MONMOUTH COUNTY, N.J. (Court TV) — A New Jersey man accused of murdering his brother and his brother’s family before setting both of their homes on fire is facing life in prison if convicted at trial.
Paul Caneiro is facing multiple charges, including four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Keith Caneiro, 50; his sister-in-law Jennifer, 45; niece Sophia, 8; and nephew Jesse, 11.
Paul Caneiro sits in court during opening statements in his murder trial on Jan. 12, 2026. (Court TV)
Prosecutors allege Paul fatally shot Keith and Jennifer and stabbed his niece and nephew to death on Nov. 20, 2018, according to an affidavit.
An investigation revealed that Paul and Keith were business partners. The day before the murders, Keith had emailed Paul about missing money from the business accounts. A business associate told investigators that Keith also wanted to sell one of their two companies, and he “was frustrated with Paul and the amount of money Paul spent from their business accounts.” An office manager also told detectives the brothers had arguments over money.
In a search of Paul’s home, detectives found a container holding clothing and a latex glove “with red stains consistent with blood” in his basement. An affidavit says a 9mm unspent projectile was also found in the clothes. The same type of ammunition was located in Paul’s home and used in the murders, according to investigators.
Paul rejected a plea offer in 2024, according to the Asbury Park Press. Prosecutors reportedly offered to recommend he be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in exchange for pleading guilty to four counts of murder.
TRIAL HIGHLIGHTS
DAY 15 – 2/6/26
- LIVE STREAM: NJ v. Paul Caneiro – Day 15 | Mansion Murders Trial
- Testimony resumes Friday, Feb. 6.
DAY 14 – 2/4/26
- LIVE STREAM: NJ v. Paul Caneiro – Day 14 | Mansion Murders Trial
- Dr. Lauren Thoma, Deputy Chief Medical Examiner, Middlesex County Regional Medical Examiner’s Office, testified to the autopsies of Jennifer and Jesse Caneiro.
- In Jennifer’s case, much of the external exam was obscured by the extensive charring to her body: there was no residual hair, eye color or fingerprints.
- No clothing remnants were received with Jennifer’s remains.
- Jennifer’s cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head and stab wounds of the torso. Thoma testified that the stab wounds showed Jennifer was alive and breathing when she was stabbed, and she said Jennifer was not breathing when the body was burned; she also said the fire damage destroyed the skin that would have shown the gunshot entrance wound.
- Jesse Caneiro’s cause of death was stab wounds of the torso and upper left body, with smoke inhalation listed as a contributing cause.
- When a photo of 11-year-old Jesse was shown, Paul Caneiro wiped away tears.
- Dr. Alex Zhang, Acting Chief Medical Examiner for New Jersey, testified to the autopsies of Keith and Sophia Caneiro.
- Keith Caneiro’s cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds. Zhang testified Keith had one wound track that entered the lower back and exited through the abdomen, and that all the other gunshot wounds were above the shoulder, including several to the head/face.
- Sophia Caneiro’s cause of death was sharp force injuries and smoke inhalation. Zhang testified that Sophia had 17 groups of sharp force injuries, including wounds consistent with defensive injuries, noting that injuries were documented across almost the entire body; he also described her body as covered with soot and blood.
- All four deaths were ruled homicides.
DAY 13 – 2/3/26
- LIVE STREAM: NJ v. Paul Caneiro – Day 13 | Mansion Murders Trial
- Ballistics evidence link between Paul Caneiro home on Tilton Drive and quadruple homicide scene on Willow Brook Rd: Seven fired 9mm casings plus the unfired 9mm balcony round were matched to a specific SIG Sauer 9mm pistol seized from Paul Caneiro’s Tilton Drive home.
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- The lab test-fires used to make that pistol match were fired with 9mm cartridges taken from a box seized from the same Tilton Drive home.
- Additionally, five fired bullets from the same Colts Neck scene were matched to a separate barrel recovered from a backpack found in the Porsche Cayenne at the Ocean Township scene.
DAY 12 – 2/2/26
- LIVE STREAM: NJ v. Paul Caneiro – Day 12 | Mansion Murders Trial
- Christopher Szymkowiak, New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences, testified that Sophia Caneiro was identified as a DNA source from stains tested on burned jeans recovered from a debris pile at Paul Caneiro’s home.
- Testified that Sophia was also a major DNA source on one black nitrile glove from the same debris pile.
- Paul Caneiro was identified as a DNA source from a stain swab on the front-right shoulder area of a t-shirt that came out of the debris pile.
- Christine Schlenker, DNA analyst with New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences, testified that Jesse Caneiro’s DNA was identified on the basement-pile Levi’s jeans through STRmix reanalysis in 2023; Paul Caneiro’s DNA matched to an Eddie Bauer shirt in the same pile.
DAY 11 – 1/29/26
- LIVE STREAM: NJ v. Paul Caneiro – Day 11 | Mansion Murders Trial
- Judith Link, a New Jersey State Police Gunshot Residue Analyst, testified that one of the bullet holes in Keith Caneiro’s hoodie was consistent with a contact or near-contact shot, meaning the muzzle of the gun was against or very close to the fabric when it was fired.
DAY 10 – 1/28/26
- LIVE STREAM: NJ v. Paul Caneiro – Day 10 | Mansion Murders Trial
- Detective Sergeant Stephen Vogt, the lead detective in the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office crime scene unit for the Willow Brook Rd scene (Keith Caneiro family home in Colts Neck), was on the stand all day, much of it procedural, given his chain-of-custody role as the evidence custodian.
DAY 9 – 1/27/26
- LIVE STREAM: NJ v. Paul Caneiro – Day 9 | Mansion Murders Trial
- Detective Joseph Cordoma testified as the jury saw photos of the fire damage in Keith Caneiro’s home. He testified that the cause of the fire was determined to be incendiary and it began in the basement storage closet.
- One mobile blood source had movement consistent with entering and exiting the kitchen where one dead victim and multiple bloodstains were found.
- WATCH: Broken Bottles, Severed Wire Found in Keith Caneiro’s Burned Home
- NJ State Police K9 handler told jurors that human remains detection K9 Creed indicated the odor of human remains in two locations at Paul Caneiro’s home: the rear cargo area of a white Porsche Macan parked in the driveway and a frozen pile of debris found in the basement (in which a pair of jeans with staining was later discovered).
DAY 8 – 1/23/26
- LIVE STREAM: NJ v. Paul Caneiro – Day 8 | Mansion Murders Trial
- Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Brian Migliorisi, a high-tech crimes investigator, testified about forensic data extractions from Paul Caneiro’s iPhone and the Wyze home-camera system at Keith Caneiro’s house.
- Jurors again heard Wyze audio from Nov. 19, 2018, in which Keith Caneiro pressed for bank statements and online access tied to missing Canada Life payments (first played through financial crimes detective Debbie Bassinger).
- Migliorisi also testified the home’s hardwired DVR unit was heavily fire-damaged and could not be extracted.
- On cross, the defense highlighted limits in what was shown. The detective acknowledged he was not aware the Wyze footage had already been played for the jury earlier through the state’s financial crimes detective.
- Defense questioning also pointed to other messages in the record showing Keith asking Paul for technical help, including school and home issues, after prosecutors focused the jury on a small set of contentious exchanges.
- The State’s case is expected to continue on for quite some time; jurors were told the trial itself could last until mid-March.
DAY 7 – 1/22/26
- LIVE STREAM: NJ v. Paul Caneiro – Day 7 | Mansion Murders Trial
- Prosecutors began the day showing jurors photos from the Ocean Township Police Department search of Susan Caneiro’s white Porsche Cayenne, moving into the rear cargo area where a black backpack was found. The detective identified a knife, a U.S. passport, a gun barrel and other firearm parts, keys (including an Audi key), and a large group of bank/credit cards that were mostly in Paul J. Caneiro’s name, with one in the name Giselle Restrepo. He also identified an envelope containing 17 U.S. savings bonds in Katelyn and Marissa Caneiro’s names (Paul Caneiro’s adult daughters), a T-Mobile SIM card, Paul Caneiro’s passport, and a FLIR One Pro thermal camera.
- WATCH: Guns, Knives and Bloody Clothes: Crime Scene Evidence in Paul Caneiro Trial
- On cross, defense stressed the photos and scene work were taken over multiple days and hit what was not swabbed or collected for DNA, including door handles and other gloves on the property. The detective said fire damage generally destroys DNA and fingerprints.
- Jurors saw a piece of black nitrile glove found on the floor behind the driver’s seat in the Porsche Macan, and heard about the Nov. 23 basement search where jeans were recovered as part of a debris pile; the state forensic laboratory later found an unfired cartridge in them.
DAY 6 – 1/21/26
- LIVE STREAM: NJ v. Paul Caneiro – Day 6 | Mansion Murders Trial
- Dennis Corpora was woken up and called the police twice after he said he heard a series of gunshots near Keith Caneiro’s house.
- Surveillance video shows Paul Caneiro in his garage the moment before the system disconnects and goes black; photos show the burned remains of Caneiro’s garage.
DAY 5 – 1/20/26
- LIVE STREAM: NJ v. Paul Caneiro – Day 5 | Mansion Murders Trial
- Jurors saw photos showing apparent tampering with the electrical service box at Keith Caneiro’s home, as well as imagery showing that a primary generator power switch had been turned off. The state alleges that Paul did this to lure Keith outside of the residence, knowing he would likely come outside to see why the generator failed to turn on.
- WATCH: Jury Sees Images Of Flames, Smoke at Keith Caneiro’s House
DAY 4 – 1/15/26
- LIVE STREAM: NJ v. Paul Caneiro – Day 4 | Mansion Murders Trial
- Fire Marshal Craig Flanigan testified to responding to Paul Caneiro’s home after the fire, which he determined was suspicious.
- Paul told Flanigan that he had multiple gas cans in the shed, but said he couldn’t remember the last time he used them.
- Flanigan noticed an injury to Paul’s hand, which Paul denied was a burn. He told investigators that he hit his hand on a door while evacuating the home.
- Catherine Lucchese, Keith Caneiro’s neighbor, called 911 after seeing smoke at the home. She later called the school because she was concerned that Keith’s children hadn’t been at the bus stop.
- Det. Richard Zarrillo, Colts Neck Township Police Dept., served as the lead detective on the case and testified to his arrival at Keith Caneiro’s house.
- He saw Keith’s body on the front yard of the home, face down. Additional victims were found inside the house: in the kitchen, next to the staircase and on the landing of the staircase (between the first and second floors).
- When 8-year-old Sophia Caneiro’s body was removed from the home, Zarrillo noticed she had stab wounds, including one to her left eye.
DAY 3 – 1/14/26
- LIVE STREAM: NJ v. Paul Caneiro – Day 3 | Mansion Murders Trial
- Detective Debbie Bassinger of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office told jurors she found 16 transfers from a trust account in Keith Caneiro’s name into Paul Caneiro’s personal account and saw no payments going back to the trust or to Keith. She said bank statements for May through September 2018 that Paul provided to the family’s accountant were altered when compared with official TD Bank records obtained by subpoena.
- Jurors then heard from neighbors about the fire at Paul and Susan Caneiro’s home on Tilton Drive in Ocean Township around 5 a.m. on Nov. 20, 2018. Neighbor Heather Capp said she woke around 4:30 a.m., heard male voices, saw two men in dark clothing and black baseball caps carrying flashlights outside the house, and noticed flames at the bottom corner of the home. She said she did not call 911 and estimated 20 to 30 minutes passed before police and firefighters arrived. Another neighbor, Jonathan Harrington, said emergency lights woke him, and he later saw a glow and flames above the roofline; he described Paul afterward as nervous and upset.
- Ocean Township officers described arriving within minutes of the 5:02 am dispatch, seeing active fire near a gas meter at a corner of the house and evacuating nearby homes. The jury saw body-camera video showing the driveway and garage area, including a white Porsche Macan with burn marks on the hood and a gas can nearby. One officer said he was told to find the home surveillance DVR and that when he asked Paul about it, Paul did not answer but looked away and to his daughter, who answered that it was in the garage; police then removed the DVR without a warrant based on exigent circumstances (which became the subject of a pretrial suppression fight that went all the way to the NJ Supreme Court).
DAY 2 – 1/13/26
- LIVE STREAM: NJ v. Paul Caneiro – Day 2 | Mansion Murders Trial
- Detective Debbie Bassinger, Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office financial crimes unit
- Assigned to trace whether there was a financial motive in the case.
- Walked jury through voluminous bank and insurance records.
- Two Wyze camera recordings dated Nov. 19, 2018, captured Keith Caneiro’s side of the calls, in which he pressed Paul about missing Canada Life Insurance payments and demanded access and login information.
- On cross, defense elicited that Paul’s voice on the call is not audible in the camera recording and tried to examine whether Keith’s demeanor was typical.
DAY 1 – 1/12/26
- Assistant Monmouth County prosecutor Nichole Wallace delivered the State’s opening, laying out the State’s theory that in the early morning hours of November 20, 2018, Paul Caneiro went to Keith Caneiro’s home, cut power and disabled the generator, shot Keith outside, stabbed Jennifer, Jesse, and Sophia, set a fire in the basement, and then returned to his own home and set it on fire to create the appearance of a targeted attack against both families.
- Wallace also referenced two phone calls Keith made to Paul on November 19, 2018, promising that the jury would see/hear them via the home security system (with the caveat that the security system was out during the killings).
- WATCH: Prosecution: Paul Caneiro Murdered His Brother’s Family Before Starting Fires
- Defense attorney Monika Mastellone told the jury her client is innocent and suggested police did not investigate other suspects, including a third Caneiro brother.
- Guli Basu, Director of Information Systems at the Doris Duke Foundation
- Paul Caneiro negotiated Square One’s contract; the foundation was looking for a cheaper provider in 2018.
- Steven Weinstein, longtime family/business accountant
- Doris Duke contract made up more than 90% of Square One’s revenue.
- WATCH: Accountant Reveals Caneiro Money Issues Before Murders
- WATCH: Paul Caneiro Took Company Insurance Payments, Put Into Personal Account: CPA
- Ronald F. Artiges, family insurance broker
- Keith Caneiro had a $3 million Canada Life policy held in a trust with Paul as trustee.
- Canada Life told him on Nov. 19, 2018, that it had not been receiving the premium payments.
- Ben Paolucci, Keith Caneiro’s friend
- Testified that Keith was visibly frustrated about Paul’s financial management issues.
- Recounted a group text thread with himself, Keith and Paul on Nov. 20, 2018, in which Paolucci texted, “Keith, your house is on fire,” unaware that Keith was already dead. Paul replied that he had a fire at his own house around 5 a.m.
- On cross, Paolucci agreed his police interview questions focused on Paul and did not include Corey or other possible suspects.
Parts of this story were generated with the assistance of AI using information gathered and verified by a human journalist. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy before publication.
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