The slayings would grab national attention after Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni announced his office charged Keith Caneiro’s brother, Paul, with carrying out the killings. The brothers, who lived just 13 miles apart and were inseparable, had a business partnership that was on the brink of collapse. Gramiccioni, speaking at a press conference announcing the charges, called it “the most brutal case that I’ve seen in my experience here.”
By the police’s account, it was a tragedy that had all the hallmarks of a made-for-TV drama: Two self-made millionaire brothers torn apart by greed, with a dash of mystery.
Paul Caneiro, 52, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of murder and weapons charges, and has maintained his innocence as he sits in protective custody in the Monmouth County jail in Freehold. His trial likely won’t happen until the spring of 2020, Gramiccioni said in an interview last week.
The case has dragged through the court system, delayed by the exchange of thousands of pages of financial documents tied to the brothers’ businesses. Adding to the delay was a change in defense attorneys and in July, prosecutors filed additional charges of insurance fraud against Paul Caneiro. He has also pleaded not guilty to those charges.
In the year since the killings, new information has emerged from detailed police reports attached to public court filings, painting the clearest portrait yet of the crimes. But mysteries remain, as people wonder how could someone allegedly commit such heinous acts against loved ones.
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Paul Caneiro’s steady flow of money was on the verge of drying up.
A day before the killings, Keith Caneiro forwarded his younger brother, Corey, an email he sent to two business associates indicating there was money missing from the tech company. In the email, Keith said he would be cutting payments to Paul until he could figure out where the money had gone, according to a police report. The email also said Keith was frustrated with Paul over the amount of money he was spending from their business accounts.
On that same day, Keith Caneiro sent a former Columbia University classmate an email saying he was ready to move on from his business and that he would be willing to relocate for the right job, the classmate told NJ Advance Media.
Keith would never get the chance at a fresh start.
On Nov. 20, at 2:07 a.m., Paul Caneiro hopped in a white Porsche Macan and pulled out of the driveway of his home on Tilton Drive in Ocean Township, police said, and drove to his brother’s house on Willow Brook Road in Colts Neck.
At the time, law enforcement sources told NJ Advance Media that Paul Caneiro cut the power to his brother’s house, luring him out of the home.
He shot his brother in the lower back once and in the head four times before gunning down his sister-in-law inside the house, police said.
Jesse, stabbed multiple times, was killed in the kitchen, police said. His younger sister was also stabbed to death, a police report said.
After the killings, Paul Caneiro set a fire in the basement, authorities said. The bodies wouldn’t be discovered until around 12:40 p.m. after a neighbor reported seeing smoke billowing from the home and then discovered Keith’s bullet-riddled body on the front lawn.
Paul Caneiro returned home and, shortly after 4 a.m., set his own house on fire with his wife and two daughters inside, police said. They were able to escape unharmed.
Gramiccioni said Paul Caneiro attempted to make it appear as if the entire Caneiro family was targeted.