Paul Caneiro is accused of killing his brother and his family and burning their house to hide it

Keith Caneiro and his family will say their last farewells on Sunday as Paul Caneiro, who maintains his innocence, sits in a prison in Monmouth County awaiting trial.

A family of four was killed before sunrise

One day, between midnight and 5 am, authorities said Paul Caneiro was walking around Colts' house Neck, equipped with a knife and a firearm, amounting to $ 1.5 million. 19659002] The brothers were in front of the White Manor when a deadly clash unfolded. Paul fired several shots, hitting Keith, officials said.

It is not known whether they exchanged words or fought, but the sound of gunshots apparently went unnoticed in this posh city of about 10,000 inhabitants at about fifty kilometers to south of New York.

Paul then entered the house and found Keith's wife, Jennifer. He shot her, stabbed and stabbed, along with their children, Jesse, 11, and Sophia, 8, said Monmouth County District Attorney Christopher Gramiccioni.

He then took documents and burned down the basement, officials said.

Suspect Fires Home

At about five o'clock, the fire department and the police were heading for Paul's house. Someone had called 911 saying that they had seen smoke.

When the first responders arrived, Paul, his wife, and their daughters were already outside. They were unhurt.

A fire was burning behind the residence and a smaller fire was located near the garage door.

Paul Grammanion said that Paul Caneiro was putting his family at risk by trying to destroy the evidence he had brought from his brother's house and making it appear that both families were being targeted.

Paul's lawyer, Robert A Honecker, stated that Paul had helped his family evacuate after the fire that had declared themselves at home and had been waiting for the arrival of the police and firefighters.

A few hours later, the family went to the police headquarters in the city, where they were all questioned. Paul would stay there for 12 hours until his arrest around midnight.

The murders were hidden by the flames

Back at the Colts Neck mansion, a fire became more and more hot and burned. rooms of the house of more than 5,700 square feet.

It was a normal day on the quiet Willow Brook Road, where Keith's mansion stood out from the others by its modern architecture. When the sun came up, the kids took the bus for the last day of class before Thanksgiving and the adults started to get to work.

Upon arrival, the firefighters arrived making a macabre discovery. Keith had died in front of the house, while the bodies of the rest of the family were badly burned inside.

Smoke escaped from the house as fire crews saturated the structure and the surrounding lawn. They did not want to extinguish the fire until about a day later and did not let the investigators go inside, fearing – among other safety concerns – that the roof would collapse.

A few hours later, the investigators announced to the family victims of homicide.

Paul Caneiro was in prison accused of setting fire to his house. And there was growing suspicion that he was involved in the death of his brother and his family.

More than a week later, Paul was accused of murder. He now has four counts of murder, two counts of arson and two firearms violations.

If he is found guilty, he could be sentenced to life imprisonment.

Prosecutors said they acted alone and had no reason to believe that organized crime was involved.

Money broke the relationship of their "best friends"

The conflicts between the Caneiro brothers may have been involved.

They worked together for three decades, after Keith created a technology consulting firm and hired Paul as their first employee.

The company seems to be very successful, adding Wall Street names such as Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase to the list of its clients over the years.

Another sign of their partnership is the name of the company, Jay-Martin Consulting, which combined the names of the brothers. Later, they would rename the firm Square One.

Before the massacre, the Caneiros were running the tech company alongside a pest control company in a brick building located on a main street in Asbury Park, according to public records from the city.

According to the prosecutors, the motive for the murders was financial, and flowed from the joint ventures of the two brothers. Authorities did not discuss the motive in more detail, but said the investigators had opened an investigation into Caneiro's business relations.

Paul Caneiro's lawyers, Robert Honecker and Mitchell Ansell, stated that their client had been wrongly accused and that he "had absolutely nothing to do with these horrible crimes".

"Paul's family is more important than anything else in the world.," They said in a statement.

"There is absolutely no reason in the world for Paul Caneiro to have committed the crimes he is alleged to have committed, and he would never hurt any member of his family, and the process can begin today. for the pursuit of the truth and for those who committed these horrible acts. "

Lawyers not only worked together, said the lawyers, but they considered themselves the best friends of the world and their best man in their weddings.

A loving family led by a business man specializing in technology

Candles, photos and flowers slowly invaded the steps of the Colts Neck Town Hall to mourn the loss of life. 39, a loving family who loved traveling to Greece and exercising together.

Keith wanted to continue to develop his career and had just graduated from Columbia University in New York with a Masters in Technology Management .

In his thesis, he focuses on a technology that could "solve the problem of hunger in the world by combining surplus food with hungry people," he wrote in his LinkedIn profile.

"If you were training here in the morning, you knew Keith, he was like that, Keith was an" idea "guy, and I think that's why he was so good at it. , "wrote Bott. "We were really talking about business, music, movies or everything else, but I really enjoyed my conversations with him and the way they challenged me intellectually."

A video posted on the gym's Facebook page shows Caneiro pushing.

Keith was also an avid reader, reading several books in a week and enjoying sports.

She was a graduate of the University of Albany and a parent-teacher member or organization at her children's school. She liked to organize family celebrations "for every stay at home".

The couple's daughter, Sophia, was a third grade student and a girl scout who enjoyed ninja classes. She loved to cook biscuits, ice skates, gymnastics and New York Yankees.

More than a week after the death of the family, his home was closed and childish drawings depicting smiles and rainbows were hanging. a metal fence placed on the outside.

"Forever in our hearts", wrote them a child.