Dateline: Who was Rob Cantor and what happened to him? Disturbing details of the 2011 incident, revealed

The episode titled The Room Downstairs is part of Season 32, Episode 21 of Dateline NBC. It first aired on January 4, 2024, and later resurfaced when it was released as part of the Dateline: Secrets Uncovered series on July 9, 2025.

The episode revolves around the 2011 Teaneck, New Jersey murder of Robert "Rob" Cantor, a 59-year-old Teaneck software engineer. He was found dead after firefighters responded to a fire in his house in a basement bedroom. He was shot in the back of the head before the fire was lit.

The investigation led to Sophie Meneut's estranged husband, Sui Kam "Tony" Tung. Tung was convicted of the murder and received a life prison sentence.

Let’s explore the case in detail.

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Dateline: Who was Rob Cantor, and what happened to him?

Robert Cantor was a 59-year-old software engineer living in Teaneck, New Jersey. He had been married to Susan Kirschenbaum for 34 years, with whom he had two adult daughters, Ally and Emily Sant Amour. The couple had divorced on friendly terms before the incident that resulted in Cantor's death.

Mehrdad Sanai, a close friend of Rob's, told Dateline: Secrets Uncovered:

“He was wonderful, he was kind, he was loving. He always saw the other point of view.”

Cantor had an affair with Sophie Meneut, a 40-year-old French-born mother of three, in early 2010. She was a married woman, and her husband was a computer repairman named Sui Kam "Tony" Tung.

Sanai further added:

“He was crazy for her, I don’t know.”

Tung discovered the affair when he installed spyware on his wife's computer to access her emails.

On March 6, 2011, just three days after Sophie served Tony with divorce papers, she and Cantor visited a museum with one of her daughters. This was the first time Sophie had introduced any of her children to Cantor.

The same day, a fire tore through the Teaneck home of Robert Cantor. Firemen found his body in the basement bedroom after they put out the fire. At first, it seemed that Cantor died in the fire. However, Bergen County Medical Examiner's Office found that he was shot in the back of the head execution-style and ruled his death a homicide.

The investigators discovered that ethanol had been used as a fire accelerant, suggesting arson that was meant as a means of evidence cover-up for the murder.

The investigation of the Robert Cantor murder had looked at several people around him as suspects. His girlfriend, Sophie Meneut, as well as his estranged wife, Susan, had been very affected by the death. Also, no direct evidence was found that tied them to the crime.

It was observed by Detective Cecilia Love that Susan was devastated and had an alibi; Sophie was also devastated but had no real motive for taking part.

The attention then narrowed on Sui Kam "Tony" Tung, Sophie's estranged husband. Tony had actually found out about Sophie's affair with Cantor a year before the murder. He had confronted Cantor in a very civil encounter in Cantor's Teaneck residence after finding out about his affair with his then-wife in the basement bedroom.

Tung was also cited by Dateline: Secrets Uncovered as saying:

“I remember I was a little upset… You took Sophie down here? What the hell’s wrong with you? You can’t go to a hotel?”

In the subsequent year, Tony went back to Cantor's home two more times. He confessed to interrogators that he had been angry in the beginning, but said that he had gotten over it by the time Cantor had passed away.

But CCTV footage debunked his testimony, as he could be seen leaving his New York City apartment around 10 o'clock on the evening of the murder with a bag slung over his shoulder and not returning until later, as reported in the Dateline episode.

Further evidence against Tony was a deleted email asking if a friend possessed a .380 pistol magazine, the same caliber firearm that killed Cantor. Tony had also installed a computer program post-murder that wiped out data, showing an intent to cover up evidence.

These findings led to Tony's arrest in May 2012. In 2015, he was found guilty of murder and other charges, Dateline reported.

In 2019, an appeals court overthrew Tung's conviction, citing that prejudicial testimony had been introduced improperly during the trial. The court found that the testimony might unfairly influence the jury's decision. Tung was thus granted another trial.

In 2023, Tung was retried for the murder of Robert Cantor. The prosecution again presented evidence linking Tung to the crime, including surveillance footage, computer evidence, and testimony from Sophie Meneut. The jury found Tung guilty of murder and other charges.

He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.