STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Jury selection was set to begin on Monday for a former Staten Island resident accused in the quadruple homicide of his brother and that sibling’s family in Colts Neck, New Jersey.
Prosecutors allege that Paul Caneiro, who lived in Tottenville prior to moving to Ocean Township, was responsible for the murderous rampage in 2018 that ended the lives of his brother and business partner, Keith, 50; sister-in-law Jennifer, 45; and nephew and niece, Jesse, 11, and Sophia, 8.
Paul Caneiro was 51 on Nov. 20, 2018, when he allegedly shot his brother, stabbed and gunned down his brother’s family and set the victims’ mansion ablaze. The defendant allegedly lit his own home on fire while his wife and two daughters were inside, but those victims escaped to safety.
Keith suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was found dead outside his home. The badly burned bodies of his wife and children were recovered inside the mansion.
Lawsuits filed against the defendant by kin point to a possible motive for the murders. Court documents revealed financial disputes between the two brothers who had mutual business interests that included a pest control firm and a technology start-up, according to NBCNews.com. Multiple allegations of theft were made against the defendant in those court filings, NBCNews reported.
The Caneiro brothers, and Jennifer, whose maiden name was Karidis, all had ties to Staten Island. All had previous addresses in the borough and Keith served as the best man in his brother’s wedding, according to Advance/SILive.com records.
The defendant, who is scheduled to appear in Monmouth County Superior Court in Freehold, has pleaded not guilty to all charges that include first-degree murder, according to public records.