Accused Colts Neck murderer hunted family down after executing brother so he couldnt protect them: prosecutor

Paul Caneiro methodically “hunted” down his sister-in-law, niece and nephew after executing his brother outside his New Jersey mansion — so the dad couldn’t protect his family, a prosecutor told jurors during opening statements at his murder trial Monday.Paul Caneiro, 59, is on trial for killing his business partner brother, Keith Caneiro, 50, his wife Jennifer, 45, and their daughter and son, Sophia, 8, and Jesse, 11, on November 20, 2018, and then setting their luxury Colts Neck home on fire to cover up what he’d done.The Caneiro brothers ran an NJ-based tech company, Square One.Paul Caneiro “snuck up on the family while they slept,” in the middle of the night, prosecutor Nicole Wallace told a jury in Monmouth County Superior Court in Freehold, NJ.He “waited in the shadows” for his younger sibling to come outside and check the generator after he cut the power and turned off the backup power, Wallace alleged.Wielding a handgun, Caneiro “pulled the trigger six times” and executed his brother “on the spot” so he was “out of the way” and couldn’t protect his family, the prosecutor said.Caneiro then set his sights on his sister-in-law, niece and nephews — and “hunted them down,” Wallace claimed.He stabbed and shot his Jennifer and then repeatedly stabbed the kids — stabbing Sophia “17 times over her entire 45-pound body,” the prosecutor alleged.Caneiro then started a slow-burning fire in the basement, and the two children, still breathing, inhaled smoke as they bled out, Wallace claimed.After that, he went home and set his own Ocean Township home ablaze to make it look like the whole family had been targeted, Wallace claimed.However, he ensured his own wife and kids managed to escape the fire without injuries.The entire plan was motivated by “greed and desperation,” Wallace charged.The accused kin killer — who wore glasses and a sweater with a button-up underneath and looked downcast as the openings got underway — ca...