Illinois man manipulated by girlfriend into killing Romeoville family of 4, police say

An Illinois woman manipulated her cheating boyfriend to believe he was being threatened by violent drug runners, leading him to slaughter a family of four before killing that tech-savvy girlfriend and himself, police said Thursday.

Detectives in the Chicago suburb of Romeoville have been working for nearly a year to understand why Nathaniel Huey Jr., a 31-year-old from Streamwood, killed Zoraida Bartolomei, Alberto Rolon, their two young boys and three dogs on Sept. 17 last year.

Huey and long-time girlfriend Ermalinda Palomo were spotted days later in Oklahoma. A police pursuit ended with Huey gunning down Palomo before he fatally shot himself.

Palomo’s loved ones initially feared she was taken against her will by Huey, but police now believe she was the mastermind of a twisted plot to eliminate a romantic rival.

“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 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 mean closure for so many continuing to grieve.”

Palomo, 50, knew Huey, 32, was having an affair with Bartolomei for about a year before the killings, police said, motivating her to launch an intricate online plot.

She created fake phone numbers and online accounts to make contact with Huey and trick him into believing he was in the crosshairs of a Mexican drug cartel, police said.

Huey “fully believed the information being fed to him by Ermalinda, but did not know Ermalinda was the person he was communicating with,” Romeoville Police Detective Daniel Zakula wrote.

“Ermalinda further convinced Nathaniel that a ‘mole’ was planning to attack him. The ‘mole’ was not immediately identified, leaving Nathanial paranoid about who it may be.”

Then on Sept. 14, three days before the murders, Huey was told by Palomo’s online persona that “Zoraida was a ‘mole’ who has been targeting him.”

Palomo then played an active role in planning the family’s murder, police said.

“At this time, Nathaniel and Ermalinda (playing a character) began planning Zoraida’s murder,” Zakula wrote. “They researched Zoraida’s house to determine the layout within. 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.”

Huey carried out the killings while communicating with Palomo on two-way radios, police said. Huey also had contact that day with “Ermalinda’s character ‘Turtle’ to discuss the execution of their operation to murder Zoraida.”

The slayings of Rolon, 38, Bartolomei, 32, and their two boys, 7 and 9, shook the community just southwest of Chicago.

But even before revealing the full extent of the twisted plot on Thursday, police at the time said they knew the quadruple murder wasn’t a random crime and that there was a “nexus between our suspect and the victims as well as possible motive.”

Zakula said he and his partner, Will/Grundy Major Crimes Task Force Detective Jeff German, presented their findings to superiors, prosecutors and village officials.

“I conclude, without dissent from any attendee, that Nathaniel and Ermalinda are solely responsible for the murders,” Zakula wrote. “Both offenders are now deceased. Case closed.”