Romeoville family murdered was not a random act, police say; memorial outside home grows

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (WLS) -- A small memorial of flowers and candles is growing outside the home where a family of two adults, two children and their pet dogs were found dead on Sunday.

The Romeoville murders were not a random act, police said. The four victims were found in their home in Romeoville on Concord Avenue just off Independence Boulevard.

Neighbors were left stunned by the gruesome discovery as police continue to search for the person or people who did this.

Police said Sunday night while conducting a well-being check they found the four victims dead inside their home on Concord Avenue in Romeoville's Hampton Park subdivision.

Romeoville police give an update on the investigation after four people were found shot to death inside a home..

The Will County Coroner identified the deceased adults as 38-year-old Alberto Rolon and 32-year-old Zoraida Bartolomei.

Authorities have not named the couple's two sons, who neighbors said were around 7 and 9 years old. The family's three dogs were also gunned down.

The ABC7 I-Team has confirmed no federal law enforcement agencies have been brought in or asked to assist in the investigation.

Officials at the FBI, ATF and the DEA all said they have not been contacted by Romeoville to join the murder investigation. Federal drug investigators would typically be called in if there were signs of a drug cartel's involvement.

In a recorded video statement released on Tuesday, Romeoville's Deputy Chief of Police Chris Burne said detectives and crime-scene investigators have been working tirelessly on the case.

"Our detectives and crime-scene investigators have spent the last 36-hours collecting a tremendous amount of physical evidence," Burne said. "We were able to determine that this was not a random incident."

Neighbors said they were a hard-working family who just moved into the home in April.

"Like a close knit family as far as I could tell, and they just stayed to themselves," a neighbor said. "Had outings in their backyard a lot of times with just family. And both of them worked. She worked days, and he worked nights, so they just crossed paths on the way."

The I-Team has also learned some details from a 2019 bankruptcy filing about the married couple.

According to the court filing, Rolon and Bartolomei said they were both employed. Rolon worked with a spirits, wine and beer distributor out of Aurora, while Bartolomei said she worked in quality control for a manufacturing plant in Lombard.

At the time, the couple said they owned no firearms, and their largest debts included student loans totaling more than $26,000.

With few answers publicly known, one of the victims' relatives took to social media, pleading for the community's help.

"Please contact police if you know or see anything," one of the victims' siblings wrote. "I want to know what happened to my nephews, my sister, her husband, and WHY?"

The Valley View School District Superintendent of Schools Rachel Kinder released a statement to families, saying in part, "Two of our R.C. Hill Elementary School students tragically lost their lives in a senseless act of gun violence at their residence in Romeoville."

The school initiated their Crisis Response Plan, saying, "We have trained professionals including counselors, social workers, and psychologists who are available for students needing support."

"I'm just hoping they find who did it and they get what's coming to them," a neighbor said.

Neighbors were confused how no one heard any gunshots.

Residents having a hard time sleeping, knowing the killer is still out there.

"My niece, her bedroom is right there by the driveway, the neighbor said. "And she didn't hear anything. And she's got two little dogs and one of them if it hears anything, it will bark and nothing."

Police said the victims were killed sometime between Saturday night and early Sunday morning.

They offered no motive or description of a shooter.

Investigators are seeking assistance from the community in providing anything, including ring-doorbell footage, if they believe it may be helpful in the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Romeoville Police Department at 815-886-7219.