Scott Kologi gets 150 years for killing family in Long Branch

Editor's note: Mary Schulz was one of four people killed by Scott Kologi. Her named was misspelled in an earlier version of this story.

FREEHOLD - The Long Branch man who, at age 16, slaughtered his mother, father, sister and surrogate grandmother with his brother’s assault rifle during his family’s New Year’s Eve party was sentenced Thursday to 150 years in state prison for the 2017 massacre.

Superior Court Judge Marc C. Lemieux imposed the prison term on Scott Kologi, now 20, calling him ”an evil man.’’ LeMieux ordered that he serve 85 percent of the term, or 127 years, six months and four days before he can be considered for release on parole, under the state’s No Early Release Act.

“The intention of this court is that this defendant never see the light of the outside of a jail cell ever again,’’ LeMieux said.”I hope one day, you realize the magnitude of what you’ve done here,’’ LeiMieux told Kologi.

The defendant showed no emotion when he learned his sentence or throughout the daylong sentencing hearing.Following a trial before LeMieux in February, Kologi was convicted Feb. 24 of the murders of his mother, Linda Kologi, 44; father, Steven Kologi Sr., 42; sister, Brittany, 18; and Mary Schulz, 70, the longtime companion of his grandfather whom he considered his grandmother.

“He unleashed a fury on these individuals who did nothing but love him,’’ LeMieux said. ”These are not acts of a child. These are not acts of a juvenile. These are acts of a cold-blooded killer.’’

Defense attorney Emeka Nkwuo asked the judge to impose a 30-year term, citing his client’s mental illness and young age at the time of the massacre.”He’s a mentally ill child who begged his mother for help and never got it,’’ Nkwuo said.Nkwuo was referring to trial testimony that Kologi’s mother forbade him to tell his therapist he was having thoughts of killing people for fear he would be institutionalized.

Kologi trial:Defense and prosecution present closing arguments

Sean Brennan, an assistant Monmouth County prosecutor, asked that Kologi be sentenced to two, consecutive life terms.”These were acts of evil carried out by someone who knew exactly what he was doing,’’ Brennan said. ”He killed them because he could. He killed them because he wanted to.

“Consecutive sentences are warranted by the sheer volume of harm that he caused,’’ Brennan said.

Throughout the lengthy sentencing hearing, Kologi primarily looked downward and sometimes swayed from side to side in his chair in the courtroom’s jury box. At times, he played with his hands. When asked if he had anything to say before he was sentenced, Kologi said he did not.

However the victim’s relatives were vociferous. Jane Wallace, one of Schulz’s eight siblings, told the judge she believes her murdered sister would have wanted Kologi to get the death penalty, as she had advocated for the person who murdered a cousin in Nevada in 2009.

“He should suffer adult consequences for his heinous acts,’’ Wallace said.

“There is no closure,’’ she said. ”He left behind a long list of emotionally crippled survivors. What has he done to deserve a break?’’

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Other siblings also described the devastation their sister's murder caused their family and described her as the fun-loving aunt who doted on children.

"Mary was the nurturer to the younger generation,'' said her sister, Cathy Lefurge. "She was the cheerleader who encouraged the youth to follow their dreams.

Although she had recently retired before her murder, Mary Schulz was involved in many organizations and activities, including genealogy and theatre, said a brother, Dave Schulz.

"Mary was not an old lady in a rocking chair,'' he said. "She had a lot more to accomplish in her life.''

Carol Kologi, the defendant’s grandmother and Steven Kologi Sr.’s mother, acknowledged her grandson should be punished for his crimes, but she asked the judge to consider placing him somewhere where he could receive help for his mental illness.

“Scott was a 16-year-old child who recognized that he needed help because of damaging thoughts,’’ Carol Kologi said. ”Scott told his mother that he was having bad thoughts about killing people, including family members.

“Although he was found guilty, I do believe Scott’s mental condition is the impetus behind that night in 2017,’’ she said. ”I’m asking the court for some compassion and understanding in this matter.’’

Defense attorney Richard Lomurro vowed to appeal Kologi’s conviction and sentence.

“The bottom line is, Scott is not a cold-blooded killer,’’ Lomurro said. “Scott is, and was, severely mentally ill. But he will be sent to state prison to be with cold-blooded killers.’”

Following the trial before LeMieux in February , a Monmouth County jury found Kologi guilty of four counts of murder and one count of possessing a weapon for an unlawful purpose. The trial was closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic but broadcast live on the New Jersey judiciary’s website, njcourts.gov. Although he was a minor when he committed the crimes, Kologi was tried as an adult because of the seriousness of the offenses.

Previous testimony:Everyone was happy hours before Kologi family massacre, brother testifies

That Kologi shot and killed his mother, father, sister and Schulz was never in dispute: the killings were committed in front of other family members gathered to celebrate New Year’s Eve, and hours later, Kologi gave detectives a detailed confession that was recorded on video and played for the jury at trial.

The crux of the trial centered on whether Kologi was criminally insane when he killed the four victims.

Defense attorneys called psychologist Maureen Santina, who testified Kologi is schizophrenic and was experiencing a psychotic episode during the massacre.

The prosecution called a nationally renowned psychiatrist, Dr. Park Dietz, who testified that Kologi while autistic, is not schizophrenic and knew what he was doing when he killed his family members. Dietz performed an extensive evaluation of Kologi and, in the past, has evaluated such notorious criminals as serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, “Unabomber’’ Theodore Kaczynski and John Hinckley Jr., found not guilty by reason of insanity of trying to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981 to impress actress Jodie Foster.

In his videotaped confession, Kologi told detectives he took his brother’s assault rifle, loaded a total of 30 bullets into two magazines and turned out the lights in his room so his mother wouldn’t’ see him when she came to look for him minutes before midnight, with the family gathered downstairs to welcome in the New Year.

When she did, Kologi said he shot her five to seven times in the chest and torso and then shot his father in the back when he came upstairs to see what was going on. Then, Kologi said he went downstairs and pumped four bullets into Shulz before turning the gun on his sister and shooting her three times in the chest and head.

Kologi, in the videotaped confession, also told detectives about experiencing bizarre hallucinations as a child and said he felt like he was watching a movie as he was killing his family members. He told detectives he snapped out of his daze and stopped shooting when he saw his grandfather, Adrian Kologi, fall to his knees upon witnessing Schulz, his longtime partner, being shot. After that, Scott Kologi said he spared his grandfather’s life and went upstairs to wait for the police to come.

Kathleen Hopkins, a reporter in New Jersey since 1985, covers crime, court cases, legal issues and just about every major murder trial to hit Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact her at khopkins@app.com.