Two U.S. Family Killed In Costa Rica; Teen Slaughters Family In NYE Attack.
CASAREZ: Sunday night at 11:45 p.m., most people were counting down to the New Year. For one family in Long Branch, New Jersey, the celebration was cut short. A husband and wife their teenaged daughter and a family friend all shot to death in their home.</s>CASAREZ: Police say it was their 16-year-old son who took a relative`s semiautomatic assault rifle and gunned down his family. Now, he is facing four counts of murder and he could be charged as an adult. The boy`s family described him as a good kid. CNN Correspondent Brynn Gingras joins us now and Steve Moore and Brian Wagner. Brynn, this is horrific opinion.</s>BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORREPOSNDENT: At every level.</s>CASAREZ: A family wiped out.</s>GINGRAS: Completely.</s>CASAREZ: We`ve learned new information today.</s>GINGRAS: Well, all day we`ve been waiting for this 16-year-old to face a Judge, in family court, juvenile court. He is 16 years old, it got slowed up, that whole arraignment process, that is because we know in family court, the media, reporters, they`re not allowed in. A local newspaper filed a motion to make that happen, to allow reporters to see those proceedings and a Judge has not ruled on that. The first arraignment has been pushed back until 11:00 tomorrow morning. That is when we expect the 16-year-old to face a Judge. After that, it will be up to that Judge, who has 60 days to decide if that juvenile will be tried as an adult. Which is what the prosecutor in this case wants to do.</s>CASAREZ: We had thought there were two people in the home that were not shot at and killed. But we learned different information.</s>GINGRAS: We learned there`s three. They promised a news conference giving us more details of the case. A lot of those details come out in court, since this is in juvenile court, we`re not learning too much. He came in front of the cameras, gave us more updates. Three people we learned were inside that house who were able to escape, and we did learn it wasn`t necessarily, because the 16-year-old didn`t target them, it`s because they heard the gunshots in the house happening when the 16-year-old attacked his sister, mother, father and the family friend, they were able to escape just hearing those gunshots.</s>CASAREZ: We were hearing from neighbors and people who knew this family, also, someone who knew this young man who is now not named at all publicly, about what he was like. Take a listen to this.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is a good kids. He had some learning disabilities. He knows right from wrong. Why would he do that? Why would he kill his own mother?</s>CASAREZ: Brynn, from everything we have heard and seen. It seems like a really close family, a good family. What have you heard?</s>GINGRAS: Just like that person said, there was some sort of developmental developmental disability that the 16-year-old play have had. Whether that plays into the court proceedings, we will have to find out. From family members, we have heard, yes, they were a great family, this kid was a great kid many a friend of the 18-year-old -- 18-year-old who died in this said that he never showed any signs of triggering any sort of violence. Like he always would just laugh when she was hanging out with her -- her best friend, Brittany, who died in this. The older brother, one of the brothers, there are two others that are alive. One of the brothers who escaped this, he did make a post on social media today, but didn`t mention his brother who`s now in police custody, but made this comment. He said my new year`s resolution is to be as great of a parent as my parents were to me. My sister was so beautiful and smart, she just got done with her first semester of college. Please remember to give the ones you love an extra kiss or I love you. For the whole Kologi family.</s>CASAREZ: Britney Kologi 18 years old, just completed her first semester in college. Steven Kologi the father, 44 years old, Linda Kologi 42, his wife and you just see them in these pictures as a loving family. And we understand that he worked the overnight shift, the father, to help support his family. And a nonrelative was also shot, Mary Shultz, 70 years old. Who was she?</s>GINGRAS: She was in some sort of a relationship with the grandfather who was able to escape with the older brother and the third person we have no identity too.</s>CASAREZ: Steve, we`re hearing that those shot were in different rooms? And they were shot multiple times with this semiautomatic rifle, the magazine had 15 rounds, and prosecutor would not say if all the rounds were fired, but each victim shot multiple times, what does that tell you?</s>MOORE: It tells me they probably heard the shots and some of them decided to shelter in place. They didn`t want to go out and confront the person, whoever it was. And they felt staying in the same place would probably be their best bet. As far as how many times he shot them indicates his state of mind, rage, anger, something had sprung in this person`s mind, we may never completely understand what that was, but there was a lot of anger and passion involved in these killings. With the type of rifle he had. One round might have done it each time. He was dealing with some kind of pent up emotion.</s>CASAREZ: We have a bit of information from the prosecutor today that spoke out in a press conference today.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do have information as to the cause and manner of death. Unfortunately, with the four deaths, that we`re investigating, all of them were ruled as a manner of death of homicide, and the cause was multiple gunshots to each individual. Those gunshots occurred at close range.</s>CASAREZ: All right. Brian, close range and multiple shots. That shows an intent to kill.</s>BRIAN WAGNER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It absolutely shows an intent to kill, but I would be concentrating on, where was the gun contained within the house? That is actually going to show his intent. If the gun is easily accessible. The intent is, the natural intent, any time you shoot someone, you`re going to kill them. When you have so go to another room or in a locked safe, unlock the gun, and go to the room where the deceased was in, that is where you really flesh out someone`s intent.</s>CASAREZ: Even to get the gun and take it so close to someone`s face or body or abdomen and shoot, there can still be premeditation.</s>WAGNER: Absolutely. The issue is, how do you best flesh out what this defendant`s intent was, and did he have an opportunity to walk it back, we all have snap issues that we do, but by going to another room, by going to a gun safe, by un-looking it, there`s more time for the person to -- cooler heads prevail, that didn`t happen in this case. We all wish it did, where the gun was would be the key fact for me in this case.</s>CASAREZ: You`re already thinking of the defense here?</s>WAGNER: Absolutely.</s>CASAREZ: Should he be charged as an adult?</s>WAGNER: I think his mental state will have a big say in that. Whether or not he is mentally competent and how mentally competent he is, should really determine that. I find it hard to believe that this many people deceased in a domestic abuse, will not be charged as an adult. It`s very unlikely.</s>CASAREZ: Couldn`t get much worse than that. We also understand that 911 was called by one of the relatives or people in the home that were not shot at. Let`s listen to the prosecutor as he describes the investigation so far.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were sleeping at the time this happened?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those kind of details are going to have to come out as our investigation unfolds. Those are things you`ll hear once charging decisions are made and it gets into a courtroom.</s>CASAREZ: Brynn, we don`t know where they were, but they said multiple rooms. It was a quarter to midnight, right?</s>GINGRAS: Just 15 minutes before the New Year, and that is what the gunshots also, people were as you heard that man say, fireworks, was it gunshots? What was it, there were calls being made to authorities. This is Long Branch New Jersey. It`s a close linked town, it`s not exactly the biggest police department. That is why you have the Monmouth county prosecutor`s office doing part of the investigation. So this certainly is alarming.</s>CASAREZ: New Years` Eve party and then they sort of walk that back, do we know what was happening in the house?</s>GINGRAS: As far as what is happening, no. But that`s all I think going to come out more, once we actually get this ruling if it happens, of him being tried as an adult. I think that`s when the Monmouth County prosecutor`s office feels comfortable actually giving more details of this crime.</s>CASAREZ: Steve, how are they going to determine the state of mind of this young man?</s>STEVE MOORE, FORMER FBI AGENT AND INVESTIGATOR: It`s going to be tough. I think it`s going to go back to obviously a history of the young man from birth all the way to a quarter to midnight the other night. I think it`s going to go a lot to Steven Jr., the son who survived, the grandfather who survived. Because what they`re going to want to know is what happened that night. Was it as defense attorney was believing, something where there was anger, that was not planned, where the guy went and got the gun and still premeditated in the act, or was it something where the kid had decided, my family is not going to see the new year, I`ve got too much of a problem with them. So, you have to go back on that. And there`s going to be leakage all the way along. But I`ll tell you what`s interesting to me. If the family really thought he was some kind of threat, likely that gun would have been locked up and him not in possession of the combination. So, I assume that this caught them all by surprise.</s>CASAREZ: It`s a good point because any responsible gun owner keeps their gun locked, especially when there are children around, especially when there is something that -- just make sure everyone is safe. All right, we will keep following this, and it is horrific, especially at the beginning of the new year. Thank you all. In Rockford, Illinois, an SUV tears out of a bank drive-thru, jumps an embankment, and then goes airborne. Watch this. It was all caught on camera.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amazingly, no one was killed.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God.</s>CASAREZ (voice over): Wow! Miraculously, the driver of the gray sedan wasn`t hurt. Oh, my God. Can you imagine the shock just realizing what was happening. The driven even told officers that the flying SUV barely touched the car. How would you maneuver that? Police say the SUV crossed four lanes of traffic without hitting anyone before finally running into a building. Sixty-two-year-old Kimberly Craft (ph) told police that she accidentally accelerated too fast, and the car just went out of control. She is charged with DUI and reckless driving.</s>CASAREZ: Now, a 20-year-old mother disappears days before a custody hearing. Now her remains have been found and police are searching for her killer. And later, horrific video shows an elderly man with dementia being attacked in an assisted living facility.