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Judge won't open hearing for NJ teen charged with family slayings

Published  January 3, 2018 8:37am EST
U.S.
FOX 29 Philadelphia

FREEHOLD, N.J. (AP) -- A judge has ruled that media organizations will not be allowed to attend the initial court appearance of a teenage boy accused of fatally shooting his parents, sister and a family friend on New Year's Eve.

The 16-year-old boy was due to make the appearance Tuesday in Family Court, where hearings are normally closed to the public. But that was postponed when the Asbury Park Press and NJ Advance Media sought to attend the proceeding.

Monmouth County Assignment Judge Lisa Thornton rejected the request Tuesday night. The hearing is now planned for Wednesday.

MORE: Prosecutor: NJ teen held in shooting death of parents, sister

Authorities haven't disclosed a motive but have said they will seek to move the case to adult court. They say the victims were shot multiple times at close range.

The boy's grandfather, his brother and a family friend, a woman in her 20s, escaped the house uninjured.