Topline: North Carolina authorities arrested Robert McCaffrey Jr. in a nearly 36-year-old New Jersey homicide after investigators said advances in DNA technology helped break the case.
Published: April 13, 2026 12:40 pm ET
Shawn Fletcher
Committed to the craft of journalism and am driven by my desire to inform and inspire.
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Robert McCaffrey
Dare County Sheriff's Office
Dare County Sheriff's Office
VERNON TOWNSHIP, NJ — A North Carolina man whose wife has been missing since 2012 has been arrested in the 1990 killing of Lisa Marie McBride in Sussex County, New Jersey.
People reported that Robert William McCaffrey Jr., 54, was arrested at about 8 p.m. Friday in Manteo, North Carolina, in connection with McBride’s killing and now faces first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and second-degree burglary charges.
According to the Vernon Police Department and the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office, McBride was 27 when she disappeared on or about June 23, 1990, in Vernon Township.
People reported that McBride was reported missing after she did not answer the phone following an evening in New York City. According to the New Jersey Herald, neighbors saw her enter her home in Vernon Township at about 2 a.m. on June 23, and investigators believe that was the last time she was seen alive.
According to the New Jersey Herald, McBride’s brother went to her house after she failed to show up for work that morning. Police found that a telephone line had been cut from outside the home and that there were two slits in a window screen.
Authorities said McBride’s remains were found about four months later, on Oct. 20, 1990, in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in Sandyston, New Jersey.
According to People, investigators exhumed McBride’s body in 2022 for new testing. Sussex County Prosecutor Daniel Perez said the decades-old cold case was solved through significant advancements in DNA technology combined with what he described as relentless investigative work.
Perez said investigators from the New Jersey State Police, the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office and the Vernon Township Police Department helped develop the case. NBC New York reported that a 17-member task force had investigated McBride’s disappearance over the years with assistance from the FBI.
Authorities said McCaffrey was apprehended by a multistate task force in Dare County, North Carolina. He is being held in Dare County pending extradition to Sussex County, New Jersey.
According to NBC New York, McCaffrey previously lived in both Charleston County, South Carolina, and Sussex County, New Jersey. The station also reported investigators have not said publicly whether they believe McCaffrey knew McBride.
The arrest came while McCaffrey’s wife, Marjorie “Gayle” McCaffrey, remains missing in a separate South Carolina case. People reported that Robert McCaffrey told authorities he and his wife argued the night before she disappeared on March 17, 2012, and said he drove to South Carolina’s Upstate region before returning the next day to find her gone.
According to the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, McCaffrey later claimed he found a farewell letter, but detectives determined the letter had been fabricated. Authorities charged him with obstruction of justice after concluding he lied about multiple parts of the investigation.
People reported that McCaffrey was convicted on the obstruction charge and released in 2023. Live 5 reported he was sentenced to 10 years in prison on that case, and detectives continue to investigate Gayle McCaffrey’s disappearance as a homicide even though her body has not been found.
Authorities said anyone with information about the Lisa McBride case can contact the Vernon Police Department Detective Bureau at 973-764-6155 or email coldcase@vernonpolice.com. The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office has asked anyone with information about Gayle McCaffrey’s disappearance to contact Detective Barry Goldstein at 843-554-2241 or email tips@charlestoncounty.org.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
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Husband of Missing Woman Arrested in 1990 New Jersey Cold Case Homicide
North Carolina authorities arrested Robert McCaffrey Jr. in a nearly 36-year-old New Jersey homicide after investigators said advances in DNA technology helped break the case.
By Shawn Fletcher
Published: April 13, 2026 12:40 pm ET
Robert McCaffrey
Dare County Sheriff's Office
Dare County Sheriff's Office
VERNON TOWNSHIP, NJ — A North Carolina man whose wife has been missing since 2012 has been arrested in the 1990 killing of Lisa Marie McBride in Sussex County, New Jersey.
People reported that Robert William McCaffrey Jr., 54, was arrested at about 8 p.m. Friday in Manteo, North Carolina, in connection with McBride’s killing and now faces first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and second-degree burglary charges.
According to the Vernon Police Department and the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office, McBride was 27 when she disappeared on or about June 23, 1990, in Vernon Township.
People reported that McBride was reported missing after she did not answer the phone following an evening in New York City. According to the New Jersey Herald, neighbors saw her enter her home in Vernon Township at about 2 a.m. on June 23, and investigators believe that was the last time she was seen alive.
According to the New Jersey Herald, McBride’s brother went to her house after she failed to show up for work that morning. Police found that a telephone line had been cut from outside the home and that there were two slits in a window screen.
Authorities said McBride’s remains were found about four months later, on Oct. 20, 1990, in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in Sandyston, New Jersey.
According to People, investigators exhumed McBride’s body in 2022 for new testing. Sussex County Prosecutor Daniel Perez said the decades-old cold case was solved through significant advancements in DNA technology combined with what he described as relentless investigative work.
Perez said investigators from the New Jersey State Police, the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office and the Vernon Township Police Department helped develop the case. NBC New York reported that a 17-member task force had investigated McBride’s disappearance over the years with assistance from the FBI.
Authorities said McCaffrey was apprehended by a multistate task force in Dare County, North Carolina. He is being held in Dare County pending extradition to Sussex County, New Jersey.
According to NBC New York, McCaffrey previously lived in both Charleston County, South Carolina, and Sussex County, New Jersey. The station also reported investigators have not said publicly whether they believe McCaffrey knew McBride.
The arrest came while McCaffrey’s wife, Marjorie “Gayle” McCaffrey, remains missing in a separate South Carolina case. People reported that Robert McCaffrey told authorities he and his wife argued the night before she disappeared on March 17, 2012, and said he drove to South Carolina’s Upstate region before returning the next day to find her gone.
According to the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, McCaffrey later claimed he found a farewell letter, but detectives determined the letter had been fabricated. Authorities charged him with obstruction of justice after concluding he lied about multiple parts of the investigation.
People reported that McCaffrey was convicted on the obstruction charge and released in 2023. Live 5 reported he was sentenced to 10 years in prison on that case, and detectives continue to investigate Gayle McCaffrey’s disappearance as a homicide even though her body has not been found.
Authorities said anyone with information about the Lisa McBride case can contact the Vernon Police Department Detective Bureau at 973-764-6155 or email coldcase@vernonpolice.com. The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office has asked anyone with information about Gayle McCaffrey’s disappearance to contact Detective Barry Goldstein at 843-554-2241 or email tips@charlestoncounty.org.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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Editor Picks
Latest Articles
Husband of Missing Woman Arrested in 1990 New Jersey Cold Case Homicide
North Carolina authorities arrested Robert McCaffrey Jr. in a nearly 36-year-old New Jersey homicide after investigators said advances in DNA technology helped break the case.
By Shawn Fletcher
Published: April 13, 2026 12:40 pm ET
Robert McCaffrey
Dare County Sheriff's Office
Dare County Sheriff's Office
VERNON TOWNSHIP, NJ — A North Carolina man whose wife has been missing since 2012 has been arrested in the 1990 killing of Lisa Marie McBride in Sussex County, New Jersey.
People reported that Robert William McCaffrey Jr., 54, was arrested at about 8 p.m. Friday in Manteo, North Carolina, in connection with McBride’s killing and now faces first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and second-degree burglary charges.
According to the Vernon Police Department and the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office, McBride was 27 when she disappeared on or about June 23, 1990, in Vernon Township.
People reported that McBride was reported missing after she did not answer the phone following an evening in New York City. According to the New Jersey Herald, neighbors saw her enter her home in Vernon Township at about 2 a.m. on June 23, and investigators believe that was the last time she was seen alive.
According to the New Jersey Herald, McBride’s brother went to her house after she failed to show up for work that morning. Police found that a telephone line had been cut from outside the home and that there were two slits in a window screen.
Authorities said McBride’s remains were found about four months later, on Oct. 20, 1990, in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in Sandyston, New Jersey.
According to People, investigators exhumed McBride’s body in 2022 for new testing. Sussex County Prosecutor Daniel Perez said the decades-old cold case was solved through significant advancements in DNA technology combined with what he described as relentless investigative work.
Perez said investigators from the New Jersey State Police, the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office and the Vernon Township Police Department helped develop the case. NBC New York reported that a 17-member task force had investigated McBride’s disappearance over the years with assistance from the FBI.
Authorities said McCaffrey was apprehended by a multistate task force in Dare County, North Carolina. He is being held in Dare County pending extradition to Sussex County, New Jersey.
According to NBC New York, McCaffrey previously lived in both Charleston County, South Carolina, and Sussex County, New Jersey. The station also reported investigators have not said publicly whether they believe McCaffrey knew McBride.
The arrest came while McCaffrey’s wife, Marjorie “Gayle” McCaffrey, remains missing in a separate South Carolina case. People reported that Robert McCaffrey told authorities he and his wife argued the night before she disappeared on March 17, 2012, and said he drove to South Carolina’s Upstate region before returning the next day to find her gone.
According to the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, McCaffrey later claimed he found a farewell letter, but detectives determined the letter had been fabricated. Authorities charged him with obstruction of justice after concluding he lied about multiple parts of the investigation.
People reported that McCaffrey was convicted on the obstruction charge and released in 2023. Live 5 reported he was sentenced to 10 years in prison on that case, and detectives continue to investigate Gayle McCaffrey’s disappearance as a homicide even though her body has not been found.
Authorities said anyone with information about the Lisa McBride case can contact the Vernon Police Department Detective Bureau at 973-764-6155 or email coldcase@vernonpolice.com. The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office has asked anyone with information about Gayle McCaffrey’s disappearance to contact Detective Barry Goldstein at 843-554-2241 or email tips@charlestoncounty.org.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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