Insets, left to right: Robert William McCaffrey Jr. (Charleston Co. Detention Center) and Lisa Marie McBride (Charleston County Sheriff's Office). Background: Authorities outside McBride's home after her disappearance (WCIV).
A 54-year-old man in North Carolina who was once the primary suspect in his wife's 2012 disappearance is accused of killing another woman in New Jersey decades earlier, allegedly abducting the 27-year-old victim from her home and killing her before burying her remains in the woods.
Robert William McCaffrey Jr. was taken into custody last week and charged with one count each of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, and second-degree burglary in the 1990 slaying of Lisa Marie McBride, authorities announced.
The arrest comes several years after McCaffrey was released from prison for obstructing justice in connection with the disappearance of his wife, Gayle McCaffrey, who went missing in March 2012 and was declared dead in 2018. Her body has never been found.
The Sussex County Prosecutor's Office said McCaffrey was apprehended Friday evening in Manteo, North Carolina, by a multistate task force and is being held pending extradition to back to New Jersey, according to a report from Charleston, South Carolina, CBS affiliate WCSC.
Investigators allege McBride was last seen alive in the early morning hours of June 23, 1990, after returning home to her residence in Vernon Township following a night out with friends. McBride reportedly arrived home shortly before 2 a.m. and was seen entering the residence — which marked the last time she was seen alive.
When McBride failed to answer repeated phone calls later that morning, a concerned co-worker contacted her brother, the Daily Voice reported. The brother went to McBride's home and discovered suspicious conditions inside, prompting a call to law enforcement.
Responding officers found signs consistent with a possible forced entry and struggle, including a cut telephone line, damage to a window screen, and items in disarray throughout the home. The bed had also been stripped and McBride was nowhere to be found.
Authorities launched an extensive investigation that included hundreds of interviews, but the case remained unsolved for decades.
On Oct. 20, 1990, a hunter discovered skeletal remains in a wooded area of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Charleston ABC affiliate WCIV reported. The remains were later identified as McBride through dental records. Her death was ruled a homicide, though the condition of her remains limited the amount of forensic evidence available.
Prosecutors said the break in the case came thanks to significant advancements in DNA technology, along with renewed investigative efforts by detectives from the New Jersey State Police, the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office, and the Vernon Township Police Department.
In 2022, authorities reportedly exhumed McBride's remains and submitted evidence for advanced forensic testing, which identified McCaffrey as a suspect.
Officials have not publicly detailed the specific nature of the DNA evidence but described it as a critical breakthrough in the case. Authorities also reportedly provided some details to the family of McCaffrey's wife.
"They said the case against him is very strong," Gayle McCaffrey's sister, Helen Banach, told The Post and Courier. "Evidently, his DNA was found in the house and on her person, so that is wonderful. It's horrible, but it's wonderful for her family. They can finally get some closure after 30-some-odd years."
McCaffrey, who previously lived in Sussex County, New Jersey, and Charleston County, South Carolina, was located in Manteo, North Carolina, where he was arrested without incident. He is currently being held in Dare County while awaiting extradition proceedings.
McCaffrey's arrest comes years after he was convicted in an unrelated case stemming from the disappearance of his wife in South Carolina.
In that case, McCaffrey reported his wife missing in March 2012 after claiming the couple had argued and he left their home. He later told investigators he returned to find her gone and discovered a typed "farewell" letter indicating she had left voluntarily.
Investigators determined the letter had been fabricated and that McCaffrey had provided false and misleading statements during the investigation. He was ultimately convicted of obstruction of justice and handed the maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. He was released in 2023.
Authorities emphasized that the New Jersey homicide case is separate from the disappearance of his wife, which remains an open investigation.
Officials have not said when McCaffrey will be extradited to New Jersey or when he is expected to make his first court appearance on the charges.
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