In 2016, "Days of Our Lives" fans watched Ava Vitali come to Salem in hopes of getting the attention of her former love Steve Johnson. Ava decided to use Steve's son, Joey Johnson (then James Lastovic), as a way to get close to him. She manipulated Joey's romantic feelings towards her and urged him to do some of her dirty work. All the while, Ava revealed to Steve that she found out the child they conceived together hadn't died. She told him that they'd had a son and that he was out in the world somewhere, and the two agreed to find him together. However, Ava's plots to break up Steve and Kayla Brady sent Joey over the edge, and he smothered her with a pillow while she was being treated in the hospital.

After Ava's death, Steve found information about his and Ava's son, eventually tracking Tripp down in Arizona, where he was working at a diner. Steve encouraged Tripp to come to Salem with him, and the young man met his family members, including stepmother Kayla and half-brother Joey. Tripp began to work as Kayla's assistant at the hospital and grew a connection with Joey, who worried that Tripp would find out he murdered his biological mother.

Tripp began to get suspicious about what really happened to Ava and believed that it was Kayla who had killed her and decided to seek revenge against her.