NJ Man Who Killed Brother's Family Will Die in Prison

A New Jersey man who murdered his brother's family, then tried to cover it up with fire, will die in prison. On Tuesday, 59-year-old Paul Caneiro received four life sentences without parole for killing his brother Keith, sister-in-law Jennifer, and their children, 11-year-old Jesse and 8-year-old Sophia, in November 2018 at their home in Colts Neck, People reports. Prosecutors said Caneiro lured Keith outside and shot him, then went inside and shot and stabbed Jennifer before stabbing the children; both kids also suffered smoke inhalation after Caneiro set the house ablaze. Prosecutors said Jesse was stabbed seven times and Sophia more than 40 times, with wounds suggesting she had been lying on the floor trying to dodge her uncle's attacks.

Investigators initially feared the fire had wiped out key evidence, but Sophia's DNA and blood on a pair of pants in Caneiro's home helped tie him to the crime. After torching Keith's mansion, Caneiro returned to his own Ocean Township home and set it on fire while his wife and children slept; they escaped unharmed. A jury in February convicted him on murder, arson, theft, and weapons charges. Caneiro did not testify and declined to speak at sentencing; his attorney says he maintains his innocence. During his trial, his attorneys tried to blame a third brother and his two daughters testified in his defense, CBS News reports.

Prosecutors said Caneiro had been stealing from his brother and killed the family to secure a $1.5 million insurance payout after Keith confronted him. "The sentence demonstrates that a person who is driven by greed and depression, jealousy and viciousness, gets exactly what he deserves," said Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago, per ABC7. Caneiro, he said"will spend the rest of his natural life behind the walls of a prison. Never to see the light of day, and never to have the privilege to walk amongst members of the community."

• Family members delivered victim impact statements during Tuesday's hearing. "Paul Caneiro slaughtered my beautiful family, murdering his own brother, my daughter, my grandchildren Jesse and Sophia," Bette Karidis, Jennifer Caneiro's mother, said, per CBS. "He stole the source of joy and happiness in our lives and replaced it with bottomless sadness, sorrow, and grief."