LONG BRANCH — One of the four victims in the New Year's Eve family slaying was an actress, genealogist and the "life-long companion and soulmate" of the accused killer's grandfather.

Mary Ann Schulz was the oldest victim in the shooting that authorities say was carried out by 16-year-old Scott Kologi, who gunned down his parents, sister and Schulz with a semi-automatic rifle at close range. Police said each victim was shot more than once.

The love of Shultz's life, Adrian Kologi, was one of three people who managed to escape the gunfire. The others were one of the accused gunman's brothers and a family friend who was in her 20s, prosecutors said.

An obituary for Schulz said she "adored Adrian’s son and daughter-in-law, Steve and Linda Kologi of Long Branch, NJ, and loving granddaughter, Brittany, who also passed away in this senseless act of violence."

Scott Kologi, who has been described by relatives and neighbors who spoke to the media as having a developmental disability, is being held at a juvenile correctional facility in Middlesex County.

Prosecutors in Monmouth County are seeking to try Kologi as an adult on four counts of first-degree murder. A Superior Court judge as not yet ruled on whether to move the case to adult criminal court. In the meantime, a judge on Wednesday put prosecutors under a gag order, preventing them from discussing any further details of the case.

The judge also denied requests by The Star-Ledger and the Asbury Park Press to make initial court hearings in the case open to the public.

Schulz was remembered for her love of stage and film acting, appearing in performances with Murder on Cue and playing the role of the jury forewoman in the movie "Deathrow."

Schulz served on the executive board of the Monmouth County Genealogy Society and was a founder of the African-American Special Interest Group, with which she worked to preserve local cemeteries.

"She had a warm presence, generous spirit, and her smile lit up the room," her obituary reads.

Services for Shultz will be 4 to 7:30 p.m. Friday at Woolley-Boglioli Funeral Home, 10 Morrell St., Long Branch. Mass will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Jerome Church, Wall St., West Long Branch.

A $20-ticket fundraising dinner will be held 7 to 11 p.m. Friday at The William Hill Sports Bar at the Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport to benefit the Kologi family. For more information call 732-921-8025 or 732-859-7449.

 

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