NJ man gets 150 years for killing 3 family members on New Year’s Eve
LONG BRANCH, NJ (PIX11) --- A New Jersey man convicted of gunning down three family members and a family friend was sentenced Thursday to 150 years in prison.
Scott Kologi, 20, was 16 when he opened fire in 2017, just before the ball dropped on New Year’s Eve. Kologi must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence --- more than 127 years --- before becoming eligible for parole.
The shooting was premeditated, Trial Director Sean Brennan said. Kologi killed his 18-year-old sister, his 44-year-old mom, his 42-year-old dad and his grandfather's 70-year-old companion.
“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.”
Kologi researched which weapon would be effective against police wearing bulletproof vests, authorities said. On the night of the shooting, he lured his mom upstairs and shot her, then killed his dad when he rushed in to see what was happened. He then went downstairs where he fatally shot his sister and the family friend. Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Caitlin J. Sidley, who tried the case with Brennan, noted that Kologi fire 14 times, hitting the victims with 12 of the shots. His brother and grandfather were home at the time, but they each survived the attack.
“Even though they physically survived, they will still have to deal with the mental scars of what they saw," Brennan said
Kologi was convicted on all charges, including four counts of first-degree murder and a second-degree weapons offense. The judge denied a series of motions by the defense seeking a new trial, calling the evidence in the case “overwhelming”