officially unsolved.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Offense:

On Dec. 17, 1981, a neighbor noticed that Alma's front door had been open all morning. Concerned, she walked inside Alma's house, calling out for her when, to her horror, she came upon a lifeless Alma lying face-down in her bed. The medical examiner at the time was unable to determine the time of death. Detectives at the house discovered no signs of forced entry, no indication of sexual assault, nothing stolen or disturbed, and the front door was left ajar. She had severe injuries to her head, defensive wounds to her arms, and one of her hands was broken. Alma was last seen alive two days before her body was found on a blood-soaked mattress in her bedroom.

Additional Details:

Alma, who was 29, had three young children, including Woz Flint. Alma had been married twice. She was first married to David Delgado and had two children with him to which David had custody. Her second marriage was to Steve Noffsinger. They had a young boy together and had divorced the previous May. Alma Noffsinger, 29, was an attractive, fun-loving mother of three young children. She was recently divorced from her second husband, Steve, and the two were in a custody battle over the child they had together. Throughout Alma's marriage to Steve, she maintained a good relationship with her first husband, David, the father of her two older children. David's new girlfriend was reportedly unhappy with their close contact. Once they ruled out her first husband, the investigative team turned their attention on Steve Noffsinger, Alma's second husband whom she had divorced seven months earlier. Steven was known to carry a heavy stick in his vehicle for work, detectives learned. A second key element to solving the case was a statement from Alma's neighbor and friend Mary Kay Karnes, who discovered the body and who said Alma had told her ex-husband that because of his control and abuse against her, Alma was no longer allowing Steven to see Ryan, the son they had together, except for pre-arranged visits. The case went unsolved for over three decades. The television network TNT recently came to Paulding County, to film an episode of their series "Cold Justice". That episode is set to air Friday August 8th, but before it could, a man was arrested in connection with that crime. The Defiance Police Department, assisted by Paulding County Sheriff's Office arrested Steven Noffsinger on Friday. He was arrested on a warrant indictment for aggravated murder. Noffsinger says he was incarcerated for 264 days before a five-day jury trial resulted in the not-guilty verdict. On Friday, a jury returned a verdict of not guilty after more than five hours of deliberation. Noffsinger was acquitted of both charges.

Case Last Updated:

Apr 23, 2026