Prosecutor: Area Man Gets Life Plus 16 Years in Family Murder

The brother of an area man who was found dead along with his wife and two children in November of 2018 has been sentenced to four consecutive life sentences plus 16 years without the possibility of parole for the family’s murder, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced on Tuesday.

Paul J. Caneiro, 59, of Ocean Township, was sentenced before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Marc C. Lemieux today in connection with the 2018 Colts Neck murder.

Caneiro was found guilty by a Monmouth County jury on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026 of: four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree felony murder, two counts of second-degree aggravated arson, one count of second-degree possession of a weapon (firearm) for an unlawful purpose, one count of second-degree theft, one count of second-degree misapplication of entrusted Property, one count of third-degree possession of a weapon (knife) for an unlawful purpose, two counts of third-degree hindering apprehension of oneself and one count of fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon (knife). The charges and guilty verdict stem from the the slaying of Paul Caniero’s brother, 50-year-old Keith Caneiro, his sister-in-law, 45-year-old Jennifer Caneiro, his nephew Jesse, 11, and his niece Sophia, 8, on Nov. 20, 2018.

“The list of crimes for which Paul Caneiro was convicted collectively does little to adequately describe the hideous nature of his actions on that night,” Prosecutor Santiago said. “To be clear, in a time and place that a family should feel the most secure, comfortable in their own home in the middle of the night, he first sabotaged their sense of safety by cutting power to the house, luring his own brother outside, then coldly executed him and went on to stalk and eliminate the remaining family members one at a time in the dark: an atmosphere of incomprehensible and inescapable pain, confusion, and terror. So while today’s sentencing does offer a measure of justice for an unspeakable crime that shocked the entire Colts Neck community, to be frank, nothing can undo the immeasurable loss suffered by the surviving loved ones of Keith, Jennifer, Jesse, and Sophia Caneiro. All this outcome ensures is that the person responsible for their deaths spends the rest of his life being held accountable for his horrific actions. We remain committed to standing in solidarity with the victims’ family members and fondly remembering and honoring these four lives that were taken far too soon.”

A joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, along with members of the Colts Neck and Ocean Township Police Departments, also included the following agencies: the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), New Jersey State Police, New Jersey Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory, Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office, and Monmouth County Fire Marshal’s Office.

— Edited press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office