Long Branch quadruple homicide: What’s next for accused teen, family?

LONG BRANCH — Funerals for the victims of the fatal New Year's Eve shooting wrapped up this week but the legal case is far from over.

A 16-year-old boy is accused of shooting his parents and sister — Steven, Linda and Brittany — and his grandfather's longtime companion, Mary Schulz, at close range with a rifle.

Scott Kologi is currently being held at the Middlesex County Juvenile Center.

Kologi's 20-year-old brother Steven, grandfather Adrian and a young woman in her early 20s escaped the house.

WILL KOLOGI BE TRIED AS AN ADULT?

• Because he is a minor, the case remains in Family Court. But Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni has filed an application to move the case to adult court. The judge may decide by next month.
• In the meantime, a judge has ordered prosecutors not to release any more information about the case to the public.

WHY DID SCOTT OPEN FIRE?

• Gramiccioni has not disclosed a motive.
• Scott is said to be on the autism spectrum. Authorities have not discussed what role, if any, developmental disabilities might have played.
• Former Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi told New Jersey 101.5 the diagnosis does not necessarily mean he will escape a murder conviction. "Whatever his issues are, they have to be to a point where he does not appreciate the difference between right or wrong," Bianchi said.
• Gramiccioni said that police had never been called to the Wall Street home before the shooting.
• The prosecutor said that the family's reported financial problems likely did not factor into the shooting.

HOW DID HE GET ACCESS TO A GUN?

• Gramiccioni said that the gun was legally registered to a member of the family but did not elaborate on how Scott gained access. Authorities have not said who owned the gun, but Gamiccioni suggested that it belonged to a surviving relative.

WHAT'S NEXT?

• Eatontown Fire Department softball teammates Jim Gallo and Andrew "Bubba" Gaetano hold a fundraiser at Monmouth Park racetrack at 6 p.m. Friday in order to help with expenses for the surviving family relatives. The evening includes dinner, live music from a number of area bands and a raffle.
• A GoFundMe page continues to collect donations for the family.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ