Friday, Sept. 12th:
*Status Hearing (@ am ET) – NJ –
Keith Martin Caneiro (50), his wife
Jennifer Karidis Caneiro (45) & 2 children
Jesse (11) &
Sophia (8) (Nov. 20, 2018, Colt’s Neck; died prior to fire @ home) –
*Paul Jay Caneiro (51/now 57) (bro) arrested (11/20/18),
charged (11/29/18), indicted (2/25/19) & arraigned (3/18/19) on 4 counts of murder, 2 counts of felony murder, 2 counts of aggravated arson, possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, possession of a knife for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of a knife, theft, misapplication of entrusted property & 2 counts of hindering apprehension. Plead not guilty. Held without bond. Monmouth County
*Indicted (7/1/19) & arraigned (3/18/19) with 2nd degree insurance fraud (from 11/6/12 to 7/9/19). Plead not guilty.
Previously charge with 2 counts of 2nd degree aggravated arson (in connection to fire set @ his Ocean Township home on the same day before fire in Colt’s Neck) & with 4 counts of murder, with possession of a firearm & possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose. Plead not guilty. Held without bond. Paul Caneiro allegedly stole $78K from Keith & Jennifer Caneiro. He stole the money sometime between January 2017 & the day of the murders.
Jury selection set to begin on 9/8/25 has been delayed until 1/5/26.
Trial was set to begin on 9/8/25 after jury selection was delayed. (should take about 4 weeks)
Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley, presiding. Monmouth County Prosecutor Deputy First assistant Christopher Decker & Assistant Monmouth County prosecutor Nicole Wallace. Deputy Public Defender Tamar Lerer, Public defender’s office attorneys W. Michael Wicke, Victoria Howard & Monika Mastellone.
Court hearing from 11/28/18 thru 7/3/25 reference post #30 here:
https://websleuths.com/threads/nj-m...colts-neck-20-nov-2018-arrest-2.740776/page-2
7/7/25 Update: Assistant Prosecutor Nicole Wallace recited those allegations [due to financial desperation & fear of his brother discovering his misappropriation of funds; Prosecutors allege Paul Caneiro was stealing from his brother's trust fund & using the money for personal expenses, including an extramarital affair. Keith Caneiro's final phone calls to Paul, demanding explanations for the missing money, are believed to be the catalyst for the murders] at a hearing July 7 in an effort to convince a judge to allow a jury to hear evidence at Paul Caneiro's upcoming trial of what the state asserts was his financial motive to commit the murders. During the hearing, prosecutors played video from Keith Caneiro's home-security system, which contained audio of the final three calls he made to Paul on Nov 19, 2018. The security system only recorded Keith's side of the two-way conversations. At trial, Wallace said she plans to call as a witness a woman the defendant was having an affair with. The woman is expected to testify about the money Paul Caneiro was spending on her during their relationship, Wallace said. Monika Mastellone, Caneiro's attorney, argued the affair was irrelevant to the murders & the jury shouldn't hear about it. But Superior Court Judge Marc C. Lemieux, who presided over the hearing, said prosecutors are offering the affair to show the defendant was "trying to have a certain lifestyle with this woman" that could be jeopardized by his loss of income. Judge Lemieux is tasked with deciding whether the financial motive will be admissible at trial. He also will be ruling on Mastellone's motions to bar the state's ballistics & arson experts from testifying.
7/17/25 Update: Superior Court Judge Marc C. Lemieux last week issued an opinion suppressing all evidence found on two of Caneiro's Apple devices - his iPad tablet & MacBook laptop computer. Lemieux, however, ruled that prosecutors can present some evidence found on the defendant's Apple iPhone & Apple watch, both which also contained communications between Caneiro & his dead brother, Keith. Lemieux limited evidence from Paul Caneiro's phone to information generated between Nov. 19 & Nov. 20, 2018. That includes data likely indicating the defendant's whereabouts when his brother, sister-in-law, niece & nephew were murdered & the time frame leading up to murders. Lemieux has yet to rule on other defense motions in the case seeking to bar the state's arson * ballistics experts from testifying at trial & to suppress evidence of a financial motive for the murders.
7/24/25 Update: Written ruling by Monmouth County Judge Marc Lemieux rejected Caneiro's bid to bar the state's arson expert from testifying at his upcoming trial in the murders of four family members, clearing the way for prosecutors to put forth their timeline for the series of crimes the defendant is accused of. Attorneys for Caneiro asked Superior Court Judge Marc C. Lemieux to bar Detective Joseph Cordoma from testifying at Caneiro's upcoming trial, questioning not only the detective's qualifications, but also the methodology he used in reaching his expert opinion in the case. However, Lemieux, Monmouth County's assignment judge, cited Cordoma's training & the more than 100 fire investigations he has conducted during his 24-year career in law enforcement in ruling that the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office detective is qualified to testify as an arson expert. Trial set to begin with jury selection on 9/8/25.
9/6/25 Update: Jury selection was set to begin Monday in the highly anticipated murder trial. But after the New Jersey Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal of whether some evidence in the case can be excluded, Superior Court Judge Marc C. Lemieux delayed the trial until 1/5/26. Meanwhile, Caneiro's defense team maintained that the defendant must be released on Sept. 14 under New Jersey bail reform, which sets a limit on how long the accused can remain in custody before trial. Lemieux, Monmouth County’s assignment judge, set a hearing for 9/12/25 on whether Caneiro should be freed. At issue is whether the Supreme Court's decision to hear the matter stops the clock for the time limit set by bail reform.