Nathaniel Huey, age 31, is accused of killing four members of a family in the Chicago area, including a 10 and 7 year old. Huey was stopped in Oklahoma City on Wednesday and died in a violent pursuit with police alongside a female companion.
The murders happened sometime between Saturday night and early Sunday in Romeoville, Illinois about 30 miles southwest of Chicago. The bodies were found at around 8.40 p.m. on Sunday, September 17 by the local police after one of the parents did not show up for work at 6:00AM and the family could not reach them.
The four found murdered over the past weekend are:
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Zoraida Bartolomei, age 32, mother
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Alberto Rolon, age 38, father
The family’s dogs were also found dead.
The murders occurred despite Illinois having some of the strictest gun control laws in the country, according to the anti-gun group the Giffords Law Center.
Gun violence in Illinois has gone up almost twice the national average. Illinois has the 9th highest rate of gun homicides in the nation. Murder suspect Huey was not allowed to possess or own any firearms.
Catoosa, Oklahoma police found a vehicle connected to Huey at a large department store and attempted to stop it on Wednesday morning, but the vehicle gave chase. It ended with a car crash on Interstate 44 with the 2017 GMC Envoy on fire. Officers heard two gunshots and found Huey deceased and his female companion Ermalinda Palomo, age 50, in critical condition. Palomo later died at the hospital.
Palomo was said by her family to have been engaged to Huey, and had five children and five grandchildren of her own. Palomo’s family have denied she had any involvement with the murders. One of Palomo’s daughters has been quoted by NBC as saying Huey was “dangerous” and a “huge manipulator.”
Huey had a lengthy criminal background, and yet was still somehow able to obtain substantial firearms despite a 2017 court order banning him from possessing firearms. Suspect Huey owned a security company, Black Bear Security, but lacked a license to operate it in the state of Illinois.
Neighbors described the murder victims as “just a really nice, young family.”
Huey reportedly left behind three young children.