Police docs paint horrifying picture of what led to shocking Romeoville quadruple murder

Police documents revealed Conclusions from a year-long investigation about a horrific murder that shocked a suburban Chicago community, answering questions that have long remained a mystery, including the possible motive for the murders.

More than 100 pages of investigative analysis were released Thursday into the 2023 murders of a Romeoville family of four, including their two young children and three dogs.

Zoraida Bartolomei, Alberto Rolón, their two children and three dogs were found butchered inside their home on September 17, 2023 after police were called for a welfare check.

The investigation into their murders would ultimately lead police on a bizarre and deadly chase in Oklahoma that sparked a year-long search for answers beyond what many could have anticipated.

Affairs and deceptions: Alleged gunman believes he worked for the Mexican cartel

Reports indicate that the case began long before the murders, with an affair between Bartolomei and his co-worker Nathaniel Huey Jr.

According to police, Huey Jr.’s partner, Ermalinda Palomo, knew Huey Jr. was having an affair and created a series of fake social media accounts to make Huey Jr. believe he was working with members of a Mexican cartel. , ultimately ordering him to commit the murders.

Local

romeoville

16 minutes ago

How a ‘missing and endangered’ woman was the mastermind behind the Romeoville quadruple murder

Indiana State Police

35 minutes ago

2 arrested on murder charges after bone fragments found in northwest Indiana yard

“Ermalinda (acting as one of her fictional characters) frequently referenced Nathaniel’s relationship with Ermalinda. She encouraged Nathaniel to be faithful in their relationship, to stop talking to other women, to treat Ermalinda kindly, and to be intimate. sexual with Ermalinda,” police reports state. “Communications with Nathaniel eventually led Ermalinda to convince Nathaniel that he was under constant surveillance by the organization and that leaders were questioning his loyalty and reliability. Based on years of communication, Nathaniel’s response seems to indicate that he fully believed in the information that Ermalinda had given him, but he did not know that Ermalinda was the person he was communicating with.

Their communications through fake accounts and phone numbers extended to both Bartolomei and Rolón, revealing details of the affair and threatening the family.

The ‘mole’, the murder and the motive

On Sept. 14, Palomo allegedly sent Huey Jr. a message from a fake phone number, telling Huey Jr. that Bartolomei was a “mole” who had been attacking him, according to police reports.

Over the next few days, Huey Jr. called in sick to work and began planning his murder using fake accounts he believed were members of the cartel, according to police.

“They investigated the neighborhood to locate cameras, planned how to enter and exit the house, and discovered that the house behind Zoraida’s was empty,” the report states, adding that the accounts told Huey Jr. to have the scene “appears to be a robbery committed by children.”

Believing he was working for a cartel hitman, Huey Jr. then carried out the murders while Palomo waited in the car, police said.

When he entered the home, police said Huey Jr. cut two screens to indicate a possible burglary, before entering through an open door into the kitchen.

When Rolón came out of his room to see what the sound was about, Huey Jr. started shooting. As Rolón ran toward where the bedrooms of Bartolomei and his two children were located, he was shot several times, police said.

He then went to a bedroom where Bartolomei and his two children were, and eventually fired through the door, hitting Bartolomei several times before entering the room and firing again, killing the two children.

Spray paint was found on the walls in what police say was an attempt to “bewilder investigators by creating the appearance of children committing a senseless crime.”

Two dogs were shot in the kitchen and a third in a bedroom, police said.

After the murders, Huey Jr. and the fake account run by Palomo discuss the murders, and Huey Jr. expresses concern that he forgot to take Bartolomei and Rolón’s phones.

Police make terrifying discovery

On September 17, Romeoville police were called to the house for a wellness check. Rolón did not show up for work and Bartolomei family I couldn’t communicate with her or the children.

When Romeoville officers arrived, they found a crack in a window and saw tables overturned inside. When they walked back, they saw two dead dogs and made a call to come inside.

Inside, the The home was filled with horror.

Bartolomei, Rolón, the two children and the dogs. were shot dead. A Romeoville police report obtained by NBC Chicago said family members were shot a total of 20 times.

The investigation begins

Through doorbells, IPASS data, cell towers and flock camera systems, police were able to track a Suspicious vehicle on a route from Streamwood to Romeoville. The vehicle was driven by Huey Jr.

The morning after the murders, Huey Jr. went to work, police said, noting that he was interviewed at work that same day.

“Nathaniel admitted his relationship with Zoraida but denied any involvement in the murders. He refused to allow police to search his GMC Yukon at the time,” the police report states. “Later that day, he was seen transferring a bag containing firearms from his GMC to another person. The bag and its contents were later confiscated.”

When police went to a home Huey Jr. shared with Palomo, they said they saw the vehicle suspected in the Romeoville murders parked on the street.

That same day, Huey Jr. and Palomo traveled to a nearby Target store. Huey Jr. reunited with his mother while Palomo waited in the car.

During that meeting, police said Huey Jr. confessed to the murders, although it was unclear whether the mother immediately informed police of the confession.

The next day, family members reported Palomo missing and the couple fled.

As Illinois police tracked the vehicle, authorities said “no probable cause existed for an arrest in this investigation.”

Suspicious vehicle leads to chase in Oklahoma

A swarm camera system in Catoosa, Oklahoma, later picked up Huey Jr. and Palomo’s vehicle at a Walmart.

Video obtained by NBC Chicago from Catoosa police showed the two entering the store together, side by side, purchasing electronics and in the makeup aisles.

When they left the store, seen on camera smiling, Catoosa officers were waiting in the parking lot. The video showed officers pursue suspects, who managed to flee in their vehicle.

The police chase ended in a violent crash on an Oklahoma interstate. Police said Huey Jr. shot and killed Palomo and then himself.

“As police approached, the GMC fled. Shortly thereafter, the GMC swerved into the center divider and crashed before stopping. After the vehicle stopped, a fire started near the driver’s compartment, possibly caused by “Nathaniel.” the report states. “Nathaniel shot Ermalinda in the head and killed her. He shot himself under the chin, but that shot didn’t kill him, so he shot himself in the head again. They both died.”

Oklahoma officers could be heard on body camera saying that Huey Jr. was an “armed and dangerous murder suspect” from Illinois.

Another was heard saying, “she’s the endangered missing person, he’s the murder suspect.” A responding officer responded, “it didn’t seem like they were being held against their will.”

The investigation ends

Police said that while the latest findings mark the end of their months-long investigation, they do not put an end to the pain many have experienced following the gruesome murders.

“The tragic death of a young family, including two young children, will forever impact the surviving family and those who investigated this case,” Romeoville Police Chief Brant Hromadka said in a statement. “Nothing can prepare a person for such an incident, and nothing can justify such a senseless act of violence. Although finalized, the finality of this case unfortunately does not bring closure for so many people who continue to suffer.”