Paul Caneiro Pleads Not Guilty to Murdering Brother and His Family
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A New Jersey man pleaded not guilty on Monday to 16 charges accusing him of murdering his brother and family before setting fire to their home in November after a financial dispute. Paul J. Caneiro, who also allegedly set fire to his own house in an attempt to cover up the crime, appeared alongside Deputy Assistant Public Defender Michael Wicker, who entered the pleas before Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley.
Prosecutors allege Caneiro, 52, shot his younger brother, Keith, four times in the head and once in the back on Nov. 20. Caneiro then shot Keith’s wife, Jennifer, 45, in the head and repeatedly stabbed her and the couple’s two children before setting a slow-burning blaze in the mansion, prosecutors allege. He also set fire to his own home in Ocean Township in an attempt to make it look like the Caneiro family was being targeted, according to authorities.