Husband of Missing Woman Arrested in Connection to Separate 36-Year-Old Homicide Cold Case

Authorities have arrested a 54-year-old man in connection with the 1990 kidnapping and murder of a New Jersey woman, ending a nearly 36-year search for justice. The suspect, Robert William McCaffrey Jr., is also the husband of another woman who has been missing for over a decade.

McCaffrey was taken into custody by local and state officials at approximately 8:00 p.m. on Friday, April 10, 2026, in Manteo, North Carolina. He currently faces charges of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, and second-degree burglary.

The charges stem from the June 1990 disappearance of Lisa Marie McBride, 27. McBride was last seen entering her Vernon Township, N.J., home in the early morning hours of June 23, 1990. When she failed to report for work later that morning, her brother discovered signs of a forced entry, including cut telephone lines and tampered window screens.

Hikers discovered McBride’s remains four months later in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. While the case remained cold for decades, a 2022 exhumation of her body allowed forensic experts to utilize modern genetic testing.

Sussex Prosecutor Daniel Perez confirmed that “significant advancements in DNA technology” were the catalyst for the breakthrough. “This arrest is the result of relentless investigative efforts combined with the evolution of forensic science,” Perez stated.

The arrest brings renewed scrutiny to McCaffrey’s past. His wife, Marjorie “Gayle” McCaffrey, vanished under suspicious circumstances on March 17, 2012, in South Carolina.

Robert McCaffrey originally told investigators that his wife disappeared following an argument. However, detectives later determined he had lied to authorities and fabricated a farewell letter purportedly written by Gayle. McCaffrey was convicted of obstructing justice in that investigation and was released from prison in 2023.

Gayle McCaffrey has never been found, and the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate her disappearance as a homicide.