Defense rests in Paul Caneiro quadruple Colts Neck murder trial
Paul Caneiro is accused of killing his brother, Keith Caneiro, along with Keith’s wife Jennifer and their children Sophia and Jesse.
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Paul Caneiro, the man accused of killing four family members in a 2018 slaying, has decided not to take the stand at his murder trial.
The 59-year-old told Superior Court Judge Marc Lemieux this facet as the defense rested its case on Tuesday afternoon.
Paul Caneiro is accused of killing his brother, Keith Caneiro, along with Keith’s wife Jennifer and their children Sophia and Jesse. Prosecutors say this was all part of an alleged plot to gain $3 million from his brother’s life insurance policy.
Those murders took place in November 2018 at Keith Caneiro’s Colts Neck home.
Closing arguments in the Caneiro case will begin on Wednesday at the Monmouth County Courthouse and then the jury will start deliberations.
Jurors on Tuesday heard from Paul Caneiro’s two daughters, who have decided to stand by his side through this trial.
At one point, he was seen wiping away tears as his daughter Marissa described her father’s reaction to learning from police in 2018 that their relatives were found dead and their home in Colts Neck burned.
“My dad was really upset and crying. He fell to the floor and I was sitting across from him at that point. So I got up and I was on the floor with him just holding him,” said Marissa Caneiro.
The defense strategy has been to try and pin the murders on Paul and Keith’s other brother, Cory Caneiro, arguing he was never investigated by detectives.
Paul Caneiro is also charged with allegedly setting his own house on fire to deflect any involvement in his brother’s murder.
If convicted, he would be facing life in prison.
