The New Years Eve Long Branch Massacre

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Linda, Steve, Brittany, and Mary with me today.

On New Year’s Eve 2017, what should have been a quiet family celebration in Long Branch, New Jersey, turned into a tragedy. Just before midnight, 16-year-old Scott Kologi opened fire inside his family home, killing his parents, his sister, and a family friend while relatives and neighbors gathered nearby to ring in the new year.

Investigators later revealed that the crime was carried out with a rifle kept legally in the home. There had been no prior warning or argument, the attack unfolded without explanation, leaving an entire community stunned and grieving.

At trial, the defense argued that Kologi suffered from severe mental illness, but a jury ultimately rejected those claims. In 2023, he was found guilty of four counts of murder and sentenced to 160 years in prison.