It started as a fire at a sprawling mansion in Colts Neck. What authorities soon learned would be far worse: A family of four brutally killed inside the comfort of their own home just days before Thanksgiving.

On Nov. 20, 2018, the bodies of Keith Caneiro, 50, his wife, Jennifer, 45, and their two young children — Jesse, 11, and Sophia, 8 — were found dead. Their million-dollar house smoldered from the heat of what had been a slow-churning blaze.

The slayings would grab national attention after Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni announced his office charged Keith Caneiro’s brother, Paul, with carrying out the killings. The brothers, who lived just 13 miles apart and were inseparable, had a business partnership that was on the brink of collapse. Gramiccioni, speaking at a press conference announcing the charges, called it “the most brutal case that I’ve seen in my experience here.”

By the police’s account, it was a tragedy that had all the hallmarks of a made-for-TV drama: Two self-made millionaire brothers torn apart by greed, with a dash of mystery.

Paul Caneiro, 52, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of murder and weapons charges, and has maintained his innocence as he sits in protective custody in the Monmouth County jail in Freehold. His trial likely won’t happen until the spring of 2020, Gramiccioni said in an interview last week.

The case has dragged through the court system, delayed by the exchange of thousands of pages of financial documents tied to the brothers’ businesses. Adding to the delay was a change in defense attorneys and in July, prosecutors filed additional charges of insurance fraud against Paul Caneiro. He has also pleaded not guilty to those charges.

In the year since the killings, new information has emerged from detailed police reports attached to public court filings, painting the clearest portrait yet of the crimes. But mysteries remain, as people wonder how could someone allegedly commit such heinous acts against loved ones.

Paul Caneiro, right, is accused of killing his brother, Keith, his sister-in-law and niece and nephew. (Facebook, Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

A deadly plot

Paul Caneiro’s steady flow of money was on the verge of drying up.

A day before the killings, Keith Caneiro forwarded his younger brother, Corey, an email he sent to two business associates indicating there was money missing from the tech company. In the email, Keith said he would be cutting payments to Paul until he could figure out where the money had gone, according to a police report. The email also said Keith was frustrated with Paul over the amount of money he was spending from their business accounts.

On that same day, Keith Caneiro sent a former Columbia University classmate an email saying he was ready to move on from his business and that he would be willing to relocate for the right job, the classmate told NJ Advance Media.

Keith would never get the chance at a fresh start.

On Nov. 20, at 2:07 a.m., Paul Caneiro hopped in a white Porsche Macan and pulled out of the driveway of his home on Tilton Drive in Ocean Township, police said, and drove to his brother’s house on Willow Brook Road in Colts Neck.

At the time, law enforcement sources told NJ Advance Media that Paul Caneiro cut the power to his brother’s house, luring him out of the home.

He shot his brother in the lower back once and in the head four times before gunning down his sister-in-law inside the house, police said.

Jesse, stabbed multiple times, was killed in the kitchen, police said. His younger sister was also stabbed to death, a police report said.

After the killings, Paul Caneiro set a fire in the basement, authorities said. The bodies wouldn’t be discovered until around 12:40 p.m. after a neighbor reported seeing smoke billowing from the home and then discovered Keith’s bullet-riddled body on the front lawn.

Paul Caneiro returned home and, shortly after 4 a.m., set his own house on fire with his wife and two daughters inside, police said. They were able to escape unharmed.

Gramiccioni said Paul Caneiro attempted to make it appear as if the entire Caneiro family was targeted.

In the days following the killings, a picture would begin to emerge of two brothers who came from humble beginnings in Brooklyn, amassing a small fortune from the tech boom in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The brothers relocated the business from Brooklyn to downtown Asbury Park, and also moved their families to suburban neighborhoods close by.

By the time of the killings, Paul Caneiro’s stake in the company had dwindled to just 10%, an employee told police.

And court records paint a picture of a man who had been having fights with his brother about money and marriage troubles at home.

A police report said Paul’s wife told detectives she and her husband were sleeping in separate bedrooms.

Public Defender Michael Wicke talks to his client Paul Caneiro, who is accused of killing his brother and his brother's family in Colts Neck, is arraigned before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Joseph Oxley at the Monmouth County Courthouse in Freehold, N.J., Monday, March, 18, 2019Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for

Under constant watch

In the year since, Paul Caneiro has spent most of his time in a single-person cell under “constant watch,” a jail official said.

He hasn’t caused any trouble, the official said.

On Monday, his home on Tilton Drive in the Wayside section of Ocean was empty. A dumpster in the driveway was full of construction debris and permits were prominently displayed on the front window.

He and his wife still own the property, but she could not be reached for an interview. His family hasn’t attended any of his court hearings.

Paul Caneiro’s case was once handled by two prominent Monmouth County defense attorneys. However, they dropped him as a client after a conflict of interest surfaced in the discovery process.

His fate now lays in the hands of the public defender’s office. One of those attorneys, Michael Wicke, declined to comment.

Caneiro is scheduled to be back in court on Dec. 2. After that, there will likely be pre-trial motions, delaying the trial for months until the spring.

His former attorney, Robert A. Honecker Jr., said he recently saw Caneiro in the jail in passing and the two exchanged pleasantries.

“He is an intelligent man,” Honecker said. “He still has the support of his family.”

Vinessa Erminio contributed research to this report.

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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