John Jefferson
Inset: Alberto Rolon his wife Zoraida Bartolomei and their two sons, Adriel and Diego (GoFundMe). Background: Romeoville, Illinois, home where all four were murdered in September 2023 (WGN/YouTube).
Cops in Illinois released their final report on a quadruple murder that took the lives of two young kids last year, which untangled a wild web of lies and manipulation orchestrated by a scorned lover.
Police responded to a home in the Chicago suburb for a well-being check shortly before 9 p.m. on Sept. 17, 2023, after one of the family members did not show up for work. Officers who arrived on the scene looked through a window and saw multiple dead dogs and the home in disarray, body camera video reportedly showed. Cops entered the house and found four bodies: Alberto Rolon, 38, his wife Zoraida Bartolomei, 32, and their two sons, 9-year-old Adriel and 7-year-old Diego. There were also three dead dogs.
The Romeoville Police Department sent its final report on the homicides to local TV stations. Over the ensuing weeks and months, detectives allegedly uncovered a convoluted plot masterminded by the fiancée of Bartolomei’s lover. According to police, Bartolomei began a long-standing affair with a co-worker, 32-year-old Nathaniel Huey Jr. At some point, Huey’s fiancée, 50-year-old Ermalinda Palomo, learned of the affair.
Police say Palomo then “created multiple online personas” over several years posing as members of a Mexican drug cartel and convincing Huey that he was a member of the organization.
“Some of the roles she established for various characters include: organization bosses and shot-callers, hitmen, and hackers,” cops wrote.
Over time, “they” told Huey there was a “mole” within the “organization.” A couple of days before the murders, Huey received a message that Bartolomei was the “mole” and she was going to attack him, cops said. Palomo, acting as one of her characters, then began to plan the murders with Huey. She showed him the layout of the house and possible cameras in the neighborhood. Huey never knew it was his fiancée behind the plan, per cops.
“They discuss the persons residing at the residence, including Zoraida, Albert, and their two children as well as the number and types of dogs in the house. Ermalinda tells Nathaniel to cause damage to make the scene appear to be a burglary committed by kids. Ermalinda reassures Nathaniel by saying, ‘Many murders go unsolved,”” the report said.
Palomo also told Huey how to carry out the killings.
“Move through locate and hit the two adults first,” a message said. “Then two kids.”
Surveillance video reportedly showed Palomo drive Huey to the murder scene shortly after 3 a.m. on Sept. 16, 2023. Huey proceeded to enter the home and shoot the four people and three dogs a combined 20 times with a 9 mm gun, police said.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Romeoville police Deputy Chief Chris Burne told reporters that cops identified Huey and Palomo as suspects a couple of days after the murders and issued an alert to other law enforcement agencies for Huey, the woman and a vehicle they were believed to be driving. On Sept. 20, 2023, license plate readers captured the vehicle in Catoosa, Oklahoma — more than 600 miles away from where the killings occurred, Burne said.
Officers tried to conduct a traffic stop, but the vehicle fled. It crashed and caught fire, Burne said. As officers approached the vehicle they heard what sounded like two gunshots. They found Huey in the driver’s seat and Palomo in the passenger’s seat, both suffering from gunshot wounds, Burne said. Huey was pronounced dead at the scene while the woman was rushed to the hospital, according to Burne. She later died. Police believe Huey shot Palomo before turning the gun on himself.
After the final report’s release, the Romeoville police chief released a statement to local media outlets.
“The tragic deaths of a young family, including two young children, will forever impact the surviving family and those that investigated this case. 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 mean closure for so many trying to grieve.”
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