COLTS NECK – The defense team at the helm of Paul Caneiro’s quadruple murder case will no longer include two respected local attorneys.
According to a media release distributed Monday, the firm of Ansell, Grimm & Aaron, PC sought and received relief for Mitchell J. Ansell and Robert A. Honecker Jr. after reviewing discovery from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office (MCPO), as well as subsequent material collected during their own investigation of the events of Nov. 20, 2018, the day Paul Caneiro’s brother and family were found slaughtered in their Colts Neck mansion.
It was during the review of these materials that at least two separate conflicts of interest were discovered, forcing the firm’s personnel to step away, a point Ansell stressed to The Two River Times in a March 19 interview.
“We didn’t quit. The rules of professional conduct forced us to withdraw, and it’s very frustrating,” Ansell said. “It feels like it’s being implied that we just decided not to represent him anymore. And that’s just not accurate. As lawyers we have taken an oath, and we have to abide by the rules of professional conduct.”
Ansell, who has handled cases in Monmouth County for the last three decades, said he hasn’t seen anything like the media attention given to the Caneiro case “in a long time.”
Paul Caneiro made national headlines in November when he was taken into custody after his brother was gunned down in the driveway of his Colts Neck estate.
Authorities discovered the body of Keith Caneiro after responding to a fire at the Willow Brook Road residence. After suppressing the flames, the charred bodies of Keith’s wife Jennifer and two children, 8-year-old Sophia and 11-year-old Jesse, were discovered inside.
Authorities took Paul into custody Nov. 21 and would later charge him with murder, arson and other charges.
In court documents, prosecutors allege the killings were motivated by money and believe Keith was preparing to cut Paul off financially. The siblings owned and operated Square One, a lucrative technology consulting firm situated in Asbury Park, from which it is alleged Paul was syphoning funds for personal use.
Though he will no longer proceed with the defense effort, Ansell said Caneiro has rights that need to be observed.
“Our withdrawing from the case does not impact Paul’s rights under the constitution to a full and fair trial,” Ansell added. “The state still has to provide proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Our withdrawal has no bearing on that.”
Moving forward Caneiro’s defense will be handled by the Monmouth County Public Defender’s Office and his new attorney Michael Wicke.
