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New Jersey Suspect in New Year's Eve Quadruple Family Murder Case Appears in Court

What to Know

  • Scott Kologi, 18, made his first appearance in a New Jersey court Wednesday in the 2017 massacre of four people in his home
  • Prosecutors successfully moved his case to adult court earlier this month
  • Kologi allegedly killed his mother, father, sister and a family friend who lived with them

The 18-year-old who allegedly shot and killed his parents, sister and a family friend on New Year's Eve in New Jersey two years ago has made his first appearance in adult court.

On Wednesday, a judge set a detention hearing for Scott Kologi for December 2. Kologi has been held at a juvenile detention center since being arrested and charged for the shocking crime that perplexed investigators and the public.

A motive for the then-16-year-old boy to commit such a shocking massacre against his family remains a mystery. 

Last Friday, prosecutors announced that Scott Kologi, now 18, will be charged as an adult in the Dec. 31, 2017 killings of his mother, father, sister and the family friend, whom Monmouth County prosecutors referred to as "grandmother" in a statement.

The move came after a judge granted prosecutors' motion to move Kologi's case from family court so he could be prosecuted as an adult to the full extent of the law.

An attorney for Kologi, Richard Lomurro, previously told News 4 he and his client would appear in court on Wednesday to enter a plea of not guilty. Lomurro said Kologi's legal team was disappointed the judge granted prosecutors' motion to move the case out of juvenile court, referencing a heavily litigated process that included "extensive" expert reports and testimony.

But, he added, the judge's decision was not unusual, given it was a 16-year-old charged with a violent crime.

Kologi, of Long Branch, faces a minimum sentence of 30 years in state prison without parole for each of the four counts of first-degree murder. He also faces a weapons charge.

He allegedly shot all four victims -- Steven and Linda Kologi, 44 and 42 respectively; 18-year-old Brittany Kologi; and 70-year-old Mary Schultz, who lived in the home, multiple times just before the Times Square ball dropped to ring in 2018.

Prosecutors initially said Kologi allegedly went room to room to find his victims. A brother, grandfather and another family friend heard the shots and ran. They escaped unharmed.

Prosecutors have said the semi-automatic rifle used in the killings was legally owned by someone in the home, but have provided no other details.

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