1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:04,440 Speaker 1: Crime Alart hourly update, breaking crime news Now, I'm Drew Nelson. 2 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 1: A long delayed quadruple murder trial is now underway a 3 00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:11,520 Speaker 1: New Jersey, with prosecutors and defense attorneys laying out starkly 4 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:14,960 Speaker 1: different versions of how an entire family was wiped out 5 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:18,439 Speaker 1: inside their own home. Paul Kaneiro is on trial in 6 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:22,000 Speaker 1: Monmouth County, accused of killing his younger brother, Keith Kniro, 7 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:26,000 Speaker 1: Keith's wife Jennifer, and their two children, Jesse and Sophia, 8 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:30,160 Speaker 1: during a violent rampage in November twenty eighteen. Prosecutors say 9 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:33,560 Speaker 1: Caniro then set the family's colts Neck mansion on fire 10 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:36,640 Speaker 1: and torched his own home in Ocean Township the same 11 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: day to make it look like the family had been 12 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:43,200 Speaker 1: targeted by someone else. In opening statements, Assistant prosecutor Nicole 13 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: Wallace described the killings as calculated and driven by money, greed, 14 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:51,640 Speaker 1: and desperation. She told jurors Caniro hunted his family members 15 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:55,520 Speaker 1: inside the darkened house. After shooting his brother outside, he. 16 00:00:55,560 --> 00:01:01,720 Speaker 2: Stabbed his niece Sophia seventeen times, her entire forty five 17 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 2: pound body. 18 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: Prosecutors say Caniro was facing mounting financial problems and feared 19 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:09,200 Speaker 1: being cut off after Keith discovered tens of thousands of 20 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:12,440 Speaker 1: dollars missing from their co owned businesses. They allege to 21 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:14,920 Speaker 1: the murders were carried out to gain control of a 22 00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:19,319 Speaker 1: life insurance policy worth millions. Kniro appeared emotional at times 23 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:22,720 Speaker 1: in court, wiping away tears as the jury heard the details. 24 00:01:22,959 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 1: The defense forcefully rejected the prosecution's theory. Attorney Monica mast 25 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:30,559 Speaker 1: Alone told jurors Caniro is innocent and did not commit 26 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:33,080 Speaker 1: the murders or set either house on fire. 27 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:38,119 Speaker 2: He certainly did not brutally murder the family members that 28 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:43,240 Speaker 2: you will hear. He loved and cherished and adored so much. 29 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 1: Mast Alone argued that investigators developed tunnel vision early in 30 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:50,920 Speaker 1: the case and failed to fully investigate other potential suspects, 31 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:54,480 Speaker 1: including another brother who also stood to benefit financially. 32 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:58,440 Speaker 2: They did not investigate any other suspects, even obvious ones, 33 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 2: searched for evidence to support their theory. 34 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:06,640 Speaker 1: Caniro has been jailed since his arrest in twenty eighteen. 35 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:10,080 Speaker 1: The trial was delayed for years by legal challenges and 36 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:14,000 Speaker 1: the COVID pandemic. Testimony began with an accountant who spoke 37 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:17,000 Speaker 1: with Keith Kniro the night before the murders and described 38 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 1: him as deeply upset. The trial is expected to last 39 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:24,240 Speaker 1: for weeks, with jurors hearing extensive forensic, financial, and witness 40 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:28,840 Speaker 1: testimony lasting into March. More crime and justice news after this. 41 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:38,000 Speaker 1: A North Texas reality TV husband and wife are now 42 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:41,040 Speaker 1: convicted felons after a federal jury found they ran a 43 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:45,680 Speaker 1: multimillion dollar pyramid scheme that prosecutors say preyed on trust 44 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:49,840 Speaker 1: inside the black community during the pandemic. Marlon and Lashan 45 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:53,240 Speaker 1: de Moore were found guilty in federal court in Sherman, Texas, 46 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:57,520 Speaker 1: of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. 47 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:02,080 Speaker 1: Prosecutors say the couple defrauded more than ten thousand people nationwide, 48 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:05,440 Speaker 1: pulling in more than twenty five million dollars through their program, 49 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: known as Blessings in No Time or Bent. The Moors 50 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:12,840 Speaker 1: once appeared on the reality TV show Family or Fiance, 51 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 1: which prosecutors say helped them build credibility while marketing the 52 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 1: scheme out of their prosper Texas home during the COVID 53 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:24,960 Speaker 1: nineteen pandemic. Victims say the program was pitched as a 54 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:29,720 Speaker 1: community based way to survive financial hardship. Participants were told 55 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: their money was guaranteed and that refunds would be issued 56 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:36,840 Speaker 1: if they were not satisfied. Federal investigators say neither promise 57 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 1: was true. 58 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:42,280 Speaker 3: We were just played it. We would play with our feelings. 59 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:46,240 Speaker 3: We will promise the money. We didn't get it. 60 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:49,400 Speaker 1: One of the victims, Rosetta Fleming, says she and her 61 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:52,840 Speaker 1: husband invested more than six thousand dollars. She spoke to 62 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:55,560 Speaker 1: KXAS about the emotional toll. 63 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:58,440 Speaker 3: They were African Americans as well, and they were taking 64 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 3: advantage of us. They pacifically stated, no other race, no 65 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:06,640 Speaker 3: other group of people, no social media. 66 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 1: Fleming says. Participants did not see the program as a risk. 67 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:13,400 Speaker 3: We didn't look at it as like it was a gambo. 68 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:18,000 Speaker 3: We look at it like it was something out there 69 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:21,919 Speaker 3: that could help us, you know, pay the bills, feed 70 00:04:21,960 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 3: out children. 71 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:26,520 Speaker 1: According to the Department of Justice, the Moor's structured bent 72 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 1: as a classic pyramid scheme, using so called playing boards, 73 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:33,840 Speaker 1: where participants had to recruit new members to move up 74 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 1: and receive payouts. Prosecutors say the couple placed themselves in 75 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 1: positions that guaranteed they collected the largest payments, while most 76 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:46,800 Speaker 1: participants lost everything, an attorney for Marlon Moore told kxas 77 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:49,440 Speaker 1: the couple tried to fix the program after it grew 78 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:52,880 Speaker 1: out of control. The Moors now face potential decades in 79 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:56,240 Speaker 1: federal prison when they are senates later this year. They're 80 00:04:56,279 --> 00:05:00,760 Speaker 1: currently being held in the Fennin County Jail. Ripples through 81 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:03,600 Speaker 1: a small North Carolina town after its police chief is 82 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:08,560 Speaker 1: jailed on child sex charges, with prosecutors detailing allegations involving 83 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:13,240 Speaker 1: secret photos taken while a child slept. Gregory Warren, chief 84 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:17,760 Speaker 1: of Newton Grove Police Department, is behind bars facing seven felonies, 85 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:21,359 Speaker 1: including indecent liberties with the child and multiple counts of 86 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:26,360 Speaker 1: felony secret peeping. State Investigators say the alleged crimes involve 87 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:29,080 Speaker 1: a juvenile girl and date back to twenty twenty three. 88 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:32,839 Speaker 1: According to arrest warrens, Warren is accused of going into 89 00:05:32,839 --> 00:05:36,920 Speaker 1: the child's bedroom and taking explicit photographs while she was asleep. 90 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:41,200 Speaker 1: During a court hearing, special prosecutor Donnad Rainwater described the 91 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:42,800 Speaker 1: evidence in blunt terms. 92 00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:48,719 Speaker 4: The photographs were held in a hidden folder. All the 93 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:53,880 Speaker 4: defendants found she was very upset obviously when she saw photos, 94 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:59,440 Speaker 4: Investigators say additional examination of Warren's devices revealed images tied 95 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:03,360 Speaker 4: to the alleyations, along with apps prosecutors described as having 96 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:04,839 Speaker 4: no legitimate purpose. 97 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:09,360 Speaker 1: The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation launched the investigation 98 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:12,680 Speaker 1: at the requests of the Sampson County Sheriff's office after 99 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:18,160 Speaker 1: deputies received the initial allegations. SBI agents arrested Warren on Wednesday. 100 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:21,400 Speaker 1: The arrest has stunned residence in Newton Grove, which is 101 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:24,680 Speaker 1: a small town in Sampson County. One of those residents 102 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 1: is Brandy Melby, speaking to WNCN, shocked disappointment. 103 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:31,359 Speaker 5: I mean, most people didn't even know we had a 104 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:35,719 Speaker 5: new group police format, but he was good people to If. 105 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:37,560 Speaker 3: He did what he did, then he needs. 106 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:40,239 Speaker 1: To pay for it. Warren has served as Newton Grove's 107 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:43,560 Speaker 1: police chief since twenty nineteen. In twenty twenty one, he 108 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:47,400 Speaker 1: shot a rape and kidnapping suspect during a confrontation. That 109 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: shooting was later ruled justified by the district attorney. During 110 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 1: Warren's first court appearance, Judge Robert Gilmour denied bond. 111 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:58,760 Speaker 5: I have some seiers concerns as to whether this time 112 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:03,240 Speaker 5: under these facs, this earliest age of proceeding. I don't 113 00:07:03,279 --> 00:07:07,240 Speaker 5: think at this time the presumption has been rebutted. 114 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 1: Town officials announced Warren has been suspended without pay while 115 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:14,480 Speaker 1: the case moves forward, and say police operations will continue 116 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:18,679 Speaker 1: without interruption. Warren remains held at the Sampson County Detention 117 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:23,000 Speaker 1: Center as the investigation continues. For the latest crime and 118 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:26,360 Speaker 1: justice news, follow crime alerts hourly update on your favorite 119 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:29,320 Speaker 1: podcast app with this crime alert. I'm Drew Nelson.