Colts Neck Fire: NJ Man Allegedly Killed Brother And Brother's Family Over 'Financial' Issues

Investigators outside Keith and Jennifer Caneiro's home on November 21

A NJ man, who has already been arrested for setting his own house on fire, was charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his brother, sister-in-law, 11-year-old nephew, and eight-year-old niece. Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said that Paul Caneiro, who was also charged with arson and weapons offenses, set fire to his own home to "destroy evidence" from the crime scene.

On November 20th, Colts Neck firefighters responded to a fire around 12:30 p.m. at Keith and Jennifer Caneiro's mansion, where they found the couple's bodies, as well as the bodies of Jesse, 11, and Sophia, 8. Keith Caneiro, 50, was found shot outside the home, while the others were inside the burning house. "We allege that Jennifer was shot and stabbed, and the two Caneiro children were repeatedly stabbed by knife," Gramiccioni said in a press conference.

Earlier in the day, after 5 a.m., firefighters had responded to a fire at Paul Caneiro's Ocean Township home. Caneiro, 51, his wife and daughters survived the fire, and authorities arrested Caneiro for arson on November 21.

The brothers both worked at technology firm they owned, Square One, as well as a pest company from an office in Asbury Park, NJ. At Thursday's press conference, Gramiccioni said that the investigators discovered a dispute that was "financial in nature, stemming from [Paul Caniero's] and the victim's joint ventures that ... they owned and operated out of Asbury Park. As a result we have also ... launched a financial investigation into the business and financial dealings of the defendant."

Authorities believe that Paul Caneiro killed his brother and his brother's family and set fire to the Colts Neck house around 4 a.m. before setting fire to his own home. Gramiccioni said the Colts Neck house fire started in the basement, "It continued to smolder until there was entry made into the home, a great deal of oxygen coming into the home effectively fed that fire. (The fire) wasn’t reported until 12:38, what we believed caused the fire to catch on from there is the feeding of oxygen once the house was entered into."

Gramiccioni said that Paul Caneiro set his house on fire as a "ruse" to suggest both brothers' families were targeted.

Lawyers for Paul Caneiro said, "There is absolutely no reason in the world for Paul Caneiro to have committed the crimes he is alleged to have committed. He would never hurt any member of his family."

The brothers grew up in Brooklyn and Staten Island, both married women from Staten Island, and settled in NJ. Family friends say Keith Caneiro was recently interviewing at other companies, even talking about taking an opportunity in California. According to the NY Times, "Several people said Paul Caneiro had recently been living apart from his family in another house in Ocean Township, though he had returned home. Meanwhile, tensions mounted between the brothers over business matters, the family friends said. Paul Caneiro had mainly been running the exterminating company, EcoStar Pest Management, while Keith Caneiro ran Square One."

A law enforcement source told NJ.com that Square One "had been struggling financially to stay afloat."

Caneiro is expected in court on Friday. A funeral for Keith, Jennifer, Jesse and Sophia Caneiro is planned for the weekend.