The then-16-year-old New Jersey boy who allegedly shot and killed his parents, sister and a family friend on New Year’s Eve two years ago — a heinous crime that has since befuddled investigators and the public — has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder, prosecutors announced Friday. Brian Thompson with the latest.
The New Jersey man convicted of murdering most of his family -- both parents and his sister -- along with a family friend in a New Year's Eve shooting massacre when he was just 16 years old was sentenced to 150 years on Thursday for the 2017 quadruple homicide.
Scott Kologi, now 20, faces up to four life sentences. He was found guilty on all counts -- four counts of first-degree murder and a second-degree weapons offense -- in late February in the shooting deaths at his family's Long Branch home on Dec. 31, 2017.
According to the prosecution, Kologi used a high-powered rifle to kill his 42-year-old father, Steven, and 44-year-old mother, Linda, as well as his 18-year-old sister, Brittany, and his grandfather's partner, 70-year-old Mary Schulz, just before the ball dropped.
Kologi's brother, grandfather and another friend were in the house at the time of the shooting but escaped unharmed, authorities have said.
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Kologi was arrested at the scene. A semi-automatic rifle was also recovered. Kologi was initially charged as a juvenile but the case was later moved to adult court.
Authorities haven't disclosed a possible motive for the slayings.
Defense attorneys had tried to get Kologi transferred to a psychiatric facility, but a judge ordered him to remain behind bars as he stood trial. They argued that Kologi's mental health issues included a history of hallucinations, autism and "distorted thinking."
Prosecutors said when the verdict was handed down that the jury ruling confirmed Kologi was responsible for his "decisions and actions" on the night his family died.
"This trial hinged on issues of mental health and the responsibility of this defendant ... In recognizing the criminality of the defendant’s actions, we also recognize that this is a tragedy for all of the family members who are left to mourn this tremendous loss," Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey said in February.
Judge Marc Lemieux first denied a series of motions by the defense seeking a new trial and a reversal of the verdict.
During Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Lemieux called the evidence in the case “overwhelming” adding that the crime caused “immeasurable harm."
Several of Schulz’s relatives read impact statements into the record. One of these impact statements said that every mass shooting that occurs nationwide still stirs up recollections of the “brutality and destruction” of what happened.
