NJ Murder Suspect May Have Admitted To The Killing In 1995: Report

SUSSEX COUNTY, NJ — A witness in the trial of murder suspect Robert William McCaffrey Jr. says the defendant admitted to killing a 27-year-old woman in 1990, a NJ.com report reads.

According to the report, prosecutors said in court on Monday that a witness told authorities that McCaffrey confessed to killing Lisa McBride in 1995. The alleged confession happened while the witness and McCaffrey were working together, it adds.

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Specifically, the witness told police in a recorded interview that McCaffrey said he was "worried about a piece of evidence left at the crime scene," the report reads.

Other evidence presented by prosecutors included a washcloth containing McCaffrey's DNA, which was found in McBride's Vernon home, NJ.com reports.

The Cold Case Break

McCaffrey Jr., 54, was arrested earlier this month in North Carolina in connection with the 1990 murder of Lisa Marie McBride.

McCaffrey was extradited to New Jersey last week. On April 21, he was arraigned in Sussex County and formally charged with first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, and second-degree burglary. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The charges trace back to June 23, 1990, when McBride disappeared from her Vernon home. Her remains were discovered by hunters four months later in Sandyston in the Delaware Water Gap area. She would have been 27 years old when her remains were found.

Federal investigators interviewed hundreds of suspects, but nobody was ever charged. Until now.

Thanks to “significant advancements in DNA technology,” authorities were able to identify McCaffrey, a former Sussex County resident, as the primary suspect for McBride’s murder.

The big break in the case came just a few years after McCaffrey was being investigated for his wife's 2012 disappearance.

Read More: How His Wife’s 2012 Disappearance Traced Him To A 1990 NJ Murder

He was later charged with his wife’s murder, but a grand jury did not indict him due to a lack of evidence. He served 10 years in prison for the obstruction charge and was released in 2023.

McCaffrey is subjected to detention as the court proceedings ensue.