Tech CEO Shot Dead, Family Dies in New Jersey Mansion Fire: Reports

An affluent couple, and their two children are dead in a suspected homicide after their New Jersey mansion burned down, officials said on Nov. 20.

Keith Caneiro, CEO of Ashbury Park-based tech company Square One, suffered a fatal gunshot wound and his body found outside his home. Law enforcement officials doubt the wound is self-inflicted, according to anonymous sources published on NJ.com and the Ashbury Park Press.

Police discovered the bodies of Caneiro’s wife and two kids, aged under 10, in the home at upscale Colts Neck, New Jersey according to The New York Times.

“One body, a man, was found outside the home, and the other three were recovered inside the home,” Monmouth County prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni told Patch.com. “Unfortunately, they were burned severely as a result of the fire.”

Just hours before the blaze, another fire took place at the home of Paul Caneiro, brother of Keith, in Ocean Township about 10 miles away. Officials are investigating whether the two fires are connected. No injuries are reported in the earlier blaze.

“That remains to be seen,” Monmouth County prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said in the NY Times. “But that is an option or an angle we continue to pursue.”

“It’s important to emphasize that we have no reason to believe that anyone in the community is in any danger at this time,” Gramiccioni told The Associated Press, adding that a medical examiner is still investigating the cause of death.

Caneiro had operated Square One since 1987, and held an active real estate license according to NJ.com. The Daily Mail reports Caneiro and brother Paul were partners in the same tech firm.

“They’re wonderful people,” Kevin Harrington, who lived across the street from the Caneiro family in Ocean Township, told the NY Times. “It’s pretty shocking stuff.”

“Very nice, very friendly, anybody that you'd want to be living next door to basically,” one of Caneiro’s neighbors told CBS News.

Joy Gamache, a local told the Asbury Park Press “the lady” from the 15 Willow Brook was “so nice and beautiful” that she would regularly bring her kids over to see the horses.

Another neighbor told the Daily Mail they saw the Caneiros at their Ocean Township home after the fire broke out.

“‘He said it must have been a gas leak, he had tears in his eyes. Susan was devastated,” the neighbor said. “He said, ”I’m in complete shock, I can’t believe this is happening to me. ’They were here until about noon."’

Investigators discovered gas cans near the Ocean Township home. According to real estate website Zillow, the 5,784 square-foot house in Colts Neck was built in 2003. The house is surrounded by fields and a pool, AP reported.

Colts Neck is a community about 50 miles south of New York City that is home to horse farms. Some homes in the town of 10,000 are worth about $750,000 each, AP noted.

“The last thing I should say is that if anyone has any information about this incident, or the Ocean Twp. fire, please call the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office or Colts Neck police,” Gramiccioni said in the Patch.com report. “Any little bit can constitute a piece of the puzzle that can make things clearer.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.