Freehold, NJ – A New Jersey tech executive was charged Thursday with murder in the deaths of his brother’s family, whose bodies were found last week at their burning mansion.
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Paul Caneiro, 51, was charged with four counts of murder as well as arson and two weapons violations in the deaths of his 50-year-old brother, Keith, along with Keith’s wife, Jennifer, and their two children.
A criminal complaint said both a gun and a knife were seized from Caneiro. Prosecutors had previously reported that Keith Caneiro was shot. The complaint indicates the seized knife may have been used on one or more of the other three victims.
The complaint did not disclose a motive, and a spokesman for the Monmouth County prosecutor said there would be no comment until an 11 a.m. news conference.
Paul and Keith Caneiro were the principals in two businesses, a computer systems company called Square One and a pest control business, both housed above a trendy cafe in Asbury Park. Workers in the area frequently saw Paul Caneiro there.
Paul Caneiro has been in custody since authorities accused him of setting fire to his Ocean Township home on Nov. 20, hours before flames were discovered at the Colts Neck mansion where Keith Caneiro and his family lived.
The law firm representing Caneiro said they would not comment until after the prosecutor’s news conference.
Attorney Robert A. Honecker had previously maintained his client was innocent and said Caneiro was “devastated by the news of his brother and his family’s deaths.”
Police said Paul Caneiro used gasoline to fuel the early morning fire at his two-story Colonial in Ocean Township, about 10 miles from his brother’s $1.5 million home in Colts Neck. His wife and two adult daughters were both at home at the time. No one was injured.
Obituaries describe Keith’s children as 11-year-old Jesse, who liked World War I and II history, video games and sports, and 8-year-old Sophia, who loved ice skating, ninja classes and making cookies with her nanny. Funeral services for the family are planned Sunday.