Paul Caneiro will serve four life sentences without the possibility of parole after being convicted of the murders of Keith, Jennifer, Jesse and Sophia Caneiro
Credit: Keith Caneiro/Facebook (3)
NEED TO KNOW
- Paul Caneiro, 59, will serve four life sentences without the possibility of parole after being convicted of murdering his brother’s family in 2018
- Keith Caneiro and his wife Jennifer were both shot while their children Jesse, 11, and Sophia, 8, were stabbed multiple times
- Sophia’s DNA was later found on a pair of pants in her uncle’s basement
A New Jersey man will spend the rest of his life in prison after being convicted of murdering his brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew.
Paul Caneiro, 59, was given four life sentences without the possibility of parole on Tuesday, May 19, after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in the Nov. 20, 2018, deaths of Keith and Jennifer Caneiro, and their two young children Jesse and Sophia.
The medical examiner later determined that Sophia, 8, had been stabbed 17 times — including in the left eye — as she tried to dodge the knife and fight for her life.
Paul torched his brother's home after killing the family, prosecutors said during his trial, and it appeared initially to investigators that all evidence had been destroyed. Then, investigators found traces of Sophia's DNA, as well as blood on a pair of pants in her uncle's home.
Credit: Tanya Breen/NJ Advance Media via AP
Two days before Thanksgiving in 2018, Paul was seen driving his Porsche from his multimillion-dollar home in Ocean Township to his brother's multimillion-dollar home in Colt's Neck.
Prosecutors believe that Paul first killed his brother after luring him outside the home, then shooting him dead.
Once inside, Paul shot and stabbed Jennifer before stabbing Jesse, 11, five times and then Sophia, prosecutors said during the trial.
Many of Sophia's wounds were non-fatal, according to a medical expert who testified at trial and said the wounds suggested she was lying on the ground trying to dodge her uncle as he repeatedly stabbed her with a knife.
After attacking the family, Paul set his brother's house on fire and got back into his Porsche to drive home.
The medical examiner said during the trial that both Jesse and Sophia died in part from smoke inhalation, meaning they were still alive as the fire burned through the home.
Paul was not done yet. Once back home, he set his own house on fire as his wife and children were asleep inside.
They all made it out safely — and Paul later tried to claim that the two fires were targeted attacks aimed at the brothers.
Investigators soon learned that Paul had been stealing from his brother for some time. Prosecutors said at trial that he killed his brother and his family in order to receive a multimillion-dollar insurance payout.
Prosecutors also said that Keith had learned of the theft and confronted Paul about it just hours before he was killed.
The defense, meanwhile, suggested that it was the older brother of Paul and Keith who committed the crime, but jurors ultimately sided with the prosecution.
In February, a jury convicted Paul of four counts of first-degree murder as well as two counts of aggravated arson, two counts of hindering his own apprehension, theft, misappropriation of entrusted property, possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose and possession of a knife for an unlawful purpose.
Paul declined to testify in his defense at trial and again chose not to speak at his sentencing on Tuesday.
His attorney said that Paul maintains his innocence.
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