Former mistress testifies in trial of man accused of lying to investigators about wife’s disappearance

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - A trial began Monday for a man once accused of killing his wife but who now faces a charge of obstruction of justice.

Bob McCaffrey was originally charged with murder in the 2012 disappearance of his wife, Gayle, from their West Ashley home. In 2018, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office tried to bring a murder charge against him in connection with the case, but a grand jury refused to indict him.

The obstruction charge came about because deputies say McCaffrey lied to investigators several times and refused to cooperate in the search for Gayle McCaffrey.

McCaffrey’s former mistress was on the stand on Monday and had a lot to say from how she met McCaffrey and the fact that after she broke up with him he continued to contact her, even after he reported his wife missing.

Brandy Lee told the jury she first met Bob McCaffrey at a bar in Travelers Rest. Lee testified the two exchanged numbers and had sex in motels. She says McCaffrey told her he was separated from his wife.

When she came to Charleston, Lee wound up at the same restaurant where McCaffrey and his wife were having dinner. Lee testified not long after that, Gayle texted her to stay away from her husband.

Lee testified she broke it off with Bob McCaffrey but he kept trying to communicate with her and win her back. She also claimed she was pregnant and sent McCaffrey a photo of her pregnancy test.

After driving to see her in the Upstate, Lee said McCaffrey called her on March 18, 2012 and said when he came back to Charleston only his kids were there and Gayle was gone.

On Monday morning, a jury of seven men and five women was selected.

There may be more than 70 witnesses during the trial. Gayle McCaffrey’s sisters and Bob McCaffrey’s father may take the stand during the trial.

McCaffrey’s wife, Gayle, disappeared from their West Ashley home in 2012 and has never been found.

CCSO officials have described the case as “very complicated” and did not go into much detail into what prompted the murder charged to be filed in 2018.

The affidavit stated the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office legally classified Gayle McCaffrey as deceased in March of 2018.

Investigators have long maintained that McCaffrey has been un-cooperative in the investigation into his wife’s disappearance. A 2018 affidavit when the murder charge was brought stated McCaffrey has lied to investigators with the sheriff’s office on numerous occasions, refused to cooperate with search efforts for his wife, and has declined any parental relationship with his children.

Investigators say they also believed that Gayle McCaffrey had booked a romantic getaway just two days before her disappearance.

They believe she was trying to reconcile their marriage.

If convicted on the obstruction charge, McCaffrey faces up to ten years in prison.

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