Red flags and warnings led up to mass murder of Romeoville family, police files show

CHICAGO (WLS) -- There are haunting questions after one of metro Chicago's most disturbing mass murders in Romeoville: Could it have been prevented and would a family of four, including two young boys, still be alive if someone had alerted police to many red flags?

Hundreds of police records obtained by the ABC7 I-Team show red flags in the months leading up to the murders of Zoraida Bartolomei, Alberto Rolon and their two young sons, Adriel and Diego, in their Romeoville home back in September 2023.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

Romeoville police released their final investigative reports on Thursday, revealing that a Streamwood couple, Nathaniel Huey, Jr. and his fiancée Ermalinda Palomo, were behind the murder.

As the I-Team first reported on Thursday, Romeoville investigators determined that for years, Palomo had manipulated her fiancé Huey, Jr. into thinking he was working with a drug cartel, and that the mother Bartolomei was a "mole" who needed to be killed, along with her family.

The investigation concluded Palomo manipulated Huey, Jr. by creating fake personas to communicate with him, pretending to be members of a cartel.

In reality, there was no cartel. Palomo had orchestrated the killings because Huey, Jr. had been having a romantic affair with Bartolomei, investigators found, and she wanted Bartolomei killed.

According to police records, Huey, Jr. had confessed to his mother that he had committed the killings because "people were after him."

The report states, "When asked why he killed the children, [Huey, Jr.]'s response was 'because he believed the kids were better off dead than alive without parents.'"

RELATED: Romeoville execution-style murders suspect had 'relationship' with mother of family, police say

Romeoville police have not agreed to the I-Team's request for an on-camera interview about the investigation.

An attorney who once represented Huey, Jr. and Palomo declined to be interviewed for this story and said family members were not interested in speaking publicly.

READ MORE: New details emerge about Romeoville murder suspect fiancée who also named person of interest

The Romeoville investigation uncovered numerous threats and warnings to the family in the months leading up to the killings that many individuals knew about, but never reported to police.

Messages sent via social media reveal Palomo contacted Rolon on June 27, 2023, less than three months before the killings, to tell him his wife was cheating on him with Palomo's fiancé, Huey, Jr.

Palomo told Rolon, "I don't believe she believes my warnings and for the safety of your family she really needs to be honest with you... [Huey, Jr.] has rifles and guns he carries with him. The mother of your children is putting them in danger and she knows this."

Then, less than two weeks before the killings, investigators found Rolon received a text that stated, "This will be the last I say of this Alberto this-stupid girl will be the reason you have no children."

MORE COVERAGE: Romeoville murders suspect was 'irrational and erratic' according to internal investigative records

Despite many red flags, police records do not indicate the family ever reported being threatened with death to authorities.

Bartolomei had also confided with a co-worker about the threats her husband had received, and that co-worker apparently never reported anything to authorities until after the murders.

The colleague stated that months before the murders, "[Bartolomei] had confided in and told her she was receiving threats and harassment through text messages from different phone numbers... Zoraida had told her she was scared."

READ: Romeoville murder suspect believed dead after chase, shooting; 2nd person of interest also dies