Robert William McCaffrey Jr. also has a conviction tied to his missing wife’s case.

NEWTON, N.J. — A North Carolina man once convicted in his wife’s disappearance has pleaded not guilty in New Jersey to charges that he kidnapped and killed Lisa Marie McBride in 1990 after a DNA match revived the cold case.

Robert William McCaffrey Jr., 54, of Manteo, North Carolina, faces first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and second-degree burglary charges in the death of McBride, a 27-year-old Vernon Township woman whose remains were found four months after she vanished. The case had sat unresolved for nearly 36 years before investigators said newer DNA testing, older case files and a multistate arrest effort led them to McCaffrey. He is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Sussex County Prosecutor Daniel M. Perez said investigators from his office, the New Jersey State Police, Vernon Township police and the Dare County Sheriff’s Office arrested McCaffrey at about 8 p.m. April 10 in North Carolina. Perez said the arrest marked “long-awaited progress toward justice for the family of Lisa Marie McBride.” McCaffrey formerly lived in Sussex County, New Jersey, and Charleston County, South Carolina, authorities said. He was later extradited to New Jersey, where he entered not-guilty pleas on April 20 before a Sussex County judge.

The case began early June 23, 1990, after McBride returned home to Highland Lakes from a night out with friends. Investigators said she had stopped at Big John’s Pub on Old Route 23 in Newfoundland after attending a concert in New York City. Police reports later said she left the pub about 1:15 a.m. because she had to work later that day. When she failed to answer calls and did not appear at work, her brother went to her Glen Road home. Officers later reported a cut telephone line, a damaged window screen, disorder inside the house and bedding missing from the bed.

A hunter found McBride’s remains at about 9:30 a.m. Oct. 20, 1990, in Sandyston, near the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. She was identified through dental records, and her death was ruled a homicide. Authorities said the condition of the remains limited what investigators could determine then. The original inquiry included hundreds of interviews and a 17-member task force with FBI assistance. McBride’s family kept public attention on the case for years. Her father, George McBride, told a local newspaper in 2003 that the family thought of her on holidays, birthdays and every day.

Investigators reopened key parts of the case years later as DNA science improved. Court records cited in the case say evidence from the headboard area of McBride’s bed was submitted for testing in 2020. In 2022, McBride’s remains were exhumed so investigators could obtain a clearer DNA sample for comparison. Authorities said a CODIS hit in February 2026 identified DNA as belonging to McCaffrey. They also said they confirmed he had lived in Sussex County at the time McBride disappeared. Prosecutors have described the DNA work as central to the arrest but have not released every forensic detail publicly.

The New Jersey charges have drawn attention to a separate South Carolina case involving McCaffrey’s wife, Marjorie “Gayle” McCaffrey. She was last seen at the couple’s West Ashley home near Charleston on March 17, 2012, and Robert McCaffrey reported her missing the next day. Investigators said he told officers the couple had argued, he drove Upstate and returned to find her gone. In 2014, he was charged with obstruction of justice after authorities said he gave false information, including a fabricated farewell letter. He was convicted in 2019 and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was released in 2023.

Gayle McCaffrey was declared dead in 2018, but her body has never been found. A murder charge was filed against Robert McCaffrey in that case, but a Charleston County grand jury declined to indict him, and the charge was dropped. The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office has said the case remains under investigation as a homicide. Gayle’s relatives have said they still want answers. Her sister, Helen Banach, said the New Jersey arrest shocked the family but also gave McBride’s relatives a possible path toward justice after decades of uncertainty.

At a detention hearing after McCaffrey’s return to New Jersey, Sussex County Superior Court Judge Janine Allen ordered him held pending trial. The judge cited concerns about community safety, court appearance and possible obstruction of the criminal justice process. Prosecutors said a witness identified by initials told investigators McCaffrey had spoken about killing McBride years earlier. Defense attorney Thomas Militano challenged the meaning of the DNA evidence and questioned parts of the medical findings. Allen found probable cause for the charges, a lower legal standard than proof required at trial.

Court filings also described items investigators sought after McCaffrey’s arrest, including McBride’s wallet, purse, key chain, driver’s license and credit cards, which authorities believe may have been kept as trophies. A search of McCaffrey’s North Carolina home and vehicle found a laptop in a crawl space, two black hatchets and three guns, according to reports on court documents. Authorities have not said those items are tied to McBride’s death. McCaffrey remained jailed at the Morris County Correctional Facility as the case moved toward a pre-indictment conference scheduled for 1:30 p.m. May 18 in Sussex County Superior Court.

Author note: Last updated 2026-05-05.