Police documents revealed the findings of a yearlong investigation into a horrifying murder that stunned a suburban Chicago community, answering questions that have long remained a mystery -- including the potential motive for the killings.
More than 100 pages of investigative analysis were publicly released Thursday in the 2023 killings of a Romeoville family of four, including their two young children and three dogs.
Zoraida Bartolomei, Alberto Rolon, their two boys and three dogs were found massacred inside their home on Sept. 17, 2023 after police were called for a wellness check.
The investigation into their murders would ultimately lead police on a bizarre and deadly chase in Oklahoma that spurred a yearlong hunt for answers beyond what many could have anticipated.
Affairs and deceit: Alleged gunman believe he was working for Mexican cartel
The reports indicate the case began well before the murders, with an affair between Bartolomei and her coworker 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, which would ultimately order him to commit the murders.
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"Ermalinda (acting as one of her fictional characters) frequently referenced Nathaniel's relationship with Ermalinda. She would encourage Nathaniel to be faithful in his relationship, to stop speaking with other women, to treat Ermalinda nice, and to engage in sexual intimacy with Ermalinda," the police reports state. "Communications with Nathaniel eventually lead Ermalinda to convince Nathaniel he was under constant surveillance by the organization and that the leaders questioned his loyalty and trustworthiness. Based on years of communication, Nathaniel's response seems to indicate he fully believed the information being fed to him by Ermalinda, but did not know Ermalinda was the person he was communicating with."
Her communications from fake accounts and phone numbers extended to both Bartolomei and Rolon, revealing details of the affair and threatening the family.
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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 targeting him, the police reports state.
Over the days following, Huey Jr. called in sick to work and began planning her murder with the fake accounts he believed were members of the cartel, according to police.
"They researched the neighborhood to locate cameras, planned how to get in and out of the house, and learned the house behind Zoraida's was vacant," the report states, adding that the accounts told Huey Jr. to make the scene "appear to be a burglary committed by kids."
Believing he was working for a hit man in the cartel, Huey Jr. later carried out the murders while Palomo waited in the car, police said.
As he entered the home, police said Huey Jr. cut two screens to indicate a potential break-in, before he walked in through an unlocked door to the kitchen.
When Rolon exited his room to see what the sound was about, Huey Jr. began firing shots. As Rolon ran toward where Bartolomei and their two children's bedrooms were located, he was shot multiple times, police said.
He then moved on to a bedroom where Bartolomei and her two children were located, ultimately firing shots through the door, striking Bartolomei multiple times before entering the room and firing again, killing the two children.
Spray paint was found on walls in what police say was an attempt to "throw investigators off by creating the appearance of kids 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 killings, with Huey Jr. expressing concern he forgot to take phones from Bartolomei and Rolon.
Police make horrifying discovery
On Sept. 17, Romeoville police were called to the home for a wellness check. Rolon didn’t show up to work, and Bartolomei's family couldn’t reach her or the boys.
When Romeoville officers arrived, they found a crack in a window, and saw overturned tables inside. When they walked to the back, they saw two dead dogs, and made a call to make entry.
Inside, the home was filled with horror.
Bartolomei, Rolon, the two kids and dogs were shot and killed. A Romeoville police report obtained by NBC Chicago said the family members were shot a combined 20 times.
The investigation begins
Through ring doorbell, IPASS data, cell towers and flock camera systems, police were able to track a suspect vehicle along 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 they interviewed him at work that same day.
"Nathaniel admitted to his relationship with Zoraida but denied any involvement in the murders. He refused to allow Police to search his GMC Yukon at this time," the police report states. "Later this day, he was seen transferring a bag containing firearms from his GMC to another person. The bag and its contents were later seized."
As police went to a home Huey Jr. shared with Palomo, they said they saw the suspect vehicle from the Romeoville murders parked down the street.
That same day, Huey Jr. and Palomo traveled to a nearby Target store. Huey Jr. met with his mother while Palomo waited in the car.
During that meeting, police said Huey Jr. confessed to the murders, though it was not clear if the mother immediately informed police of the confession.
The next day, Palomo was reported missing by family members and the pair had fled.
As police across Illinois tracked the vehicle, authorities said "probable cause for an arrest in this investigation did not exist."
Suspected vehicle leads to Oklahoma chase
A flock 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 walking into the store together, side-by-side, shopping for electronics and in makeup aisles.
As they left the store, seen on camera smiling, Catoosa officers were in the parking lot waiting. Video showed officers chase after the suspects, who managed to flee in their vehicle.
The police chase ended in a fiery crash on an Oklahoma interstate. Police said Huey Jr. shot and killed Palomo, and then himself.
"When Police approached, the GMC fled. A short distance later, the GMC drifted to the center divider and crashed before coming to a stop. After the vehicle came to rest, a fire started near the driver compartment, possibly set by Nathaniel," the report states. "Nathaniel shot Ermalinda in the head killing her. He shot himself under his chin but that gunshot did not kill him so he shot himself again in the head. Both died."
Oklahoma officers could be heard on body camera saying Huey Jr. was an “armed and dangerous murder suspect” out of Illinois.
Another was heard saying, “she’s the missing person endangered, he’s the murder suspect.” A responding officer replied, “it didn’t look like she was being held against her will.”
Investigation ends
Police said while the latest findings mark an end to their months-long investigation, it doesn't put an end to the pain many have experienced in wake of the gruesome murders.
"The tragic deaths of a young family, including two young children, will forever impact the surviving family and those that investigated this case," Romeoville Police Chief Brant Hromadka said in a release. "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 continuing to grieve."
