Robert McCaffrey, who was once a suspect in the disappearance of his wife, Gayle McCaffrey, in West Ashley, South Carolina, has been arrested in connection with the 1990 murder of a New Jersey woman.
Sussex County Prosecutor Daniel M. Perez announced that McCaffrey, 54, was arrested on Friday, April 10, in Manteo, North Carolina, in connection to the June 23, 1990, murder of Lisa Marie McBride.
McCaffrey was taken into custody by a multistate task force and is pending extradition to New Jersey, according to Perez. ABC News 4 reported that once he gets to New Jersey, McCaffrey will face charges of murder in the first degree, kidnapping in the first degree and burglary in the second degree.
McBride was reported missing on June 23, 1990, after people were unable to get in contact with her following a night out in New York City, according to the New Jersey Herald. She was last seen getting home in Vernon Township, New Jersey, around 2 a.m. Police later visited her home, where they found the lights on, no sheets on her bed, two slits in a window screen and noticed that the telephone line was cut from outside.
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Nearly four months later, McBride’s body was discovered by a hunter in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area on October 20, 1990.
McBride’s remains were exhumed and sent to be examined at Bode Technology in 2022, and “significant advancements in DNA technology” helped name McCaffrey as a suspect in the case.
It is not currently clear if McCaffrey has retained legal representation or entered a plea in light of his arrest. The Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office told Us Weekly they have no additional updates to share as of time of publication.
McCaffrey’s arrest comes 14 years after he reported Gayle missing when she disappeared on March 18, 2012. He told officers that they had an argument the night she was last seen. He said he drove upstate following their fight and she was gone when he returned home the next morning.
Gayle reportedly left behind a “farewell” letter, which law enforcement determined that McCaffrey fabricated. Investigators also determined that he lied about various elements of the investigation, and he was charged with obstruction of justice in connection to his wife’s disappearance.
Months after Gayle’s disappearance, McCaffrey moved to live with family near Charlotte, North Carolina, and began seeing someone else.
McCaffrey was arrested on a fugitive warrant for murder in March 2018. However, a Charleston County grand jury declined to indict him due to a lack of evidence presented by authorities.
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He was later sentenced to serve 10 years in prison for the 2014 obstruction charge, and he was released from prison in 2023.
Gayle’s disappearance has never been solved, and the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office said that detectives are still investigating the incident as a homicide, according to ABC News 4. Police have asked that anyone with information regarding her disappearance contact Detective Barry Goldstein at (843) 554-2241.
