When Family Ties Turn Deadly – The Scott Kologi Case

“Family is everything” These are the words of Jonathan Ruiz, when he was called as a witness on the stand.
Family is often seen as a safe haven – a group of people you can rely on no matter what, with unconditional love and protection. Or can we?

Let’s find out on today’s episode of Love and Murder.

Introduction

It was a crispy New Year’s Eve of 2017. The quiet beach town of Long Branch, Monmouth County New Jersey was all set for the ball drop. Typically known for summer carnivals, Long Branch is home to over 32,000 Americans.

 

This city has some of the oldest fire departments in the USA, and is the most established.

What’s so special about Long Branch, NJ? It’s a legendary Jersey Shore hotspot for surfing, sunbathing, and fantastic family fun. You’ll find upscale shops and eateries at the Pier Village – making it a great spot to enjoy a unique cultural and culinary experience on the East Coast. 

Near the beach, in a working-class part of town, there is a modest brick duplex. On New Year’s Eve, 2017, there was a small party going on in the house that had a plastic snowman smiling at anyone who entered. 

Cluttered and cramped, it was warm. 

It was home. It was family.

 

Steven and Linda

The tall, athletic Steven Kologi born in 1971 in Long Branch, had graduated from the local high school where he also played football. Steven was handsome, and never had trouble getting dates.

Steven did not attend college and decided to stay in his hometown because it had everything a young man wants; sunshine, good food, and familiar faces.

 A few years after graduation he met Linda. Her bubbly laughter and kind eyes had him smitten. She had a little boy, Jonathan from a previous relationship and Steven instantly hit it off with him.
Linda was born in 1973 and had spent her life in foster homes, yet the system had not tainted her beautiful smile. She was extremely protective of her son and had a positive outlook on life. Having attended college in Brookdale for two years, she held an accounting certificate and had no trouble finding jobs.
She was tough because of her upbringing, but she was warm and sweet to everyone. She took a liking to Long Branch because of the sense of community the small city had to it.
Steven and Linda tied the knot soon after and had Steven Jr and their only daughter Brittany. With three children under their roof, the couple made ends meet by working together. 

With the turn of the century around the corner and the Y2K bug hype, the couple had their fourth child, Scott.

 Linda suffered complications at birth. Her son was born with a tumor in his brain as well as the difficulty in birth gave him some underlying medical conditions.
Now anyone who marries young and goes through financial hardship can find themselves a little frazzled. 

By 2002, the couple purchased the house Steven grew up in from his mother, Carol Kologi. It was a cozy brick duplex, just right for their family, since they were a big family now.

Steven Kologi Sr (44)  was a hardworking man. Described by his co-workers as a “tough cookie” and “family man”, Kologi didn’t have a stable source of income but made sure the family had hot meals and a roof over their heads. A friend, Mike Sullivan lovingly recalled him as “Kujo” and expressed how he was there for his friends. 

Having been an athlete in high school, Steven was captain of the baseball team at work and even coached baseball.

 

Neighbors described the couple as devoted parents. The family came first and they prioritized their children above anything else. 

This was a couple that didn’t set aside their dreams, they infact made their family their true aim in life.

 

Linda’s calling in life, as said by her son Steven Jr, was to be a mother. Having grown up in foster care herself, she made sure her children were never left wanting anything.
Times were tough, but the parents made sure the children had presents, toys, new clothes, and never felt any less.
Jonathan was very close to Steven Sr. Though not his biological father, he was a father in every other aspect. They always spent meaningful family time together. Grandparents, to Ruiz, were Adrian and Mary.

Linda had been a bus driver in 2013 while Steven worked with the U.S. Postal service before switching to Kellogg’s warehouse in Cranbury. His manager said he was the most productive man there, learning everything there was to learn. But as luck would have it, in 2017, the company foreclosed and the Kologis were left unemployed.
Linda collected unemployment benefits since she was in between jobs; while her husband worked as a mailman and provided what he could.

Their financial troubles started in 2009 when they filed for Bankruptcy. The couple faced more troubles as they got a notice in August 2017 for foreclosure.
Linda kept it all bottled up and never let anyone know how troubled she was. Her only outlet was her Twitter feed. 

 

 She expressed she would end her life if that meant her family could use her insurance money. She would do anything for them, or was it dark depression sneaking up on her? 

Though Linda never sought professional help, it is apparent that she suffered from severe depression. The financial crunch had stressed her immensely, and she had a hard time dealing with all the pressure. Even Though she had no behavioral issues, Linda still had a lot on her plate and she seemed on edge, especially since the foreclosure notice. 

That’s the thing guys. Why is it such a taboo thing to seek medical help for mental health issues? It’s getting better NOW, but back in the day, it was seen as weak I guess.

In December, the bank had issued a statement that they would proceed with the foreclosure.

 Together, the couple had made the family comfortable in their small home.  Losing the house would mean more than just losing property; to them, the house had emotional significance.

Adrian Kologi and Mary Schultz 

Adrian Kologi, the father of Steven Sr. was relaxing with his long-time partner Mary Schultz. Linda’s son Jonathan Ruiz had stopped by earlier that afternoon, but he was close to Adrian. He was the only grandparent the boy had ever known. Linda’s sister along with her husband were all present at the house for a little get-together. Adrian and 70-year-old Mary had been in a relationship long enough for her to be a family member. The children knew her as their grandmother and lived together in the brick house. Together for more than 33 years, Mary had been there for all of Steven Sr.’s football games, and she was there for all of Brittany Kologi’s games. She was truly their “grandma.”

Brittany Kologi

The teen was home for her semester break from college. She was to turn 19 in three weeks.

The night before winter break, she and her friends were relaxing and taking pictures and laughing all night. 

She was majoring in health sciences and was a freshman at Stockton University. 

Like her dad, she graduated from Long Branch Highschool. He played football at school while she had been the head of the softball team.

The only sister, she was beloved and adored. As her best friend Shannon Nutley put it; she was a ray of sunshine.
“Brittany was the best person in high school,” Alyssa Julian, a classmate said. “Everyone loved her. She didn’t deserve this.” 

She was a very artistic girl and loved to paint and draw. She had planned to spend the break with her family and then head back to college. She could have gone to a party, but she really needed her family. It was so calm and peaceful. She was snuggling her cat Jill, it was old now, but a real member of the Kologi family. That’s what they all were. People that just fit together.
Brittany loved cats. She and her roommate bonded over cats, in fact they even held a memorial for her fish, Yolanda. She was the type of welcoming, sweet girl that put a smile on everyone’s face.

Brittany posted a Snapchat photo to her friends at 11:40 pm, lying with her cat. At 11:43 pm, 911 was called from the Kologi home to report a tragedy.
Jonathan Ruiz
Although only a half-brother,  Jonathan Ruiz was very close to his family. Steven Sr. was like a father figure to him, and he cherished all family get-togethers. He had a wireless communications business and purchased his own home in Toms River.

He was glad he could spend some time with everyone. He had lived with them for a long time. They had a good time, bonding. His mother was a strong, courageous woman and she taught him to stand tall in the face of adversity. She made him who he was today, and he loved his parents more than he could say.

He was visiting with his girlfriend and left the residence around 4 pm to meet a friend in Philadelphia.
Little did he know, it was the last time he would see his family this happy. Everyone was in a good mood, and he left content. 

So when he got a call later that night, it wasn’t just surprising. He couldn’t believe his ears.

Events that led up to the crime

Scott Kologi was a special boy. He was born with a tumor in his head, and much of his cognitive functions appeared different from other people. Ever since he was a toddler, Scott displayed disparity in his abilities.

He reached all the milestones with delays. At 16, he didn’t hang out with friends. He didn’t have any.
Autistic and severely misunderstood, he played with his toys and enjoyed the warmth of his mother’s hand on his forehead.

He slept in his parent’s bed till the age of 15.

Scott was on the autism spectrum, yet he was not treated by mental health professionals.

Not very successful at making friends, and he was often bullied. He didn’t go to Long Branch Highschool. Instead, when he was 9 years old his parents decided to take him out due to academic and social troubles. Scott was homeschooled till 7th grade, after which his parents enrolled him in a school for differently abled children.  This greatly helped Scott, extra attention from his parents helped him succeed in math and he finally learned to read. 

Michelle Molyneaux, Linda’s sister, says he was often troubled with violent thoughts. The boy tried to discuss his feelings with his mother. It would always result in Linda hushing him up. “Don’t say that or they will lock you up in the loony bin.” Michelle had often heard these conversations but said nothing. 

As evident from her tweets, Linda was clearly struggling with her own problems. The mortgage debt and other financial problems led her to believe that the first 20 years of her life were really hard. Bouncing around from foster care had instilled a fear of institutionalization in her. She was afraid her son would be taken from her. 

Like every mother, she thought he was harmless.
But Scott said the strangest things. “I would have to kill you, mom. Then I’d have to kill Dad because he would be sad without you.”

He said he hated Brittany and he wanted to kill her.
“They’ll take you away from me, and do you really want to go to the looney bin?” Linda scolded as Michelle sat quietly in the backseat of the car. 

Scott fidgeted with his sleeve, “No, but the thoughts are coming more often,” Molyneaux told the detectives.

Linda told Scott that doctors would put him on medication if he talked about his bad thoughts.

The boy shrugged, “Maybe that will help me.”

Why didn’t Linda Kologi allow her son the help he needed? We will never know because she took the reason to her grave.

During a game of Cluedo, Scott looked at Michelle’s husband. He picked up the gun figurine and said, “I’ll shoot you. I also shoot Michelle.” When Michelle asked him if he would spare her he said, “No I will shoot you. But I’ll let Robert go home to his family. Then I’ll go upstairs and kill mom and dad.”
Alarmed, Michelle turned to her sister ‘You’ve got to do something about this; it’s going to happen,'” she implored her sister. Linda shook off her hand ‘No, it’s not.’

A year prior to the incident, Scott casually mentioned to Steven Jr.’s girlfriend, “I could strangle you.” She didn’t feel threatened at the time because everyone knew Scott said anything without really understanding what it meant. He didn’t understand the consequences. He didn’t understand other people’s emotions. He would be struck with bouts of sudden laughter or sudden anger. Bipolar and dissociative disorders ran in the family, but doctors claim Scott had neither. 

Redflag? Maybe.

Scott confided in the one person he truly loved. His grandfather, Adrian. Adrian really understood the boy’s struggles, for he himself had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. His grandson told him about all the violent thoughts he had. It all began when people started bullying him. He had exceedingly vivid hallucinations. Dealing with his mental health was very hard, especially without professionals. His mother dressed him every morning and made special meals for him because his palette was like that of a small child, very mild.
Scott took showers, watched tv, and did anything he could to make the strange hallucinations go away.

Despite the hardships, the family still took trips together, played ball, went to the beach, and had game nights. They were close, and it was clear they were always there for each other. 

Steven Jr. had recently bought a Century Arms Semi-Automatic rifle. His mother was not happy with the weapon at home and told Steven to keep it in a safe. The rifle began to rust in a few days, so he simply kept it in the case without telling his mother. 

Michelle knew there was a gun in the house and was afraid something terrible was going to happen. With the amount of pressure Linda was under, Michelle feared for her.
Seated across from his girlfriend, Steve was having a good time. It beat going out and running into drunk drivers. This New Year’s Eve was calm. It was the kind of party he needed.

A week before the party, Scott sat awake in his bed. He looked at the figure sitting on the edge of his bed. It wasn’t his mother; it was a strange woman. She was black, then she turned red. She told him, “You are going to have to kill them all.” The boy nodded, speechless and confused. He wasn’t afraid, he had seen the woman before. He was new to his bed, but he knew he could trust the woman. 

31st December 2017

They had a great time. Everyone gathered in the afternoon, even Jonathan. They had all watched Transformers. Their Dad didn’t think much of it, but they had enjoyed it.

 Michelle told a joke, but Scott didn’t seem to understand it. He was quiet. “I’m going upstairs, I gotta do my homework.”
Jonathan drove his mother as she needed help getting Scott some pizza. They went to Dominoes and got him his favorite. He then left with his girlfriend. It was a good day. 

11:30 pm

Gary Patel looked over at the Kologi’s house.

 

Mrs. Kologi had been by that morning, buying more scratch cards. She loved trying her luck on lottery tickets, but not too much. She was a pleasant lady. Almost fireworks time he thought.
So when he heard shots later, he didn’t think much of it.

There was laughter as Linda cleared away the dishes. David Grohl was playing on her phone. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and looked fondly at their family photos. Brittany looked so much like her. They had the same smiles and the same twinkling eyes. She felt fierce pride for her daughter; she was going to be somebody. She wouldn’t life get in her way, and Linda would make sure of that. 

 

Mary Schultz had her hand on Adrian’s. She was 70, she had seen everything. She knew this was her happily ever after. 

Brittany was laughing with her brother and his girlfriend. T She posted a picture of her and Jill on Snapchat.

 

 It was 11:40 pm.

 

Steven Sr. was watching TV. He kissed Linda every year when the Ball dropped no matter what. He got comfortable in his chair. He had a great time with Jonathan. The girl he was with seemed great. She could be the one for him. He would sleep after the New Year, he had work in the morning.

11:41 pm.

 

Robert had his arm around Michelle. They were staying in the basement downstairs and were grateful because times were tough. It was good to be with family, especially when things were hard for all of them. Spending time together was almost therapeutic.

 

Linda headed upstairs to get Scott. He had been doing his homework for a while now, he was probably done. She would hate it if he missed the ball drop on TV. 

 

Scott was sitting in the dark. He had earplugs in his ears, and he had loaded his brother’s rifle with two magazines. He wasn’t afraid, but he was nervous. The woman on his bed had told him what to do and he just knew he had to do it. He knew it was something bad, it was dangerous. But he had to do it. It was too bad he would have to start with Mom and Dad. He had to do it to Mom because she wasn’t taking him seriously. But they couldn’t be without each other, could they? They had to be together.
He heard footsteps on the stairs.

 

He knew his mother was coming to get him for the ball drop. Perfect. 

“Scott?”

She opened the door and there was a bang and flashes of light. 

 

“Fireworks?” Adrian exclaimed to everyone. But Steven Sr. ran upstairs after his wife. He knew in his gut something wasn’t right, he just felt like there was danger.  More shots were fired. Now they KNEW something was wrong!

Steven Jr.’s heart was pounding in his ears as he smelled gunpowder. He could barely comprehend or think about what was going on. That’s when he saw Scott descend the stairs. He had his sunglasses and leather jacket on.  It was his costume from last year, Terminator. 

Steven was immobilized as he saw more flashes and heard the thunderous rifle Scott was holding at hip level calmly. This can’t be real!

He looked around at his family.
Robert and Mary had already gone down to the basement and out the backdoor. 

He couldn’t see his girlfriend, but Brittany was looking at Scott wide-eyed, afraid.

Scott shot Brittany four times. She dropped, sputtering blood, squirming. Mary gasped and stood up as Scott aimed at her and fired. Steven couldn’t move or think.

Steven’s girlfriend hid behind the fridge and had already dialed 911.

 

11:43 pm.

Adrian let out a heartbroken wail and held Mary. She was gasping and struggling. Not caring for his life, he sobbed as his soulmate died in his arms. Steven Jr. finally came out of his daze and ran for the door. “Help!” he yelled.

Behind him, Scott lowered his weapon as Adrian screamed. Watching tears stream down his beloved grandfather’s face seemed to snap him back to reality.

He was confused and didn’t understand why everyone was like this. He was just pretending to be Terminator. And he wanted to shoot them. He knew it was bad, but why was grandpa crying? Why wasn’t he angry instead?

Blazing sirens and police officers seemed to pour in all at once as he came out of his stupor. 

 

Interrogation

3:14 am Jan 1st, 2018, New Year’s Day

An officer put a hand on Steven Jr.’s shoulder as he sat quietly at the police station.
“Can I get you a coffee son?” He wanted to do something for the boy.
Steven Jr. ran a hand through his hair, “How much longer will I be officer?”
“You are the current legal guardian of Scott Kologi. We will need you to be present during the interrogations.”
Legal guardian? Still in shock, he nodded. It hadn’t sunk in yet.
He was just in his 20s.  The police conducted the interview. Scott looked like a lost child. He was relieved to see his elder brother. By habit or by instinct, Steve fist-bumped him and even held him close to help him get comfortable. 

 

He appeared like a normal protective elder brother. That was until he heard Scott speak. 

You guys, the amount of pain the boy shows, and the conflicting emotions being protective of his little brother and in excruciating pain when Scott mentions the details… it breaks your heart. I mean he was a kid himself and now he was a guardian.

The officers asked him what was going on when he shot his family members.
“I wasn’t all there mentally,” he claimed.
He explained methodically how he shot each member, and how many times he shot them. Beside him, Steven broke down. His face exhibited excruciating pain His brother confessing to the crimes just made it all the more real. 

“I just kept firing until they like, stopped moving,” Scott said, “I would aim at their head and whatnot … yeah when I saw they were still moving … ’cause like, even though I was in this type of thing, I just didn’t want them to be in pain at the same time.”

The detectives wanted to rule out insanity or anything medical. They pressed on firmly.

 

“But yet you knew what you were doing?” the female detective asked. “Yes,” he replied, “I was nervous when I was loading the magazines.

“Were you hearing any voices, seeing things when this happened?” 

“No, no,” said Kologi.

“Did you hear any voices that said ‘do it? Visions commanding you to do it?”

“No, no,” Kologi firmly replied.

“Did you ever think of killing someone else?” the male detective then asked, and Kologi answered “Yes.”

 

His answers and expression were emotionless. One could say he felt no remorse. But arguably, he didn’t understand remorse. Perhaps he didn’t understand his parents were dead? The detectives questioned him further. The female detective took a pause. She was surprised by how intelligent and articulate the boy was.
They asked him what stopped him.  He answered with childlike innocence, “I don’t know, I was tired I guess. I don’t know if I’d do it again, too tired.”

Scott confided to taking his brother’s gun out multiple times in the past year. He also said he saw a video on YouTube that showed him how to use the semi-automatic. He had googled if it would be useful against police officers with bullet-proof vests.
Police also found out he had been reading about the 2017 London terrorist attacks on his cell phone shortly before the killings. Out of the 14 shots, he had fired, 12 had fatally hit his family members. 

The two detectives escorted Scott to the restroom. Alone, Steven broke down sobbing, putting his head in his hands. He then stood up and violently threw something across a table. They gave him a minute to himself and then asked him if he was fine to go on. Collecting his composure, he said yes.
When Scott was alone with the officers, he finally realized what he had done. He broke down in tears, and said, “I have hurt a lot of people.”

 

Sitting through the interviews, Steven had a hard time staying objective with his brother. He knew his brother was mentally handicapped, yet he wanted to leave him. Part of him wanted him in jail. When he was leaving, Scott gave him a hug.

Steven Jr. went home to a blood bath. It was an active crime scene. He stared at the plastic snowman smiling in the doorway. He couldn’t believe this was his home. This was where he grew up, where his mom was always in the kitchen. He couldn’t imagine opening the door and not finding them there. 

Jonathan had driven home straight from Philadelphia when he got the call. The two brothers and Adrian Kologi were all that was left of the happy family.
No more beach days. No more baseball. No more parties.
And most of all…. No more Mom and Dad.

 

Aftermath

Mary Schultz’s family appeared broken. Later, they sued the Kologi family which was especially harder for Jonathan and Steven Jr., having already lost so much.
Brittany’s best friend, Shannon, stood up. 

She looked at the crowd and talked about remembering and honoring them. She spoke of Brittany, not of her death but of her life. 

How lively Brittany had been. How much she had to live for. She was taken too soon. But even Shanon could not bring herself to talk about Scott. Nobody did. It was too painful. How can you talk about being shot by your own blood?

There was a press release from the police, highlighting the events that had taken place.

Scott’s defense attorneys wanted him to be shifted to a psychiatric facility for the duration of the trial. It was denied, and the judge simply wanted him behind bars for his actions even as the trial went on.
Initially, he was tried as a minor, but since the state law was, after 16, he was an adult, he later faced a full trial as an adult.
Richard Lomurro claimed his mental health conditions and autism were behind the shootings. He wanted the jury to show some compassion regarding the shootings.

But prosecutors claimed that he knew exactly what he was doing, and he was doing it simply because he could. 

Michelle Mollyneoux visited her nephew in jail. Tearful, she asked him again and again why he did it, or if her joke had anything to do with it. He assured him it didn’t.

Steven tried to visit his brother. He was always called as a witness trying to defend his brother. But he couldn’t. He had protected him from bullies, he had protected his innocence as he believed in Santa. This was one thing he could not protect his brother from. He wasn’t sure if he even wanted to
It was clearly painful for him to testify in court.

 

Four years later, Scott was 20. He had grown. He was tried as an adult. 

Jonathan was tearful on the stand. Every time he spoke of family, his heart was overwhelmed with emotions and they trickled down in tears. 

Michelle explained why she hadn’t come forward before. “I thought Linda was alive. I thought she’d be mad that I told the detectives about Scott.” She also claimed Scott wanted to get help for his thoughts, that he didn’t want to kill his family, and should have been given medical attention.
Even Carol Kologi, their estranged grandmother, had attended the trial.
It didn’t matter to Jonathan and Steven Jr. Their family was gone forever. Their loss is immeasurable.

Every year, Steven Jr. tweets about family, about his mom, about giving your loved ones an extra hug.
Jonathan remembers his mom as the best mother ever, who was truly the pillar of their family. 

Mary Schultz is mourned by her beloved Adrian Kologi as well as her side of the family. 

 

As for Scott Kologi?
He faces 150 years in jail and is eligible for parole after 127 years. 

“These were acts of evil, carried out by someone who knew exactly what he was doing,” Brennan said, according to the statement from the prosecutor’s office. “He killed them because he could. He killed them because he wanted to.”

Defense attorney Richard Lomurro said he would 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.”

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

Insanity, or contemplated murder, one thing is certain. Professional help, especially regarding dark thoughts is extremely important and should be treated as a medical emergency.  There shouldn’t be a taboo in seeing a psychiatrist.
The tragedy that forever changed this happy family, and the loss that the surviving members face are incomprehensible.
One thing is certain. Precious lives were lost that night, the night that was supposed to bring a new year, a new future, and a new dawn for the Kologi family. 

Mental health issues are valid and require equal medical examination, what do you guys say? Let me know in the comments. Also, be sure to leave us a 5 star rating on the platform you are using.