cass523
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10/31/2023
Colts Neck murders: Will the Caneiro murder case extend to New Zealand? Judge to decide
FREEHOLD Cutting-edge technology purports to link Paul Caneiro to four murders - that of his brother, sister-in-law and their two young children - yet the state has asked that a key witness be allowed to testify about the scientific reliability of that technology from 9,000 miles away.Caneiro's attorney on Tuesday objected to the prospect of allowing the state's expert to testify virtually from his home in New Zealand, saying Caneiro has a constitutional right to confront the witness, face-to-face, in court.
Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley will decide Thursday whether to allow that expert to testify virtually at an upcoming pretrial hearing that he said will have statewide implications for the future of a computer program designed to analyze small quantities and complicated mixtures of DNA evidence.
Christopher Decker, assistant Monmouth County prosecutor, told the judge Tuesday he wants John Buckleton, the creator of the STRmix computer software, to testify about the reliability of the technology at the upcoming pretrial hearing. But, Decker said, Buckleton is not comfortable taking a 16-hour or longer flight from New Zealand to New Jersey because of a medical condition he suffers from, for fear he could have an episode aboard the flight with no medical assistance available.
Colts Neck murders: Will the Caneiro murder case extend to New Zealand? Judge to decide
11/03/2023
Judge nixes testimony from New Zealand in Caneiro Colts Neck murders case
FREEHOLD As a judge prepares to schedule an important hearing on the reliability of a new method of evaluating DNA evidence used in the Colts Neck quadruple homicide case against Paul Caneiro, he ruled Thursday that the state's key expert on the technology will not be allowed to testify remotely from New Zealand.Prosecutors asked that John Buckleton, a New Zealand scientist who created a computer program to analyze small quantities and complicated mixtures of DNA in the case against Caneiro, be allowed to testify via videoconference from his homeland because he is uncomfortable taking a 16-hour or longer flight to New Jersey due to a heart condition he suffers from.
Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley ruled he will not allow the witness to testify remotely.
Oxley noted he has not received any of Buckleton's medical records or any certifications from his physicians about what affect the journey to New Jersey could have on his health.
Prosecutors said Buckleton would be their key witness to testify at an upcoming hearing about the reliability of the computer program he created, which was used to generate the DNA evidence against Caneiro, an Ocean township man accused in the 2018 murders of his brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew.
Oxley said Buckleton had a co-author of the report he wrote in Caneiro's case, who could be called to testify in-person in Buckleton's place.
The judge noted that Caneiro has a constitutional right to confront the witnesses against him, which is of the utmost importance in the case of a quadruple homicide for which he could potentially face four, consecutive life prison terms.
Judge nixes testimony from New Zealand in Caneiro Colts Neck murders case
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