By: Richard L. Smith
A Monmouth County jury has convicted Paul J. Caneiro, 59, of Ocean Township, in the brutal 2018 killings of his brother and the brother’s family inside their Colts Neck home just days before Thanksgiving.
According to a statement released by Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago, the verdict followed a month-long trial before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Marc C. Lemieux.
Jurors found Caneiro guilty of four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his brother, 50-year-old Keith Caneiro; Keith’s wife, 45-year-old Jennifer Caneiro; and the couple’s two children, 11-year-old Jesse and 8-year-old Sophia. The crimes occurred on November 20, 2018.
In addition to the murder convictions, Caneiro was found guilty on multiple related charges, including felony murder, aggravated arson, weapons offenses involving a firearm and a knife, theft, misapplication of entrusted property, and hindering apprehension.
Prosecutors said the case was the result of a joint investigation led by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, working alongside the Colts Neck and Ocean Township Police Departments.
Assisting agencies included the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the New Jersey State Police, the New Jersey Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory, the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office, and the Monmouth County Fire Marshal’s Office.
Caneiro now faces the possibility of multiple life sentences without the chance of parole in New Jersey State Prison. Sentencing is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, May 12.
The conviction closes one of Monmouth County’s most shocking and high-profile homicide cases in recent memory, a tragedy that devastated a family and stunned the Colts Neck community.