New Jersey man gets life in prison for killing his brother and family

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FREEHOLD, NJ — A New Jersey man was sentenced on Tuesday, May 19, to four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole for killing his brother, sister-in-law, and their two young children in a 2018 crime spree that rattled a wealthy Jersey Shore community.Paul Caneiro, 59, of Ocean Township, sat stone-faced and remained silent before Superior Court Judge Marc C. Lemieux imposed the sentence in Monmouth County court. The judge also sentenced Caneiro to an additional 16 years for related offenses, including two arson fires and the theft of more than $75,000."This was an annihilation of an entire family, a mass murder carried out by the person who should have protected them most," Lemieux said.Paul Caneiro was convicted in February of killing his brother, Keith Caneiro, 50; his sister-in-law, Jennifer Caneiro, 45; and their children, Jesse, 11, and Sophia, 8, at the family’s mansion in rural Colts Neck, New Jersey, in November 2018. Prosecutors argued that Paul Caneiro had been motivated by greed and money, and accused him of killing his relatives hours after his brother discovered money missing from his trust account.During sentencing, Lemieux described Paul Caneiro's actions as extraordinarily cruel, calculated, and fueled by greed as he imposed one life sentence for each victim, to be served consecutively. The judge said Paul Caneiro would spend the rest of his life in prison, saying: "His address will forever be the Department of Corrections."“You are no longer Paul Caneiro,” the judge told him. “You are a quadruple murderer who slaughtered innocent children. That is your identity for the rest of your life."Paul Caneiro’s attorney, Monika Mastellone, said her client maintains his innocence and chose not to address the court.'Remove this killer, this monster, from society for good'Family members of the victims delivered emotional statements describing the lasting and devastating impact of the killings.Jennifer Caneiro's mother, Bette Karidis, spoke publicly for the first time at the sentencing and told the court that the defendant "stole the source of joy and happiness in our lives and replaced it with bottomless sadness, sorrow and grief.""I believe you will do what is right and remove this killer, this monster, from society for good," Bette Karidis told the judge. "A thousand years would not be enough."Jennifer Caneiro's only sibling, Bonnie Karidis, urged Lemieux to impose the maximum penalty, calling the defendant "the Satan in this room." She said the killings robbed the family of years of shared milestones and memories."They were executed and tortured by someone who was family — Uncle Paul," Bonnie Karidis said.Paul Caneiro remained still and stared straight ahead throughout the proceedings, not looking at the victims’ relatives. The courtroom was packed with friends and family of the victims, law enforcement officers, and members of the media.Paul Caneiro's wife and daughters, who had attended much of the trial, were absent.During a brief news conference outside the courthouse after the sentencing hearing, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said the sentence reflects the severity of the crimes."Paul Caneiro will spend the rest of his natural life behind the walls of a prison, never to see the light of day and never to have the privilege to walk among members of the community, because he doesn't deserve that right," Santiago said.'Thought it better to wipe out a family of four'Prosecutors argued that Paul Caneiro killed his relatives after his brother discovered he had been siphoning tens of thousands of dollars from a trust account intended to pay life insurance premiums. Prosecutors said Paul Caneiro, who was the sole trustee of the account, was responsible for seeing that the premiums were paid, but instead used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle.According to prosecutors, the defendant also stood to benefit from Keith Caneiro's $3 million life insurance policy with another brother, Corey Caneiro.Defense attorneys argued at trial that investigators failed to adequately consider another brother, Corey Caneiro, as a suspect. The defense claimed that Corey Caneiro had a motive to kill because he, too, stood to gain from Keith Caneiro's life insurance policy. The jury rejected that claim.Rather than face the financial consequences, Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Nicole Wallace said Paul Caneiro "thought it better to wipe out a family of four."Prosecutors: House fires to delay authorities, destroy evidenceProsecutors said that before the murders on Nov. 20, 2018, he disabled security cameras at his home and drove to his brother’s mansion in Colts Neck under the cover of darkness.Paul Caneiro cut the power to the house to lure Keith Caneiro outside, where he was shot, according to prosecutors. He then entered the home and killed Jennifer Caneiro and the two children before setting a slow-burning fire meant to delay the discovery of the murders.Keith Caneiro was found outside the home with multiple gunshot wounds, and Jennifer Caneiro was discovered inside near the entry foyer with both gunshot and stab wounds, prosecutors said. The children were both found with various stab wounds.Authorities were still unaware that the mansion was burning when firefighters responded to another blaze at the defendant's home in Ocean Township at 5 a.m. local time the same day, according to prosecutors.Prosecutors said Paul Caneiro had returned to his home and set it on fire, with his wife and daughters inside, to destroy evidence and mislead investigators into believing someone was targeting the entire Caneiro family. His wife and daughters escaped unharmed, but Lemieux said the defendant put their lives at risk.Firefighters extinguished the blaze before key evidence could be destroyed, prosecutors said. Investigators later found bloody clothing containing the children’s DNA in Paul Caneiro's basement, along with a firearm that was linked to the Colts Neck crime scene.