Romeoville family murders: Police release connection between killer, family of four murdered

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - New details were released Thursday in the gruesome killings of a suburban family, nearly three months after their bodies were discovered in their Romeoville home.

Police have revealed that the killer did not act alone and that the suspect was in a relationship with one of his victims.

Around 8:43 p.m. on Sept. 17, Romeoville police were called to the 500 block of Concord Avenue by a concerned relative for a well-being check.

Inside the family’s residence, officers made a horrific discovery. Two adults, two young boys and three dogs had been fatally shot.

The deceased adults were identified as 38-year-old Alberto Rolon and 32-year-old Zoraida Bartolomei, according to the Will County Coroner’s Office. Police did not release the names or ages of their children, but loved ones identified them as Adriel, 10, and Diego, 7.

Now, in a shocking twist, police say Bartolomei was having an affair with the alleged killer, Nathaniel Huey Jr., 32, of Streamwood.

Police also say the relationship was known both by Bartolomei's husband, Rolon, and Huey Jr.'s girlfriend, Ermalinda Palomo.

Plus, that’s not all the suspect’s girlfriend knew, according to an update from officials.

Police said based on their investigation, they believe Palomo had prior knowledge of Huey Jr.'s intent to commit the murders, was involved in the planning, and even drove Huey Jr. to the crime scene.

This, after Palomo’s attorney said in September that she was sleeping at home when the crime unfolded.

However, digital evidence released Thursday proves otherwise. It shows the path of the vehicle used to commit the crime traveling from Huey Jr.'s and Palomo's home to the 500 block of Concord in Romeoville and back to Streamwood at the time the murders took place, police said.

It was determined that Huey Jr. exited and re-entered the offending vehicle from the passenger side and Palomo was the driver of the vehicle.

In the hours following the discovery of their slain bodies, police ruled out murder-suicide, saying that based on a "tremendous amount of physical evidence" collected at the scene, detectives have determined the attack was targeted, and "not a random incident."

Police then issued a statewide bulletin that was distributed to local law enforcement agencies, stating that Huey Jr. was a credible person of interest in the Romeoville murders. Police also identified Palomo as a person of interest.

Police said that Huey Jr. had extensive firearm training and had become "irrational and erratic."

Within days of the murders, the manhunt ended several states away.

The Catoosa, Oklahoma Police Department was alerted to the presence of the suspect vehicle from a digital license plate reader.

Local authorities located the vehicle, which was empty. An official with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) told FOX 32 Chicago that soon after, a man and a woman entered the vehicle and started to drive away.

That’s when authorities attempted to conduct a traffic stop. During the pursuit, Huey Jr.’s vehicle crashed and caught on fire along I-44 in Catoosa, Okla. Then, authorities said they heard two gunshots from inside the vehicle.

As police approached the vehicle, they located a woman with a gunshot wound in critical condition and a man with a gunshot wound, who was deceased.

The female passenger was taken to an Oklahoma hospital in critical condition. OSBI officials later confirmed that she succumbed to her injuries.

Romeoville police said Thursday that their investigation is nearing completion, but is not yet finalized.

Officials said additional forensic evidence is still pending analysis, but do not believe anyone else was involved in the killings.

On Thursday, the family’s Romeoville home was still boarded up and a memorial remained outside.