He killed his brother, sister-in-law, nephew, and niece to hide his theft

On Nov. 20, 2018, firefighters responding to a burning home in Colts Neck, N.J., found the bodies of Keith Caneiro, 50; his wife, Jennifer Caneiro, 45; and their children, 8-year-old Sophia and 11-year-old Jesse. According to the Monmouth County Prosecutor, all four family members had been killed before the fire was set. Keith Caneiro’s brother, Paul Caneiro, was charged with murder.

According to a 16-count indictment returned by a Monmouth County grand jury in February 2019, Paul Caneiro shot his brother, shot and stabbed his sister-in-law, and stabbed the two children before setting their house on fire. After killing the family and setting the fire, Paul Caneiro returned to his own home and set it on fire to cover up evidence; his family was inside at the time. According to Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni, he set the second fire to make it appear as though the whole family was a target.

According to prosecutors, the crimes were committed for financial gain. Paul and Keith Caneiro owned and operated Square One Consulting and EcoStar Pest Management together. According to an affidavit released with the indictment, Keith Caneiro sent an email stating that money was missing from the business and that he would not be paying Paul Caneiro until the money was found.

The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office announced the sentencing of Paul Caneiro on May 19. He was found guilty in February of four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated arson, and other related charges. Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Marc C. Lemieux sentenced him to four consecutive life sentences in prison, plus an additional 16 years, without the possibility of parole.

According to Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago, “The list of crimes for which Paul Caneiro was convicted collectively does little to adequately describe the hideous nature of his actions on that night. To be clear, in a time and place that a family should feel the most secure, comfortable in their own home in the middle of the night, he first sabotaged their sense of safety by cutting power to the house, luring his own brother outside, then coldly executed him and went on to stalk and eliminate the remaining family members one at a time in the dark: an atmosphere of incomprehensible and inescapable pain, confusion, and terror.”