Recalling the final minutes before this N.J. family was massacred on New Year's Eve

A man leaves a candle at the end of the vigil at Franklin Lake in West Long Branch for the Kologi family and Mary Schulz. (Aristide Economopoulos | The Star Ledger for NJ.com)

The Snapchat photo came in to a group of friends at 11:40 p.m. on New Year's Eve and showed a familiar image: Brittany Kologi laying with her cat, Jill.

Brittany was home with her family, spending time with them before heading back to college at Stockton University in Galloway to start her second semester later this month.  

Just minutes after she sent the photo, Brittany and her parents, Steve and Linda Kologi, and a family friend were shot dead, authorities said.

The mass shooting is one of the deadliest in New Jersey since at least 2013, according to Mass Shooting Tracker, an independent monitoring group that defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more people are shot.

Linda and Steven Kologi, at left, and their 18-year-old daughter, Brittany Kologi. (Go Fund Me)

"This is a situation we don't often find ourselves in ... in Monmouth," said County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni. "A quadruple homicide investigation. This is the first I've seen or heard of it and certainly the first I've participated in as prosecutor in Monmouth County."

It all started minutes before midnight and the start of 2018 when authorities said Brittany's 16-year-old brother, armed with a semi-automatic rifle, shot four people at close range in different rooms of the house on Wall Street. He hit each person with several bullets, authorities said.

The gun was legally owned by a family member who resided at the home, though authorities have not said who owned it.

The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office identified the victims as Linda and Steven Kologi, their 18-year-old daughter, Brittany Kologi, and family friend Mary Schulz, 70. Another family friend, an unidentified woman in her 20s, fled the house when the shots began, along with the teen's grandfather, Adrian Kologi, and another family member.

Authorities said the motive is not yet known and friends and families are asking the question: why?

Interviews conducted by NJ Advance Media with neighbors, friends and colleagues show a close-knit family that was also working through financial struggles. But through the hardship, the Kologis leaned on one another for support, according to one son.

"My New Year's resolution is to be as great of a parent as my parents were to me," Steven Kologi Jr. wrote on Instagram. "Never once was I without a hot meal or a roof over my head. They made sure Christmas came every year even though they struggled financially. I cannot even describe the type of people they were so just believe me when I say how great they were."

No place like home

The Kologis identified strongly with Long Branch. Steve Sr. grew up in the town and graduated from the local high school. Friends and acquaintances said the family was active in the community and many knew their faces around town. They often hosted barbeques and always opened their home to their children's friends.

Jalen Walls, an 18-year-old who attended high school with Brittany, said the Kologi house was a destination for group hangouts.

"We would always go over there whenever we were home or around the neighborhood," Walls said. "You hear something like this. It is just crazy. I've walked through that door a lot of times."

Steve Kologi Sr. and his sons were active in local baseball leagues. Steve Sr. was involved with the town's baseball league and coached dozens of people, even if his sons were not playing.

But there was another side. Linda and Steve Kologi Sr. both struggled to find steady work, past employers and colleagues said. Linda Kologi in 2013 worked as a bus driver for the public schools in Long Branch, according to the city's board of education meeting minutes, and Steve Kologi Sr. worked at the U.S. Postal Service before moving to Kellogg Company in Cranbury to work in the warehouse.

At Kellogg, Steve Sr. learned the ins and outs of the company's shipping and delivery service, said Roger Daniels, his manager. Work went so well for him that Steve Sr.  was eventually able to get his son hired, Steve Jr., Daniels said.

"Steve Sr. was one of the most productive guys in the warehouse. He always wanted to learn and took coaching well," Daniels said. "He was one of those guys that never got involved in drama and never understood why people complained and didn't want to work hard."

In August 2017 Kellogg closed dozens of warehouses, including the one in Cranbury and both Kologis lost their jobs, Daniels said.

But their financial problems began earlier. In 2009, the family filed for bankruptcy, according to public records, and received a notice of foreclosure in August 2017, the Asbury Park Press reported.

At the time of the shooting, Linda and Steve Kologi resided in the home with their children, Steve Jr., Brittany and their youngest son, according to public records.

Jonathon Ruiz, Linda Kologi's oldest son, lived at the Long Branch house before buying a home in Toms River in May 2017, public records show. He owned a wireless technology business registered in Long Branch where Linda worked as an administrator, business filings show.

Steve Jr. graduated from Long Branch High School and played football, Long Branch Mayor Adam Schneider said. Schneider said he used to see his grandfather, Adrian Kologi, and Mary Schulz at every game.

Brittany also attended Long Branch High School. She graduated in June 2017 and was a freshman at Stockton University. Her friends described her as a "ray of sunshine" who was a leader on her school's softball team and was always there for her friends.

"Brittany was the best person in high school," Alyssa Julian, a classmate of Brittany's, said. "Everyone loved her. She didn't deserve this." 

Adrian Kologi owned a house about a 15-minute drive away in Oakhurst. His companion, Mary Schulz, was also killed in the shooting.

"Mary was one of those people that could do ten things at once and do all of them well," said Catherine Lefurge, Schulz's sister from Connecticut. "She was truly an amazing person. It's been tough for the family"

Schulz's brother Michael was a police officer with Long Branch for more than 30 years and recently retired, Schneider said.

"It has a profound impact on people when this happens," Schneider said earlier this week. "Yesterday, we had an open house at the firehouse. It was the major topic of conversation. It's very, very sad."

Last day

On the morning of Dec. 31 around 8 a.m., Gary Patel walked through the below freezing weather to his small convenience store, Welsh Farms, across the street from the Kologi's house. He said he showed up earlier than normal for what he expected to be a busy day.

Across town, bars were preparing for New Year's Eve parties, promoting their events on social media.

A few hours later, between customers coming in for coffee, newspapers, and small food items, Linda Kologi came into the store, Patel said. She bought a bottle of water and a lottery ticket.

Steve Kologi Sr. frequented Flavo's liquor store three blocks down the street from the house, said Nick Patel, a cashier there.

"He usually comes in about every other day after work and he always gets the same thing," Patel said, adding that the two often talked about work and family.

On the morning of Dec. 31, Steve Kologi Sr. dropped by Flavo's and bought a six pack of Miller Light and a pack of Newport cigarettes.

"It was like any other day," Patel said.

Six hours later, Long Branch law enforcement said it received a 911 call from someone who eventually escaped the Kologi brick duplex druing the shooting. Within minutes, the police were there, Gramiccioni said.

In a press conference Tuesday he said that the bodies of Brittany, Steve, Linda Kologi and Mary Schulz were "riddled" with gunshot wounds. The gun had been loaded with 15 7.62mm rounds at the time of the shooting, Gramiccioni said.

"We think this was fairly sudden and quick," he added.

Schneider said he received a text message at 1 a.m. about the shooting.

"Multiple shooting on Wall Street. Four dead. Suspect in custody," read the text from Long Branch acting police Chief Jason Roebuck, according to Schneider.

At 4 a.m., Roebuck texted him the last name of the victims: Kologi.

"I texted him back, 'I know them,'" Schneider said.

The suspect is in custody at the juvenile detention center in Middlesex County. He is charged with four counts of murder and weapons offenses.

He was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning, but the media was not allowed to attend because he is under 18. 

A Monmouth County judge retained the suspect following his appearance Wednesday and issued a gag order prohibiting the parties' release of any additional information, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

Just after 6 p.m. Tuesday, at a candlelight vigil in Franklin Lake Park in West Long Branch, hundreds of mourners gathered in below-freezing temperatures to honor the memory of the Kologi family members killed and Mary Schulz.

Janiyah Gilliard, a friend of Brittany Kologi since third grade, cracked a smile after fighting back tears as she discussed memories of Brittany making the entire science class laugh during one of their final days at Long Branch high in 2017.

"She's very energetic, artsy and was always smiling," Gilliard said. "She just lit up the entire room."

She loved cats, Gilliard said, and you couldn't pull her away from them. So when the Snapchat photo from Brittany came in of her laying next to her cat, Gilliard said it wasn't a surprise.

And then, like every photo on Snapchat, it vanished.

Erin Banco may be reached at ebanco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ErinBanco. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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