New details break down the alleged lengths Ermalinda Palomo went to in order to convince her fiancé Nathaniel Huey Jr. that if he didn’t kill his mistress and her family, she was going to “attack” him as part of an international criminal organization plot.
After allegedly finding out that her fiancé was having an affair, one woman went to extraordinary lengths, according to police, to convince him that his only option was to kill her and her entire family.
Zoraida Bartolomei, 32, her husband Alberto Rolon, 38, their sons Adriel, 9, and Diego, 7, and their three dogs were all killed on September 17, 2023 in a case that originally had Romeoville, Illinois police baffled.
New police documents released reveal a shocking motive and an alleged incredibly elaborate plot with a fake international criminal organization and threats of violence leading to the real thing.
According to more than 100 pages of investigative documents released in the Chicago suburb, and seen by several local affiliates, the tragic deaths were the shocking culmination of plotting by a woman scorned after Bartolomei allegedly began an affair with another man, Nathaniel Huey Jr., 32, at work.
After an extensive months-long investigation, police now believe that it was Huey Jr.’s fiancée Ermalinda Palomo, 50, who orchestrated an extremely detailed and involved plot that ultimately escalated into the deadly massacre in the family’s home.
Per the documents, Palomo created multiple fake social media accounts in order to convince Huey Jr. that he had become involved in a “a Mexican and Bulgarian criminal organization,” as reported by Chicago NBC affiliate WMAQ
As part of the cover story, Palomo allegedly would “frequently reference” Huey Jr.’s relationship with Bartolomei , telling him “to be faithful in his relationship, to stop speaking with other women, to treat Ermalinda nice, and to engage in sexual intimacy with Ermalinda.”
Ongoing communications through these guises ultimately led Huey Jr. to believe that “he was under constant surveillance by the organization and that the leaders questioned his loyalty and trustworthiness,” according to the legal documents.
“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,” the documents noted, suggesting just how long the subterfuge went on.
The communications also extended beyond just Huey Jr., with People noting that Palomo was also in communication with Bartolomei in her cartel guises, per police. Rolon also reportedly found out about the affair, per police, even damaging the tires on Huey Jr.’s vehicle “in retaliation,” as reported by Chicago ABC affiliate WLS.
Two days before the murders, Huey Jr. was told by these fake online contacts that a “mole” he’d been warned was targeting him with plans “to attack him,” was Bartolomei, per police.
According to local Fox affiliate WFLD, Palomo was allegedly posing as the cartel leader in communications with Huey Jr. when he was told that Bartolomei and her entire family had to be executed.
The reports explain that Huey Jr. allegedly took time off of work in the days leading up to the murders, where he “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.”
According to the legal filings, Huey Jr. was told by his fake contact to make the murder scene “appear to be a burglary committed by kids.”
Police said that Huey Jr. allegedly carried out the murders by shooting his victims while Palomo waited in the car outside the home. The reports detail him allegedly first cutting two screens to indicate the fake break-in before walking in the unlocked kitchen door.
Police believe Huey Jr. allegedly began firing when Rolon exited his room to investigate the sound of Huey Jr. entering the house. He was purportedly shot multiple times, per the reports, as he was running toward where Bartolomei and their children’s bedrooms were.
Bartolomei and her children were together in one bedroom at the time of their deaths, per the legal filings, with Huey Jr. allegedly shooting his mistress multiple times through the door, before entering and allegedly killing her two children. Two dogs were shot in the kitchen, and a third in a bedroom, per police.
The suspect additionally used spray paint to write on the walls, with police believing this was part of that effort to convince authorities that teens robbing the house were behind the shooting deaths.
In comunications with the fake accounts run by Palomo after the killings, Huey Jr. allegedly expressed concern that he’d forgotten to take the phones off Bartolomei and Rolon before he left the home.
As the Romeoville police began their investigation into the shocking scene uncovered at the house after a wellness check when Bartolomei’s family couldn’t reach her and Rolon failed to show up for work, they discovered the suspect’s vehicle route from Streamwood to Romeoville.
They even interviewed him the morning after the murders, when Huey had returned to work. “Nathaniel admitted to his relationship with Zoraida but denied any involvement in the murders,” police reported in the documents, adding, “He refused to allow Police to search his GMC Yukon at this time.”
They also interviewed Palomo at this time, per the documents, asking her if she as covering for her fiancé, with Palomo reportedly replying, “No, he was here” the night of the murder.
When they went to the home Huey Jr. and Palomo shared, police reported seeing the suspect vehicle parked down the street. Police said that it was later that day that Huey Jr. confessed to the murders while meeting with his mother at a nearby Target.
The following day, Palomo’s family members reported her missing as the couple allegedly fled. At this time, per police, Palomo was seen as a possible kidnap and abduction victim.
At the same time, police did not yet have “probable cause for an arrest in this investigation,” according to their documents, but Huey Jr. was considered a suspect as their vehicle was tracked.
The couple was tracked to a Walmart in Catoosa, Oklahoma, where they were picked up on surveillance cameras. Local officers were waiting in the parking lot when the couple came out smiling, but they managed to make their escape in their vehicle, according to WMAQ.
The news station reports that a high-speed police chase ensured that ended in a fiery crash on the interstate, with Catoosa police reporting that Palomo did not seem held against her will as they were seen smiling in video footage.
“When Police approached, the GMC fled. A short distance later, the GMC drifted to the center divider and crashed before coming to a stop,” reads the police report.
“After the vehicle came to rest, a fire started near the driver compartment, possibly set by Nathaniel,” the document continued. “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.”
While this resulted in the end of the months-long investigation, police acknowledged that it can’t end the pain being experienced by loved ones.
“The tragic deaths of a young family, including two young children, will forever impact the surviving family and those that investigated this case,” said Romeoville Police Chief Brant Hromadka in a statement received by WMAQ.
“Nothing can prepare a person for such an incident, and nothing can justify such a senseless act of violence,” the statement continued. “Although finalized, the finality of this case unfortunately does not mean closure for so many continuing to grieve.”
