The case of Paul Caneiro, a former Tottenville resident accused of murdering his brother and his family, is coming to a close.<\/p>\n
Caneiro, of Ocean Township, New Jersey, stands accused of murdering his brother<\/a> and business partner, Keith, 50; sister-in-law, Jennifer, 45; and nephew and niece, Jesse, 11, and Sophia, 8, in Colts Neck, New Jersey, in 2018.<\/p>\n Keith Caneiro and his family, like Paul, had ties to Staten Island. The family had previous addresses in the borough and Keith Caneiro served as the best man in his brother\u2019s wedding, according to Advance\/SILive.com records.<\/p>\n Paul Caneiro was 51 years old when, on Nov. 20, 2018, he shot his brother several times before proceeding to kill his brother\u2019s family and set the victims\u2019 mansion ablaze, prosecutors allege. The defendant then allegedly lit his own residence on fire while his wife and two daughters were inside. They were able to escape to safety.<\/p>\n The defendant has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including first-degree murder, according to public records.<\/p>\n Summations in the Monmouth County trial continued into the afternoon on Wednesday in the case that began on Jan. 5, as indicated by court records.<\/p>\n The defense made its final arguments to the jury. The prosecution is scheduled to finish its closing argument on Thursday.<\/p>\n Defense attorneys argued that a number of factors cast doubt on the allegation that Paul Caneiro was responsible for murdering his brother and his family, including the lack of investigation into the possibility of an alternate suspect.<\/p>\n Prosecutors also spoke at length to jurors, reiterating the case that they\u2019ve made in recent weeks.<\/p>\n The start of summations came after 17 days of testimony. Prosecutors allege Paul Caneiro killed his brother and his family for financial reasons: Keith Caneiro found out that Paul Caneiro was stealing from his life insurance trust account, according to NJ.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n As indicated in the report, the $3 million life insurance policy Keith Caniero held would eventually go, in part, to Paul Caniero, but only if his brother\u2019s family was also dead, prosecutors alleged.<\/p>\n