Caneiro murder trial testimony reaches horrors found inside burning Colts Neck house

⚖️ Jurors heard more details about the fires at both homes.

⚖️ Officers testified that the Caneiro children were both stabbed before flames engulfed the home.
⚖️ Paul Caneiro family heard of their relatives' fate while with Ocean Township police.

FREEHOLD BOROUGH — After testimony piecing together the moments when police realized that two same-day Monmouth County house fires could be connected, jurors also heard of the gruesome scene that unfolded in Colts Neck.

On Thursday, the first witnesses in the quadruple murder trial of Paul Caneiro detailed more of the early response to the 5 a.m. fire in Ocean Township on Nov. 20, 2018.

A Colts Neck police officer was the last witness of the day, sharing the awful discovery that Keith Caneiro, his wife, Jennifer, and two children had all perished — and not just from fire.

Colts Neck Police Officer Richard Zarrillo, who retired in 2020, testified to seeing stab wounds on both child victims, Sophia and Jesse Caneiro, as they were pulled from their charred home.

He said a medical examiner later confirmed that the 8-year-old girl had been stabbed in the head and one eye, among more than a dozen knife wounds.

As the testimony unfolded, defendant Paul Caneiro, the children’s uncle, was seen wiping his eyes in court.

Read More: Inside Paul Caneiro's big expenses before Colts Neck killings

Paul Caneiro house fire deemed ‘suspicious’

Investigators testified about securing the scene at Paul Caneiro’s house in Ocean Township.

Monmouth County Fire Marshal Craig Flannigan, who was the Ocean Township Fire Marshal at the time in 2018, said he spoke with Caneiro while sitting in one of the family’s parked Porsches.

There was a visible injury to one of Paul Caneiro’s hands, which Caneiro said he had hit on the front door when walking through, Flannigan testified.

He asked if Paul Caneiro was aware of a red gas can lying near the garage, and Caneiro said he was not.

When asked if he owned any gas cans, Caneiro said yes, a few, which he kept in a shed on the property, Flannigan said.

Flannigan said due to the damage and the evidence around the garage, he opted to pass the scene along to the county fire marshal at the time to investigate the cause and origin.

Police secure scene and seize evidence in Ocean Township

Once the fire was considered suspicious, Ocean Township Police Lt. Christopher Brady was called to the scene.

Paul Caneiro signed off on a search of his Porsche Macan and gave written authorization for items to be taken as relevant to the investigation, Brady said on Thursday.

He added that Caneiro also signed a form for approval to view footage on the security camera DVR that had been removed from the Tilton Drive garage.

Brady testified that he briefly saw Corey Caneiro outside the Ocean Township home, who was there giving money to his brother, Paul.

Family learns of Colts Neck deaths at police headquarters

A few hours later, Paul Caneiro, his wife, and two adult daughters were waiting at Ocean Township police headquarters embroiled in their own investigation.

Alerts popped up on the Monmouth County dispatch system about an intense fire roughly 14 miles away — and that homeowner’s last name jumped out at Brady, since it was also Caneiro.

He confirmed that it was Paul Caneiro’s other brother, and Ocean Township police moved the Caneiros from the public-facing lobby downstairs to a conference room, out of concern for their safety, Brady testified.

As the family stayed together waiting, they received word of a total of four fatalities at their relatives’ Colts Neck house and were grief-stricken, Brady also testified.

Paul Caneiro was “very quiet” and looked upset, Brady said, and requested that police check in with his own parents in New York, while asking that they “not know about the fire.”

Caneiro also said he had received four text messages from Keith overnight and that he “wished he had heard them,” Brady testified.

Members with the New York Police Department were sent to check on the eldest Caneiros, who were fine, Brady added.

Colts Neck neighbor recounts discovery of deadly fire

A Colts Neck neighbor of Keith Caneiro’s family also testified on Thursday.

“They were our first friends in the neighborhood,” Catherine Lucchese said, adding that her children attended the same school and rode the same bus as Jesse and Sophia Caneiro.

Lucchese testified that around noon on Nov. 20, 2018, she got a call from her landscaper, who also worked for the Caneiros.

She called or texted both Jennifer and Keith and neither answered, Lucchese said.

Lucchese then dialed 911 and reported a lot of smoke coming from the victims’ house at 15 Willowbrook Road.

She said she also called the school, after talking to another neighbor and remembering that none of the Caneiros had been out for the bus that morning.

Defense asks Colts Neck neighbor about relationship with Caneiros

During cross-examination, Defense Attorney Monika Mastellone asked Lucchese about how well she knew the family and asked about a woman named Claudia.

Lucchese testified that her daughter played with Sophia Caneiro and sometimes had sleepovers. She described Claudia as the children’s babysitter.

Colts Neck police describe finding Caneiro house, before fire surges

Colts Neck Police Sgt. Dan Mazzucola was the first officer who responded to calls about a structure fire at 15 Willowbrook Road, around 12:30 p.m.

There were dashboard cameras, but in 2018, no body-worn cameras in Colts Neck, Mazzucola testified.

Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Decker introduced recordings from two of the responding Colts Neck police cruisers.

Footage from the dash cameras shows a couple of officers milling around, as smoke and then flames began to billow from the house.

Keith Caneiro was found face down, lying on his lawn, Mazzucola said.

Zarrillo was also among the first police to respond.

He said he saw Keith Caneiro’s body and what appeared to be hardened blood underneath him.

Just after 3 a.m. that day, there had been a call for shots fired in the Colts Neck area, Zarrillo said, which he heard reviewing dispatch records at the start of his shift.

Zarrillo also said that the Colts Neck house’s electrical service panel was removed and on the ground. There were wires exposed and a handle in the “down” position.

Three other dead bodies were discovered inside the house during the active fire response — one in the kitchen, one on the staircase, and the third on a landing between the stairs, Zarrillo testified.

He said he had asked first responders not to move any of the victims, if at all possible, to preserve potential evidence.

After Sophia’s body was recovered, Zarrillo said he asked for a pop-up tent to cover the victims, and the remaining two bodies were also taken out.

There was 11-year-old Jesse Caneiro and his mother, Jennifer Caneiro, whose burns were so bad that muscle structure was visible, Zarrillo testified.

Relatives of the victims were contacted by police, including the parents of Jennifer Caneiro.

Zarrillo was one of two officers who went to speak in person with Corey Caneiro, who had, at that point, driven to Pennsylvania.

Corey Caneiro met with the New Jersey police officers at the Bethlehem Police Department in Pennsylvania around 9:30 p.m. on Nov. 20, 2018, Zarrillo said.

Zarrillo's testimony was initially expected to resume on Friday in Monmouth County Superior Court.

The trial instead will resume next week.

SEE ALSO:

Caneiro trial day 3: Paul Caneiro trial turns to fire at accused killer's own house 

Caneiro trial day 2: Detective shares Paul Caneiro's big expenses before Colts Neck killings 

Opening statements in the Caneiro murder trial

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