‘A thousand years would not be enough’: NJ man who murdered his brother, sister-in-law, and two nieces handed appropriate sentence

Paul Caneiro, a 59-year-old man from New Jersey has been handed a life sentence after being convicted of murdering his brother and his brother’s family. However, the relatives of the deceased think no punishment could be enough for what he’s done.

Caneiro was convicted of killing his brother, Keith, his brother’s wife, Jennifer, and his brother’s two daughters, Jesse and Sophia, who were 11 and 8 years old at the time. The murders occurred in Colts Neck, New Jersey back in 2018 but Caneiro was handed his sentence on Tuesday May 19th.

He was sentenced to four life sentences, one for each of his victims but even that seemed like an injustice. Loved ones of the victims were present in court and were given the opportunity to deliver victim impact statements. “They were beautiful children, a beautiful family. They did everything together. They loved each other.” said Jennifer’s sister, Bonnie Karidis, as per ABC 7. 

She went on to condemn Paul Caneiro claiming that he “could have stopped this from dragging on,” by admitting what he had done. She claimed that he had an “evil soul.” Jennifer’s mother, Bette Karidis stated that “a thousand years would not be enough” punishment for Caneiro.

What did Paul Caneiro do?

Caneiro was found guilty of the murders earlier this year with the jury reaching a verdict after only a few hours of deliberation. Prosecutors claimed that Caneiro shot his brother and business partner, Keith. He then went inside Keith’s home and shot and stabbed Jennifer before stabbing the couple’s two young daughters.

He then set fire to the house to cover his tracks. An autopsy revealed that the daughters died of smoke inhalation which means they were still alive when Caneiro set fire to the house. County Judge Marc Lemieux also said that the two girls tried to fight off their attacker but, with them being children, they were unable to fend him off.

Caneiro also set fire to his own home to make it look like he was a victim of an attack against the family as a whole while also destroying evidence.

According to prosecutors, the motivation for the cruel attack was money relating to an insurance fraud scheme. Caneiro’s defense argued that prosecutors had failed to examine another brother who stood to financially gain from Keith’s death to the tune of around $3 million. 

It’s been eight years since the horrific tragedy in Colts Neck. While the trial of Paul Caneiro has dragged on for a long time many believe justice has finally been served.