Colts Neck Murder Timeline: Prosecutor Offers New Details

COLTS NECK, NJ — Monmouth County Prosecutor Chris Gramiccioni revealed many new details at this press conference Thursday morning, shedding light on some of the mystery shrouding the Colts Neck quadruple murder of the Caneiro family, allegedly at the hands of Keith Caneiro's own brother, Paul.

Law enforcement says Paul killed his brother and brother's family over money; the two Caneiro brothers were in business together and owned a technology firm and pest control company.

According to allegations made by the prosecution, here is what happened:

Sometime at or before 4 a.m., Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2018: Paul Caneiro, 51, goes to his younger brother's home at 15 Willow Brook Road in Colts Neck. Prosecutors say he shot his bother, Keith, as his brother came out of his house. Paul then allegedly goes inside the home, where he shoots and stabs Keith's wife, Jennifer, to death. He then allegedly stabs their two children, his 8-year-old niece and 11-year-old nephew, to death as well.

He then goes into the basement of the home and starts a slow-burning fire there, the prosecutor said. He intended to destroy the home, police said, knowing it would take several hours for the fire to build in strength. Paul then returns to his home at 27 Tilton Drive in Ocean Twp.

5:01 a.m.: A fire is started in the rear of Paul's own home. The prosecutor says Paul set it using gasoline. The prosecutor says he set the fire to destroy evidence he brought back with him from the Colts Neck home, and to make it look like his family was targeted. Caneiro's wife, Susan, and two daughters, both in their 20s, were sleeping upstairs when the fires broke out. Paul wakes all three of them up and rushes them out of the home, saving them, his lawyer says. The prosecutor agrees with this assertion, saying the fire at Paul's home was never meant to hurt his family, but only "to create a ruse to make it appear as though his family was somehow targeted." Paul always planned to wake his wife and daughters up and save them, the prosecutor says.

5:20 a.m. Ocean Twp. firefighters arrive at Tilton Drive, and the Caneiro family meets them on the front yard.

7 a.m. Tuesday: Keith and Jennifer Caneiro's two children, Jesse, 11, and Sophia, 8, were not seen that morning at the bus stop on Willow Brook Road in Colts Neck, which neighbors would later remark was unusual.

Sometime around 12 p.m.: A neighbor on Willow Brook Road in Colts Neck told the Asbury Park Press she saw smoke coming from the Caneiro home, but assumed they were having a fire in their fireplace.

12:38 p.m.: A landscaper working on a neighboring house called 911 to report he smelled smoke and that 15 Willow Brook was on fire. The first arriving firefighters and police discover the body of Keith Caneiro, 50, lying in the front lawn. The mother and children are discovered inside the home; their bodies have been severely burned. It takes firefighters several hours to contain the fire, which completely destroyed 15 Willow Brook.

Also at 12 p.m., 10 miles away in Ocean Twp.: After remaining at his Tilton Drive home all morning, talking to investigators, Paul Caneiro and his wife Susan go to Ocean Twp. police headquarters at noon on Tuesday to answer more questions. It is there that police break the news to him that his brother and brother's family were killed in a fire. Paul and his wife break into tears, his lawyer said, and are "devastated" at the news.

12:01 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 21: Paul Caneiro was taken into custody by detectives with the Monmouth County prosecutor's office and charged with aggravated arson.

Eight days later, on Thursday, Nov. 29, Caneiro, still sitting in jail, was charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of his brother, sister-in-law and niece and nephew. He was also charged with arson of their home.

9 a.m. Friday, Nov. 30: Caneiro is due in Monmouth County Superior court in Freehold, for his detention hearing on his initial aggravated arson charge, where Judge James McGann will decide if he stays in jail until his trial begins. His lawyer told Patch he will be requesting Caneiro go free, and that he will even be asking his wife and daughters to possibly testify on his behalf. The prosecutor said he wants to keep Caneiro behind bars.

Tuesday, Dec. 4: Caneiro's first appearance and detention hearing on the new murder, aggravated arson and weapons charges will also be on this date, again before Judge McGann.

Related: Motive Was Financial In Colts Neck Murders, Prosecutor Says

Top photo: Pedestrians walk away from the scene of the fatal at 15 Willow Brook Rd. in Colts Neck, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)