A woman and her boyfriend allegedly orchestrated a deadly plot that left a family of four dead. New details reveal this Ermalinda Palomo manipulated her boyfriend, Nathaniel Huey Jr.to commit the murders in 2023. Palomo is said to have convinced Nathaniel by falsely claiming that the orders came from a Mexican cartel.
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Details of the women's plot that killed a family of four
Authorities believe Nathaniel Huey Jr. was shot Alberto Rolon38, Zoraida Bartolomei32, her two sons – Adriel9, and Diego7, and their three dogs on September 16, 2023, according to Fox23Chicago. The next day, the police discovered the bodies of the family of four during a welfare check.
PEOPLE reports that Zoraida Bartolomei had an affair with Nathaniel Huey Jr., who was her colleague at an engineering firm in Glendale Heights.
Documents detailed how Ermalinda Palomo reportedly posed as a cartel leader online to manipulate Huey into killing the family. Palomo is said to have convinced Huey that Zoraida Bartolomei was a “mole” who wanted to attack him just two days before the murders.
Ermalinda Palomo and Huey are said to have teamed up under an alias to plan the murder of Zoraida. In addition, they searched the area for cameras, mapped their entrance and exit and discovered that the house next door was empty, NBC 5 reports.
Using Ring doorbell recordings, IPASS data, cell towers and herd camera systems, police tracked a vehicle's route from Streamwood to Romeoville. According to NBC Chicago, authorities believed Huey Jr. was driving the vehicle in question. The morning after the incident, police claimed Huey Jr. went to work and interviewed him at his workplace.
“Nathaniel admitted his relationship with Zoraida but denied any involvement in the murders. At that point, he refused to allow police to search his GMC Yukon. Later that day, he was seen handing a bag of firearms from his GMC to another person. “The bag and its contents were later confiscated,” the police report states.
Further information on the official investigation into the alleged murderer couple
On September 20, 2023, investigators named Ermalinda Palomo and Nathaniel Huey Jr. as suspects in the case, but they reportedly fled to Catoosa, Oklahoma. After they entered a Walmart, police confronted them outside, leading to a chase in which Huey Jr. allegedly shot Palomo before crashing the vehicle into a fiery explosion.
According to PEOPLE, authorities found Huey Jr. dead at the scene, while Palomo later died at the hospital. Police said that while the latest findings bring closure to their months-long investigation, they will not erase the pain felt by many since the gruesome killings.
“The tragic deaths of a young family, including two young children, will forever impact the surviving family and those who investigated this case. Nothing can prepare a person for such an incident and nothing can justify such a senseless act of violence. Unfortunately, while this case is closed, the finality of this case does not mean closure for so many who continue to grieve,” Romeoville Police Chief Brant Hromadka said in a statement.
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