Caneiro, who is
charged with killing his brother and his brother’s family last month at their Colts Neck estate,
most likely won’t go to trial until 2020, the Monmouth County prosecutor said Tuesday.
“Unfortunately, the wheels of justice do grind slow,” Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said during an interview on NJ101.5.
Gramiccioni did not offer any additional details on his office’s investigation of Paul Caneiro.
Gramiccioni did, however, outline the timeline of the court case.
Caneiro’s attorneys maintain their client is innocent and loves his family.
Last week,
Caneiro waved his right to a detention hearing and will remain in the Monmouth County jail pending the outcome of his case.
In 2017, New Jersey scrapped its cash bail system and replaced it with a system that not only dropped monetary bail but also places deadlines on certain steps of a criminal case.
Caneiro’s case will now be presented to a grand jury, which is tasked with determining if there’s enough probable cause to return an indictment. An indictment, a formal document containing the defendant’s charges, has to be returned within 90 days.
Once the indictment is handed down, the case gets assigned to a criminal judge in Monmouth County Superior Court. It has to go to trial within 270 days.
That’s in a perfect world,” Gramiccioni said.
However, as the prosecutor noted in his interview, there are other pre-trial motions that can extend the timeline. For example, if the defense wants to challenge a piece of the state’s evidence or a witness report, a hearing is held and a judge will issue a ruling.
Court guidelines also require the state and defense attorneys to have discussion on possible plea deals. If the two sides agree to a plea deal, that could put an end to the case prior to the 270-day limit.
In his interview, Gramiccioni also commended his team of detectives, along with the state and federal partners, for their work on the case.
“I told my folks and the team that was on this that this was their finest hour,” he said. “You can never truly prepare for something like this. … Those guys and girls are professionals. It’s difficult and I’m very proud of our team.”
Accused Colts Neck killer won’t go to trial until 2020, prosecutor says