What's taking so long for Paul Caneiro to go to trial in Colts Neck family murders?
FREEHOLD - It's coming up on five years since the Caneiro family was slaughtered in their Colts Neck mansion, but the man accused of committing the shocking murders - the brother of one of the victims - still has not gone on trial.
Despite speedy trial provisions in the state's Criminal Justice Reform Act, Paul Caneiro's trial has been delayed for several reasons, among them the suspension of jury trials for a year and a half during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also contributing to the delay was a voluminous amount of evidence the defendant had to review to prepare for his trial.
But now, the one thing standing in the way of Caneiro facing a jury in what has been described as a greed-fueled murder case is a hearing on the admissibility of cutting-edge DNA evidence the state wants to present against him.
Last year, Caneiro's attorneys were wrangling for access to the source code for the technology from which the DNA evidence was derived so that a defense expert could evaluate the reliability of the evidence and possibly challenge it.
Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley, who is presiding over the case, in July ordered the company that owns the proprietary technology to turn over its source code to Caneiro's defense expert to facilitate the evaluation.
But, almost a year later, that expert still has not submitted a report on his evaluation to defense attorney W. Michael Wicke of the Public Defender's Office.
Appearing in court on Monday, Wicke told Oxley he still has not been informed of the date by which the expert plans to give him the report.
"I certainly hope to have dates as soon as possible,'' Wicke said.
"This case is getting older and older, through no fault of your own,'' Oxley responded.
The judge ordered that the defense expert either turn over the report to Wicke by June 26 or provide a certain date when that will be done. Otherwise, Oxley said the expert will have to appear in court in-person before him that day to explain why he can't.
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