MANTEO, N.C. (WCBD) – Robert William McCaffrey Jr., the former husband of missing West Ashley woman Gayle McCaffrey, appeared in a North Carolina courtroom Tuesday after being charged in a separate homicide that occurred more than three decades ago in New Jersey.
McCaffrey is now accused of killing 27‑year‑old Lisa Marie McBride in 1990, according to newly obtained documents from North Carolina and New Jersey. The charge comes more than 20 years after Gayle McCaffrey disappeared from her West Ashley home in 2012, a case in which Robert McCaffrey was long considered a person of interest.
WATCH: Family, law enforcement react to Robert McCaffrey’s arrest
New DNA match reopens 1990 case
According to the documents, investigators used updated DNA technology earlier this year to re‑examine evidence collected from McBride’s bedroom in Vernon Township, New Jersey. In February 2026, a DNA profile developed from an item found on McBride’s bed produced a match to McCaffrey…