McCaffrey to be extradited to New Jersey for 1990 murder 

By Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice on April 14, 2026

Manteo resident was extradited to South Carolina in 2018 as suspect in wife’s murder

By Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice

Robert McCaffrey Jr.

Manteo resident Robert McCaffrey Jr., the man arrested on April 10 for the murder of a New Jersey woman in 1990, has waived extradition on a fugitive warrant, paving the way for him to go to New Jersey to face charges. He has been held in Dare County since his arrest in Manteo on Friday.

That arrest for the cold case murder of 27-year-old Lisa Marie McBridge in Vernon Township NJ in 1990 involved the Dare and Currituck County Sheriffs’ Department and was part of a multi-state task force investigation. Sussex County NJ Prosecutor Daniel M. Perez has said that McCaffrey, 54, will face charges of First-Degree Murder, First Degree Kidnapping and Second-Degree Burglary in that state. The Outer Banks Voice – Dare and Currituck County Sheriffs’ officers assist in arrest of Manteo man for 36-year-old murder  

This is also not the first time that McCaffrey has been extradited from Dare County. According to news reports, he was also a prime suspect in the 2012 disappearance of his wife Gayle McCaffrey in Charleston, South Carolina. While a grand jury failed to him indict him for his wife’s murder in 2018, he was convicted of obstruction of justice a year later and was incarcerated until 2023.

According to Dare County Court records and the office of NC First Prosecutorial District DA Jeff Cruden, back in 2018, McCaffrey also waived extradition to South Carolina on a fugitive warrant and was extradited from Dare County to that state in connection with his wife’s murder.

The DA’s office and court records also confirm that in that same year, McCaffrey was charged with misdemeanor reckless driving and misdemeanor hit and run in Dare County. The charges were dismissed based on an agreement in which he paid restitution to the victim of the crash.

Charleston, SC law enforcement officials did not respond to Voice inquiries about the status of the investigation into Gayle McCaffrey’s death. But at least one news outlet has reported that the case is still open.