After years of courtroom drama and chilling details, a New Jersey man has been found guilty of slaughtering his own brother’s family in a case that stunned an entire community.
Paul Caneiro was convicted on all 15 counts he faced in connection to the 2018 killings of his brother and business partner, Keith Caneiro; Keith’s wife, Jennifer; and their two young children, 11-year-old Sophia and 8-year-old Jesse.
Prosecutors argued that money was at the heart of the bloodshed. According to authorities, tensions over shared business dealings spiraled into something far darker.
The horror unfolded in Colts Neck, New Jersey, when first responders arrived at Keith Caneiro’s burning home. Outside, they found Keith fatally shot. Inside the house, Jennifer and the two children were discovered dead.
Prosecutors said Paul Caneiro set his brother’s house on fire in an attempt to cover up the murders. Then, in an even more shocking twist, they alleged he drove back to his own home and set it on fire as well — while his wife and children were inside. Thankfully, no one was hurt in that blaze.
Throughout the trial, Caneiro’s defense team maintained his innocence. During closing arguments, his attorney suggested another brother could have been responsible and insisted Paul wasn’t desperate for money.
“Paul was not in a rush for money,” defense attorney Monika Mastellone said during arguments reported by NJ.com.
But prosecutors strongly rejected that theory. They pointed to surveillance cameras that were allegedly shut off just before the murders took place.
“We would have seen it if someone else did it, but we didn’t because it was him, and that’s why he shut off the cameras,” Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Decker said, according to the Asbury Park Press.
Now, with the guilty verdict in place, Caneiro faces sentencing scheduled for May 12.
For the Colts Neck community, the verdict brings a measure of closure — but it cannot undo the devastating loss of a family whose lives were cut short in an act prosecutors described as driven by greed and betrayal.