Murder In America - EP. 263 - ILLINOIS: The Catfish Cartel Family Murders

Episode Date: October 9, 2026

On September 18th, 2023, officers in Romeoville, Illinois, knew they were facing something they had never seen before. As they peered in the windows of a darkened family home, the flashes of what lay inside made their stomachs churn. Three dogs, shot. Furniture turned over. Belongings strewn across the room like a robbery gone wrong. The young family that lived in the home: 32-year-old Alberto Rolon, 38-year-old Zoraida Bartolomei, and their boys, nine-year-old Adriel and seven-year-old Diego, were missing. As police looked inside, nothing could have prepared them for where the family ended up: Or why. - Sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eTYeCoYyxm58DXXdoFbHQyWHlWbcH9iKGIefFcQToW4/edit?tab=t.y2yayotxnlcb Listen to our new show, "THE CONSPIRACY FILES"!: -Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5IY9nWD2MYDzlSYP48nRPl -Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-conspiracy-files/id1752719844 -Amazon/Audible - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/ab1ade99-740c-46ae-8028-b2cf41eabf58/the-conspiracy-files -Pandora - https://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-conspiracy-files/PC:1001089101 -iHeart - https://iheart.com/podcast/186907423/ -PocketCast - https://pca.st/dpdyrcca -CastBox - https://castbox.fm/channel/id6193084?country=us - Stay Connected: Join the Murder in America fam in our free Facebook Community for a behind-the-scenes look, more insights and current events in the true crime world: https://www.facebook.com/groups/4365229996855701 If you want even more Murder in America bonus content, including ad-free episodes, come join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/murderinamerica Instagram: http://instagram.com/murderinamerica/ Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/people/Murder-in-America-Podcast/100086268848682/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MurderInAmerica TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theparanormalfiles and https://www.tiktok.com/@courtneybrowen Feeling spooky? Follow Colin as he travels state to state (and even country to country!) investigating claims of extreme paranormal activity and visiting famous haunted locations on The Paranormal Files Official Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheParanormalFilesOfficialChannel - (c) BLOOD IN THE SINK PRODUCTIONS 2026 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pan's Labyrinth is in theaters right now. Celebrate the 20th anniversary of Guillermo del Toro's fantasy masterpiece with a brand new 4K restoration or an all-new 3D conversion. Get tickets now to experience Pan's Labyrinth like never before. Warning, the following podcast is not suitable for all audiences. We go into great detail with every case that we cover and do our best to bring viewers even deeper into the stories by utilizing disturbing audio and sound effects. Trigger warnings from the stories we cover may include violence, rape, murder, and offenses

against children. This podcast is not for everyone. You have been warned. So often, true crime stories stem from emotions we're all familiar with. Jealousy, anger, fear, love. But it's the extent people are willing to go for these emotions and these stories we cover that make them an anomaly. Many of us have done stupid things for love and looked back embarrassed by the choices we've made. But there are people out there that are willing to do anything for love.

In today's story, it's about just that. A person not only willing, but eager to do the unthinkable, all under the guise of unconditional love. So this is the story of the Bartolome-Roulogne family. I'm Courtney Browen. And I'm Colin Browning. And you're listening to Murder in America. Some cases that we cover have new pieces of information everywhere we look.

Every newspaper article, every interview, every quote, opens up a brand new wormhole of information. People seem to come out of the woodwork to talk about the perpetrator, their thoughts on them, and who they were deep down. But today's case wasn't one of those. In fact, in a lot of ways, the perpetrator that we're talking about today is a mystery, from the beginning until the very end. We know that Nathaniel Coleman Huey Jr. was born in 1991 in Illinois, but everything after his birth comes in snapshots. Not in family photos or accolades or fond retellings by people who loved him, but in arrest records and crime blips in the local newspapers. He grew up in St. Charles, a suburb of Chicago, where he very quickly began to show his rebellious streak. In 2008, when he

was just 16 years old, he was arrested for disorderly conduct. After that came not one, but two arrests for underage drinking. And evidently, he didn't learn his lesson. Because in 2011, when he was 19, he was arrested for driving under the influence not far from his home. The pattern of destructive behavior that had followed him from his early teens only grew stronger the moment he became a legal adult. Details are scarce, but soon after the DUI, he was charged with criminal trespass at an apartment complex in St. Charles, where he was reportedly harassing a woman who had an order of protection against him. Nearly every year of his teens and early 20s,

Nathaniel was racking up new charges or facing lawsuits. In 2014, he was evicted from his apartment and forced to go to court due to severe damages he inflicted on the property. In 2015, he was charged with battery. Every single arrest paints a picture of a man who constantly pushed boundaries and who felt, time and time again, that the limits didn't apply to him. Perhaps that's exactly why Nathaniel began looking at careers that would allow him to ignore boundaries entirely, all while enforcing them for others.

Sometime in his late 20s, he began his own company named Black Bear Security, and we used the term company loosely here. According to state records, Black Bear Security was never licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial Improfessions Regulation. Regardless, Nathaniel took his job incredibly seriously on his business Facebook page. He described the services offered as, quote, armed security guards, unarmed security guards, retail security, event security, residential security, private security, and security consulting services. Now, for the most part, he was contracted by local bars, one in Barlet, Illinois, and one in Dundee called The Milk Pail.

When he wasn't working at those bars or private events, he was posting frequent photos on his business page of himself and body armor, suited up with guns and ammunition. One picture showed a pistol, magazine, and knife, captioned, quote, I can and I will. Some believed that Nathaniel took his job a little too seriously. There were claims that he could be irrational and erratic,

and that he was obsessed with firearms, which is a problem, because Nathaniel shouldn't have had weapons in the first place. Because of the numerous charges he amassed throughout his teens and 20s, he legally wasn't allowed to own any firearms. And yet, he posted selfies constantly on Facebook, flashing not just guns, but in one case, a gun with a silencer, which is illegal in his home state of Illinois.

Once again, Nathaniel proved that he didn't feel the rules applied to him. And that belief seemed to carry over into Nathaniel's relationships as well. By the time he started Black Bear Security in 2021, he was five years deep into a relationship with a woman named Ermolinda Palamo. The two lived 40 miles northwest of downtown Chicago in a quiet suburb called Streamwood, along with Ermolinda's adult daughter from a previous relationship. Both Nathaniel and Ermolinda had children from past relationships, though, according to reports, Nathaniel hadn't seen his children in several years.

And in Ermolinda's case, there weren't just. just kids in the picture, but grandkids. You see, she was 19 years older than Nathaniel when the two began dating in 2016. She had previously been married and raised five kids with her ex-husband who told NBC, she was a loving mother. She tried to be there for her kids as much as she could. When her kids went on to have kids of her own, she took on the role of grandmother like a fish to water and was viewed as the center point of the entire family. The Chicago Sun Times described her as a loving mother, sister, daughter, and the most loving grandmother her grandchildren could have. Because of her tight-knit relationship with her family, many of them were very wary of Nathaniel

at first. The fact that he was nearly two decades younger and had a criminal record didn't necessarily help either. Irma Linda's daughter, who lived with the couple, told NBC, when I first met him, he wasn't too bad of a guy, which isn't exactly a glowing review. And as time went on, those reviews got even worse. In 2018, two years after they began dating, Irma Linda and Nathaniel got engaged. But wedding bells weren't exactly on the horizon. There were never any concrete plans for a wedding. And though we aren't certain how Irma Linda felt about that, her family was outspoken.

They would tell Irma Linda that she deserved more stability and more respect from her partner. Irma Linda had rebuilt her life after a divorce. She raised five children on her own, and she kept her life on her own. and she kept her life on track. Meanwhile, Nathaniel had shuffled from job to job, dodging court dates, and going in and out of prison. All the while, Irma Linda was left wondering if Nathaniel loved her at all.

For several years, she watched other women's name pop up on Nathaniel's phone late into the night. Other night, she would wake up to find his side of the bed cold and empty. She knew early on that he was having affairs. Here she is talking to investigators about his history of stepping out with other women, including having a child with another woman, soon after their relationship began.

When's the last time that he had an affair? So I know this is not the first time. No, it's not. Okay. What's the last time you knew he had an affair? When we first started dating. 2015? 2015 to maybe 17.

You know what? His son was born and he said, I'm not having any more affairs. I'm not cheating at you. Okay. Stupidly. Okay. Do I know if he stopped?

No, I don't know. Okay. So the last time you knew? Okay. So then I had a party at my house. Mm-hmm. And I fell asleep, and apparently he said someone kissed him, and that was thought, so I don't know. Maybe it was 2019.

Okay. And he said, no, she kissed me, and that was it. Come on. We're all drunk. You know him better than we do. Anyways, he said that he... He said that he was no longer going to do that. In spite of Nathaniel's affairs,

he and Armelinda continued their relationship, and they built a life together. By 2021, he was working at his company, Black Bear Security, part-time. He was also working as a contractor in the warehouse of a nearby company, Avanti Engineering. Now Irma Linda's children and grandchildren came and went from their home on a near daily basis. And though Irma Linda and Nathaniel mostly kept to themselves, their neighbors were fond of them. They viewed them as tidy, respectful, and family-oriented, telling CBS News, quote,

They were sweet. The entire family was amazing. And while on the outside, the family looked healthy and happy. Internally, things were beginning to crumble more than ever before. For Irma Linda, Nathaniel's affairs and refusal to set a concrete. wedding date were one thing, but heading into 2023, he almost seemed to be a different person. Irma Linda's daughter, Christiana Espinoza, told NBC that suddenly Nathaniel became more controlling and reclusive. She said, quote, he was shutting us all out, including my mom. He started becoming suspicious, keeping to himself, staying in the garage. He started not being himself,

pushing us all away, even my mom. End quote. It was strange because his paranoia, seemed to come out of nowhere, and it didn't seem to be aimed at one person in particular. Despite living in Streamwood, a relatively safe neighborhood, Nathaniel put security cameras all over their home, floodlights, and multi-lock systems on all the doors. Now, from the outside, you'd think he was just being precautiones. But in the summer of 23, he started telling everyone that people were watching him, tracking his every move, a former co-worker of his, who remained anonymous in the media, disclosed that he had been using cocaine, and in his words, quote, a lot of it. It seemed as if that alleged cocaine use was only exacerbating

the paranoia he was already feeling. And heading into the tail end of 2023, he didn't trust the people around him, not his friends, not his family, not even Irma Linda. But there was one person he trusted, 32-year-old Zerida Bartolomei. Zerida Gambriah. Zorae. Zori Bartolome was born in Puerto Rico. Growing up there, she was described as bright and ambitious, the type of woman who worked extremely hard to provide for herself and eventually her family. When she was just a teenager, she laid eyes on Alberto Tito Rolone and knew that he was the one. He was described by loved ones as strong, quiet, and wise, the kind of man you could depend on, no matter the hour, no matter the situation. He had dreams just like she did, dreams to move to the mainland,

raise a big family, and build a life they could be proud of. So, in the 2010s, the newly married couple made the move to Illinois, where they soon welcomed two boys into the world, Adriel Noah Rolone in 2014, and Diego Isaac Rolone just two years later. They wanted to give their children the lives they hadn't had growing up. So they both worked as hard as they could to claw their way out of the $29,000 worth of student loan debt and build a stable, prosperous life for the boys. To do that, Alberto worked at Euclid Beverage in North Aurora, where his co-workers called him,

a great employee who never missed a day of work. One of the perks of working for a beer and wine distributor was seemingly endless free samples and product vouchers, but Alberto never used his. The family didn't drink alcohol, so he would instead pass the samples along to extended family and friends. Meanwhile, Zerida worked in quality control at Avanti Engineering, the same business where Nathaniel Huey was a contract worker. Now, she was known by her co-workers to be incredibly dedicated, and by early 2003, that hard work paid off. In April, Zerida and Alberto were finally able to purchase a home of their own.

They relocated to the Hampton Park neighborhood in Romeoville and purchased a modest blue home at 512 Concord Avenue. It was their first owned home, and the family was able to plant roots in a place that felt safe. Their two energetic sons had a yard to play in for the very first time and a whole neighborhood to explore with other kids on the street. It felt like the picture-perfect American dream. They even had three dogs who they loved dearly.

Alberto, Zerida, and their children, Adriel, and Diego were welcomed in the Hampton Park neighborhood with open arms. Neighbor Lynn Phillips told the New York Post, they would be outside working in their yard and we'd wave high and by, that kind of thing. Another neighbor, Carol Love, added, They were nice people. They didn't bother anybody. Neighbors also watched the couple pass each other like ships in the night.

Zerida worked during the day, and Alberto worked the night shift. It was hard, but for them, it meant something important. Their kids would always, always have one of them home. For Zerida and Alberto, it was worth the conflicting schedules and the stress that came along with, at times, having to operate like a single parent. Yet, Zerida juggled working full-time and being a wife and mother with ease. She was extremely dedicated not only to her career, but also her family. She loved family gatherings and anything that involved her children.

Those closest to her said that she always appeared happy and fulfilled. She made it all look easy. But behind closed doors, it was anything but, because for years, Alberto and Zerida's marriage had been crumbling. Alberto confided in his brother that Zerida had been unfaithful multiple times. He made it clear that the only reason he was staying in the marriage with her was because of their sons. He didn't want a divorce. He didn't want every other weekend or alternating days. He wanted to come home from working the night shift and spend time with his children every single morning.

And all the while, Zerida was at work, looking elsewhere for what was lacking in her relationship. and sometime in the spring of 2023, she found that in 32-year-old Nathaniel Huey Jr. The relationship had evolved over time. In the beginning, it was just work conversations and inside jokes, but soon enough it turned into longer conversations, late-night text messages, phone calls, and then finally meeting up outside of business hours.

By the summer of 2023, what started as flirting had unraveled into a full-blown, passionate, affair. According to Zerida's sister, she often called Nathaniel her soulmate. She compared her relationship with him to Romeo and Juliet. They were star-crossed lovers, desperate to be together, and they kept reminders of one another everywhere they went. Nathaniel kept post-it notes at his workstation, not from his fiancee or Melinda, but from Zerida. They read things like, quote, You mean so much to me. I don't think you understand how much I actually love you. Several other notes talked about them running away together, leaving their current partners behind to start a brand

new life with each other. But the two never got a chance, because on September 17, 2023, their relationship came to a sudden, unexpected end. It was 6 p.m. and at Euclid Beverage, Alberto Rolone was nowhere to be seen for his scheduled shift. His coworker and supervisor knew immediately that something wasn't right. Over his several years of employment, Alberto had never missed a single day. Not for sickness, not for family problems, not for anything. The idea that he would no-call no-show was completely incomprehensible to everyone at his job. Alberto's boss called him but got nothing but his answering machine. Worried, he then called Alberto's emergency contact. Quickly, word got back to Zerida's relatives in Puerto Rico

that Alberto hadn't shown up to work, and alarm bells rang, loud and clear. Zerida was usually in constant contact with her mom, sending pictures of the boys, calling on her way to work and just checking in. But since the night of September 16th, her mother hadn't heard a word from her. With news that Alberto hadn't shown up to work, she started to panic. So she did the reasonable thing. She contacted Romeoville Police Department and requested a wellness check on her daughter, son-in-law, and two beautiful grandsons. Here's that call. I'm calling for my daughter, Sorida Bartolome, Chile's Concord Avenue, Romeoville, Illinois. And we haven't heard from her or her husband or her children during the whole day.

No answering the phone. If somebody can go by the house and check them. So the husband, they call from his work that he didn't show up to work. And he never, you know, he's always at work. Okay, give me one second. Did you last hear from your daughter? Oh, day today. I haven't heard from her.

But when did you last talk to her? Last night? Last night? Okay. Okay, I'm going to send officers over to check on her, and somebody will give you a call back, okay? Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Oh, no problem. That's what we're here for. Around 8.43 p.m., Romeoville police officers arrived at the Bartolome-Rillone House at 512 Concord Avenue. Right off the bat, things didn't look right. Two cars sat in the driveway. Despite it being almost 9 p.m., there were very few lights on in the home. It was quiet, dark.

An officer made his way to the front door and knocked. But he only heard echoes and returned. There were no footsteps, no movement beyond the door. Just silence. He turned on his flashlight and peered in through the front windows. to the side of the door, scanning the dark room for any signs of life or the opposite. And what he saw told him, it was going to be a long, sad night. The television flickered to an empty room, having been knocked off the stand onto the floor.

Beside it, the coffee table had also been knocked over. Hey, I got a TV knocked over and a coffee table knocked over. Keep shining, because I can kind of see a little bit better now. Welcome in this room. Trumped in the little lights are all of. I'm talking on a Sunday. And no, there's lights on the back room. You can see it through that second.

Come in the backyard. In the backyard, officers entered a screened-in porch through an unlocked door. As they made their way through the porch, to the door leading into the home, their heart dropped. Beside the door were two windows, both of which had screens that had been sliced open from the outside. They had known something. wasn't right from the get-go, but this confirmed it. As they looked through the windows, flashlights lighting up the dark room,

they realized just how wrong the scene in front of them was. Here is the moment officers saw what laid inside the kitchen. Uh, oh, oh God, dogs are dead, two dead dogs. On the floor, in the beam of their flashlights, officers illuminated the bodies of two of the family's dogs, dead. Pools of blood surrounded them and flecked the walls. Whatever had happened, it had been incredibly violent.

And they still didn't know if the family had suffered a similar fate. On top of that, officers had no idea if there was still a threat inside the house. They rushed back to their patrol cars and grabbed more gear, guns and shields, to safely enter the residence. One of the officers noted that he didn't want to wait for a ramming instrument. They were going to force entry without one. With the door down, officers swarmed the residents, announcing their presence and cautiously stepping through, guns drawn as they called out to make contact with anyone inside. Oh, no, please, anybody here? Move up, go, go, go.

Go, go, go. Come up, please, anybody here. Body. All right. Wait, you got one? No, no, no. Hold it, Corey, hold it. I got you.

43, you got one, 42, body. What do you got? Corey, you got a light switch over there? Nothing's working, Bob. All right, just light up. Okay, cool. Good that door right there. Is that the right there?

Tag out. Ryan, you're up first. All right, Cori. Cori, right up first. Let's move back. Body's gonna be down on the floor on your right. Gotcha. All right, here we go.

All right, mail. What do you see? We got mail. We got... Hello! Roll me a door, please. In the hallway, officers discovered the body of 38-year-old Alberto Rolung.

He was lying in a pool of blood. He had been shot at close range. And just beyond him was a bedroom door that appeared to have been kicked in. The officer crept towards the bedroom, unsure of what he would find on the other side. As they entered, it came into full focus. 32-year-old Zerida lay on the floor, hands covering her face, surrounded by her own blood. Heartbreakingly, her sons, 9-year-old Adrielle, and 7-year-old Diego, both laid on the bed, lifeless. And near their feet was the body of the third and final dog. No one in the home had been spared.

Every single family member was killed. It was a level of carnage that was hard to comprehend. An entire family erased in an instant. And whoever had done it had left a chaotic scene behind. Furniture had been tossed. And strangely enough, there were profanity spray painted on the wall in black ink. The killer had evidently tried to write another swear word on the wall. wall, but their paint ran out on the letter F. It appeared as if after that they tossed the can on the floor. Alongside it, there were over a dozen spent 9mm shell casings. It was clear that the family's final moments had been in a cloud of gunfire. Police estimated that between everyone, the family had been shot a combined 20 times. It was beyond all understanding. And yet,

police had to break the news to the public quickly, because if they didn't, panic would ensue in the quiet community, and the family members of the deceased would find out in the worst way imaginable. Police called those they could, mainly from Zerida's side. Her brother, who lived nearby, raced to the scene to speak with officers. His devastation was clear. His sister had not only been his only sibling, but one of his closest friends, and now she, her husband, and his nephews, they were gone. But with the news out to the family, Romeoville police quickly called a news conference. Sunday, September 17th, at approximately 8.43 p.m., the Romneyville Police Department was required requested to conduct a well-beaten check on the 500 block Concord Avenue. A member of the family

did not show for work at 6 a.m. on the morning of Sunday, September 17th, and did not respond to phone calls throughout the day, resulting in family members becoming concerned. Upon arrival, officers discovered four deceased individuals with gunshot wounds. The deceased have been identified as Roberto Roulogne and Zorida Bartolome and two children. Preliminary investigation leads to police to believe this happened between 9 p.m. on Saturday and 5 a.m. on Sunday morning. The investigation is still in its early stages due to the sensitivity of the case and to maintain the integrity of the investigation, we are not releasing further details. Anyone with information should contact the Romneyville Police Department at 815-886, 7.866, 7.5.7.

There will be no further press conferences today. All updates will be made via news releases. As yellow crime scene tape wrapped around the home that was once filled with love in the sound of children laughing and playing, neighbors stood on the sidewalks, stunned. The family had only lived there for five months. It had been their dream house. It had a yard for their dogs and kids, friends up and down the street for their boys. It was their slice of the American dream.

Yet inside of it, they were gunned. down, and no one saw a thing. Neighbors who were interviewed all said the same thing. No one even heard anything that night. No screams, no gunshots, which meant it was likely that whoever was responsible had used a silencer. But who would even want to harm the family was a complete mystery. Neither Zerida nor Alberto had any criminal history.

They didn't own any weapons or have any enemies. And the fact that there was nothing of value missing in the home, despite the staging of the scene, told police that murdering the family. had been the goal, nothing else. Romeoville police chief Chris Byrne updated the public on what they knew, but believing there was no threat to anyone else, they did not issue a shelter-in-place order. preliminary investigation leads to police to believe this happened between 9 p.m. on Saturday

and 5 a.m. on Sunday morning. We are not asking anybody to shelter in place. We are not actively looking for anybody in the area. But we do always ask our residents to have a good sense of self-awareness and to report anything that they might see as suspicious. In front of the Rolone Bartolome House on Concord Avenue, a small memorial appeared, balloons, teddy bears, and candles. A go-fund me was created to help with the funeral costs,

and over $40,000 was raised. The tragedy hit the community hard because it happened in a safe, family-friendly neighborhood where violent crime was almost non-existent. One neighbor admitted, it's definitely made me have a whole new perspective on trust on the people I surround myself with. I have two children, a 12-year-old and a 4-year-old, so every day my daughter walks to school,

I'm in fear, and it's kind of just put more fear into my head now. After the murders, Adriel and Diego's school, R.C. Hill Elementary School, issued a statement saying, it is with deep sadness that we inform you about a recent loss to our VVSD school community. Today, on September 18, 2023, we were informed that 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. This violent incident and loss are sure to raise many emotions, concerns, and questions for our entire school community. We are deeply saddened by this tragedy and will do everything we can to support your child, your family, and the safety of our school community.

Romeoville Mayor John D. Noak also issued a statement. Mayor John Nook of the village of Romeoville. Our entire community is grieving with the family over this tragic incident. It is always heartbreaking whenever there is a loss of life. But when children are involved, it's much more painful. I have directed our social services staff to make themselves available to our community to help begin the healing process.

It is important that we conduct a thorough investigation. That investigation began with a look into Zerida and Alberto's cell phones, which were discovered alongside. their bodies. And it was in Zerida's cell phone that police found their first lead because there were endless call logs and romantic texts from this one specific number, a number belonging to Nathaniel Huey Jr. And that's when police discovered that Zerida had been having an affair. When they interviewed Zerida's coworkers, they confirmed that affair. It was no secret in her office.

The only thing that was a secret was Nathaniel's criminal past. And when police looked at his history, including the battery charges, they had even more reason to suspect him of the murders. So from there, they set out to speak with him immediately. Around 1 p.m. on September 18th, the day after the bodies were discovered, Nathaniel was located at his job and taken to a private room for questioning. He never denied his affair with Zoraida. In fact, he admitted that their relationship was special. He even referred to her as an angel.

At one point, he mentioned that their intentions were to, quote, move forward with their relationship, which four investigators rang alarm bells, because a man moving forward with a married woman can only happen a few ways. Here are police questioning him about what his vision of the future was with Zerida. When you say you guys were going to move forward, so were you guys, like, actually looking at a place together or something? Yeah, it was like, you know, I was going to slow. It was kind of like, it was only close.

and lost kind of thing. Yeah, you know, just like, just... No, I get it. A woman can you explain. Yeah. Police asked Nathaniel if they were going to find any evidence of problems in his relationship with Zerida, but he remained firm, stating that the two never had any issues. When police pushed him, stating that they were going to look through all of their messages,

even deleted ones, he didn't seem concerned. He reaffirmed what he had stated earlier. The two never fought. The only thing police were going to find, were lots of lov-y-dovey messages. However, when police asked for consent to search his phone, so they wouldn't have to get a search warrant, Nathaniel's confidence seemed to wane.

He pushed back. Here are the police confronting him. On our side of it, we can get a search warrant, you know, to go through the phone, and then it's take a little longer. But the fastest way would be consent, pulled off, and get your phone back, then it would be to, and again, explain to your own. I'm trying to eliminate you. Yeah.

I mean, we have a deceased girl and her last fling or boyfriend or whatever is you. And I'm sure that, you know, if you're an outsider looking in, who's your suspect? I mean? And so I'd like to eliminate that. I'd like to say, well, no, we went. We looked through stuff. He didn't have nothing to do with it. We're done with it.

It feels like you're pretty suspecting of me. Well, I mean, I'm not joking with you. Any time somebody dies, you look at the husband, the boyfriend, if it's a girl, if it's a guy, you look at his wife, and any other lovers he had. And we look, that's what we look at. We start there. And then this person was at work. So we got to eliminate that. This person was, you know, we went through the phone. There's nothing between those two, no threats, no...

No, I mean, you're telling us there's no threats, but I can't go to, you know, to our bosses. I can't go to a station or say, no, I've verified it. There's no threats. I have to, if I can verify and say, no, I went through this phone. There's no threats. There were, they seemed to be good together. There was no animosity between the two of them. There was no fighting.

There was none of that stuff. I'll make it. At the end there, the end there, the thing, Nathaniel rounds up his decision by saying, just go on the computer. I don't want to give up my phone. You know what I'm saying? Eventually, when faced with the reality

that police can and would get a warrant to search his phone, Nathaniel agreed to drop it off after he finished his shift at work. But to conclude the first interrogation, police hit Nathaniel with a favorite line of every law enforcement officer. I'm sure you would like to see this get solved just like us, you know what I mean?

Yeah, because I'm pretty good. with this out of like I said nothing against my wife man but like this you know

a different connection with someone yeah you know that it just felt like really strong

yeah and you're right you better off your work you know working and keeping your mind up with them sitting at home and dealing with

you know just sitting there alone or with her thinking about this so yeah well thank you Nathaniel

may have thought that it was the end of it, but police were far from done with him. As the hours ticked on, they contacted him again and again, and eventually returned that very same day, September 18th, asking for a DNA sample and for permission to search his vehicle. When faced with that, Nathaniel wasn't happy to say the least. Here's a clip after police asked to search his vehicle, and he refused consent. To a certain extent, I do get it. But like, from my side, I know like not you guys are calling back like three four times

now I'm like okay I understand how it feels that we're accusing you but again dude we're not doing that we literally have to check our list for everything that we got to cover before we leave here you're rolling over that yeah it's far so we drove from Lomaville to here

and I don't want to when I get back there and I tell my boss is okay well we asked them for this we did this that's why we're back in here again because my boss called and so did you ask you to miss you know like if like my like clean my car or shit.

You know what I'm saying? Right? Yeah. No, but I mean, we would, the point being is that when I go back there again and my boss goes,

okay, so did you, you guys check this car and say no? He said no. Well, you've just gone way up the chart of who they're looking for because why,

if you did nothing wrong, why would you be hesitant? I know, and he knows, I know, I don't want to go around my car, but if I didn't do nothing wrong,

I'd rather have that later on, defense if I'm accused of something later on. I'm like, eh, I cooperate with the police. I'm not saying that. I won't let you guys look at my car, but I would just like to have some fucking, like, some legal representation. And they stand outside there and watch

this too? It's like, what? So everything is audio video reporter too, just you know. And shit don't come in the field or nothing, right? Yeah, I do. Yeah, if you wonder, too, but I mean, we're worrying about you. I don't think so, though, like, it's just, I would rather, I would, that's just the route that I would rather go

guess. I don't mean any disrespect and I'm just saying like I think it's just better if at this point not speak to a what this is fucking this is crazy yeah I get you no I get you with no I get you with no other options but their suspicion at an all-time high investigators work to secure a search warrant for Nathaniel's cell phone data and access to his vehicle while they waited for the warrant to be issued they began questioning those close to Nathaniel and with each round of questions they came back with more and more damning information. It turned out, Nathaniel had called in sick on September 14th and 15th, the two days before

the murders. He also called in sick the day of the murders, September 16th, and the day after September 17th. The day that the police were questioning him, September 18th, was actually his first day back at work. And that very same day, following all these revelations, several officers were instructed to keep surveillance on him. When he left work, they followed him, hoping that he would drive to the Romeoville Police Department to hand over a cell phone like he had promised. Instead, when he realized he was being tailed, he pulled over and asked to speak with the officer following him.

When the officer explained why he was following him, Nathaniel responded that he was just going home to eat before he surrendered his phone to the station. I think he was under the impression that you're going to do it right after you got off of work. I don't know what you guys is discussed, but you may want to let him. them know that you're going to go home and eat, and then you're going to meet with him. Do you have his work phone number? If it's on the car, give him a buzz. Let him know. While police waited for Nathaniel to surrender his phone, they continued to dig further into Alberto and Zarida's phone records, and what they uncovered went even deeper than an affair. Months before the murders, Zerida was getting flooded with texts from unknown numbers,

warning her to stay away from Nathaniel because he was dangerous. The texts, that he carried weapons everywhere he went, and that he was sleeping with multiple women. Now, whether Zerida acknowledged these messages, we don't know. But soon the messages started going not just to her, but her husband as well. In June of 2023, Alberta got a flurry of messages from an unknown number, informing him that Zerida was cheating on him, and the messages came with a threat. One read this. I don't believe she believes my warnings, and for the safety of your family,

she really needs to be honest with you. Nathaniel has rifles and guns he carries with him. The mother of your children is putting them in danger, and she knows this. The texts from the unknown number came in rapid succession, claiming that Nathaniel was a street gang member who had connections to a Mexican cartel. The texts also stated that Zerida knew all about it, but still refused to leave him, thus putting her family in danger. Other messages read,

He carries a gun with him. Surely she can find another black man to entertain. Your wife did not care about the warning to protect the children. Then in September of 2023 came the last text. It read this. This will be the last I say of this, Alberto. This stupid girl will be the reason you have no children. Good luck to them because they have a mother that does not care and this stupid black man will be next.

Then the world will be a better place. And now for a brief ad break. Anyways, y'all, let's get back to the show. For investigators, the texts added a brand new layer to the case. Was any of it true? Had Nathaniel been in a bad crowd or wrapping himself up in something dangerous? Or perhaps had the text come from Nathaniel's fiancé, Irma Linda, or even someone she had put up to it. Had Irma Linda found out about the affair and tried to scare off Sorida? To get to the truth, officers went to her and Nathaniel's home around 6.30 p.m. on September 18th, not long after Nathaniel's. came home from work. When they knocked on the door, Irma Linda emerged. Here is the body cam footage of that interaction. Hello. Hi, Irma Linda. My name is Detective Garcia. From the Romulo Police Department. This is Detective Wagner. Hello.

I know you know what's going on and why you were here. Okay? I know you were talking on the phone with your husband right now. Husband of a boyfriend. Okay. Does he lift your boyfriend? Okay. Does he lift your... with you? How long have you guys been together? 2015. Okay. We're investigating a murder. Okay. It's hard to make that out, but there, Irma Linda responds, who murdered someone? And response, detectives tell her. So we have in our possession some phones, okay?

And in those phones, we're doing what it's called the phone dump. So what happens is if anybody's talking on a text app that you can download, for example, text now, we can retrieve those messages. Okay. We have retrieved those messages. All right, we've read them. We're pretty clear that somebody's pretty upset at the victim. Okay.

Is there any way that these text message are going to go? come back to you. Or your name or your phone or anything associated with that. It's okay. Irma Linda shook her head no, when detectives asked if her name was going to come back to the suspicious text messages related to the murder. And looking confused, she agreed to speak with the detectives, but she stated she didn't feel comfortable doing it outside her home because Nathaniel was

just beyond the front door. So detectives walked Irma Linda to their car and drove down the street. And once away from Nathaniel, Irma Linda crumbled. Why are you scared of him? Oh, I'm not scared of him. Okay. Why are you scared right now? Because when I called him because I was scared, I didn't know where he was.

He said, someone's following me. Okay. So I called and I called. And then I heard him say, why are you following me? Do you want to search the car? And then someone said to him, there are messages from you. And it's because there are husbands.

been found out you were having an affair. And I didn't know that. You didn't know what? Then he was having an affair. Irma Linda told police that she had no idea he was having another affair until she overheard him confront the police officer on his way home. Now, like we mentioned, there had been plenty of affairs at the beginning of their relationship, but according to her, she truly believed that they were in the past.

She admitted it had been hard to trust Nathaniel and that he had a flirty personality, but She really hoped his cheating ways were behind them. From 15 to maybe 17? You believe he's had multiple or many affairs while you two have been together? I was hoping that they were done because I was hoping to trust because you have to. When you find out about them, like what happens? Do you guys get into arguments? Do you talk to the women that he's having affairs with?

No. For what? I don't know. Leave your man alone kind of thing? No. I'm too old for that. I'm 50 years old. There's no reason for me to, like, no.

And quite honestly, it's not the female's fault. It's his fault. Right. So no, no. I'm going to give you a few names, all right? You tell me if you ever heard these things before. Sure. Sorida, Bartolonsi.

I was in his car, and his thing, that name came. came up, I said, who is that? It was four in the morning. When was it? Um. Was that this week? Oh, no. July, maybe. Okay, so what did he say that this, who was this person?

He said nobody is a false call or something like that. But if it's saved in his contacts. Thank you. But, you know, I'm not, I'm just not going to fight with him, quite honestly. Because fighting with him, I feel like he just sits there and he'll make him. He just sits there and he'll manipulate me. So when we asked your husband if he knew this person, Sorida, he said, I've never heard that name. Why would he be lying to us?

I don't know. Should I believe him? I don't know. Please don't tell him. I told him. We're not going to tell him any of you. Two detectives, Irma Linda didn't seem like a killer or like she knew anything about the murders. In a lot of ways, she seemed beaten down, dejected.

After years of facing her fiancé's affairs with, no wedding in sight, the fight seemed to be gone out of her. She told police that she knew nothing and that the night of the murders, September 15th and the 16th, Nathaniel was home, fast asleep. Now, she did admit that the two slept in different areas of the house, but she was adamant that she would have heard him if he had left that night. Ultimately, the police were leaving the interaction with an even more unclear picture of Irma Linda's involvement, if any.

But they did have one more question they wanted to ask her. Do you think he's capable of taking someone's life? No. I'm sorry. I know. How sure are you of that? You know, Nate is a lot of things, but what he tries to do is to calm people down and stop him from fighting. So for him to just actually fight with someone, no.

Irma Linda parted ways with the police soon after around 7.15 p.m. They had hoped they'd get something concrete from her. information about her husband's criminal activity, her anger about his affair, or her knowledge about Zeraita. Instead, they were left wondering if Irma Linda was involved or if she was a victim who was making poor choices to protect her fiancee. Because, in between all the fact and fiction police couldn't make out, there were some obvious lies. During the interrogation in the car, Irma Linda went so far as to say that her husband didn't own any guns, which, looking at his Facebook profile, was an obvious lie.

And not long after police questioned Irma Linda, they got eyes on his weapons for the very first time. Because that night, when Nathaniel thought police had left, he got in his car and left his home in Streamwood. But he wasn't going to the Romeoville Police Department to drop off his phone like he claimed. He was driving to his workplace, the place where he had met Zerida, Avanti Engineering. Around that same time, one of his former colleagues at his security business, a man who was remained unnamed, received a call from Irma Linda. And as soon as he answered, he heard her sobbing on the other end. The colleague later described her as frantic and terrified. He couldn't make out a lot of what she was saying, but one thing was clear.

She wanted him to meet Nathaniel at Avanti and take something from him. The colleague agreed. He later told police that he didn't do it for Nathaniel, it was for Ermolinda. Ermolinda had always been good to him, hearing her that scared for whatever reason, had broken him. So, he drove to the parking lot and parked alongside Nathaniel. There, Nathaniel set a black duffel bag in his former colleague's trunk. He thought he was being sneaky. But in reality, police were watching the entire exchange.

When they later looked inside the bag, they discovered an arsenal of weapons. Eleven rounds of 45 APC ammunition, three Glock magazines, two rifles, an AR-15, two body armor plates, gloves, a knife, and zip ties. Surprisingly, however, the weapon used in the murder of Zerida, Alberto, and their two young sons, wasn't in the bag. But the fact that Nathaniel was getting rid of weapons told police he knew what was happening. The walls were closing in on him, and they were closing fast. After passing the bag of weapons off to his colleague, late into the night on September 18th, Nathaniel called his mother. He begged her to meet him at a local target to talk.

And hearing the pain and panic in her son's voice, his mom didn't hesitate. to go meet him. When she pulled up alongside him, he got into the passenger seat of her car. It was dark, silent. For a brief moment, it was just a mother and son. Nathaniel began to cry, and his mother comforted him, something she had done a million times before. But this time, it was different, because her son told her something that is every parent's worst nightmare. Quote, Mom, I killed those people. Under fluorescent lights in a target parking lot, Nathaniel confessed to his mother that he had killed Alberto Relon, Zerida Bartolome, and their two sons, Adriel and Diego. Why? Because according to him, quote, people were after him. Now, one murder was shocking.

Four was inconceivable and as horrified and stunned as his mother was. There was one thing she fixated on. She asked her son how he could murder two young children. He responded coldly, quote, The kids are better off dead. Then, as if what he said, hadn't mattered at all. He begged his mother to help him, but she wouldn't. She refused to give him a place to stay. She refused to help him fight his way out of the consequences of his actions. He murdered an entire family, even their dogs, and now he was going to have to face the music. But as we've learned, Nathaniel isn't the type to accept responsibility. He immediately hired an attorney, though the attorney never got the chance to actually represent him. Because soon enough,

Nathaniel sealed his fate all by himself. On September 19th, investigators banged on the door of Nathaniel and Irma Linda's home to issue the search warrant they had been working 24 hours to obtain. But by the time they got that search warrant, it wasn't just for their phones and home. It was for Irma Linda's car. Why? Because police managed to obtain damning evidence that placed Irma Linda's car at the Bartolome-Rolome-Rolone home at the time of the murders. A license plate reader in Romeoville had captured her black Chevy Malibu near the home at 3.48 a.m.

Several ring cameras and business surveillance cameras confirmed their drive. They went from their home directly to Zeraita's home and then back. Nathaniel was seen getting out of the car near the victim's house and then getting back inside sometime later. And her Melinda, she was seen on camera in the driver's seat. As it turns out, the couple wasn't home in bed. like they had claimed. And Irma Linda was at the very least, the getaway driver of the whole ordeal. When police arrived to take her car in as evidence, she was actually walking towards it, attempting to get inside. They quickly told her that the search warrant prohibited that. And oddly calm,

Irma Linda replied, okay, and then walked off in a sort of days. Police knew that she was involved somehow, and that Nathaniel had been the killer. But they were at a standstill when it came to arrests. They needed concrete evidence, blood, DNA, anything. They hoped that they would find it in the car, and that in the meantime, Ermolinda and Nathaniel would stay put. But sadly, that's not what happened. That very same day at around 4 p.m., Nathaniel and Ermolinda vanished. They took Nathaniel's car and fled into the night, crossing state lines with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Police only learned of their disappearance when Ermolinda's daughter, Christiana Espinoza, called it 11 p.m. to file a missing persons report for her mother. In tears, she told police that her mother

hadn't responded to her texts or calls, and that she feared for her safety. The Taylorville Daily Breeze Courier later reported, she stated, I know she left with him willingly about 4 p.m. When I saw her, she was scared. She was crying. I honestly feel she left to protect her family. For hours before fleeing with Nathaniel, Irma Linda obsessively told her family members she loved them and begged them to take care of her grandbabies. For Christiana, it was clear that her mom had agreed to leave with Nathaniel, but not because she wanted to. To Irma Linda's family members, she was a kidnapping victim.

Within an hour of Christiana making that report about her mother, Abolo was broadcast across the country for Nathaniel Huey Jr. and his 2017 GMC envoy with the Illinois registration DW9-0037. But one thing we've left out of this story is, where are Nathaniel and our Melinda? After the wall started closing in, they fled. Now, the year was 2023, and licensed plate readers may not have been as widespread as they are now, but luckily, they did the job. On September 20th, just one day after the couple fled, they were tracked down through Missouri

and into Oklahoma. They were over 600 miles from home in the small town of Catusa. Surveillance footage showed them walking into a Walmart, hand in hand. They laughed and smiled as they made their way through the aisles, grabbing everything they thought they needed to start a new life together. They purchased a prepaid cell phone, hair dye, and makeup. Irma Linda was starry-eyed as she looked at her fiancé. The fear she had displayed to her family hours earlier seemed to have vanished completely.

This wasn't a woman who had been kidnapped. She looked like a woman eager to start over. But little did they know. outside the Walmart door, a Katusa police officer was waiting. When their car was captured on the license plate scanner, police were immediately dispatched to sit and wait. Oblivious, the couple chatted and laughed as they slowly made their way back to the GMC. Nathaniel got behind the wheel and our Melinda sat in the passenger seat, but as they pulled out of the parking lot, they saw it, red and blue lights flashing in the rear view. The moment Nathaniel saw the lights, he saw a life in prison. So instead

Instead of stopping, he floored it. For the final time in his free life, Nathaniel put the safety of everyone else at risk. He flew through the side streets, gunning for the highway, I-44. Police cars pursued him, sirens blaring, as innocent bystanders swerved out of the way of the ensuing car chase. Nathaniel sliced in and out of traffic, nearly hitting several people on his quest to escape. All the while, Irma Linda was in the passenger seat. watching the world flash by.

Was she scared? Exilarated? Was she begging him to stop and turn himself in? Whatever the case, it didn't matter because Nathaniel was behind the wheel, and he made it very clear to police that he wasn't stopping. Finally, after weaving through the quaint streets of Kutusa,

he sped onto I-44, the freeway running through town. Cars swerved out of the way as he drove on the edges of the road, sometimes brushing just between other cars and the median, until finally, his luck ran out. Nathaniel tried to skirt around a truck, but instead he overcorrected, slamming into the cement divider,

there was crunching metal, shattering glass, and then the sound of flames. Upon impact, the GMC burst into flames near the glove box area. Thick black smoke erupted into the sky as onlookers watched in horror. The driver's side door was penned shut, bent against the divider, and with the flames erupting from the other side of the vehicle, it looked like there was truly no escape. Multiple officers surrounded the wreckage with their weapons drawn. They knew it was dangerous, but they couldn't sit and watch. So they raced in and threw open the passenger side door.

The flames grew. Thick, toxic smoke plumbed into the sky. Then there was a sound, the unmistakable sound of gunshots. Battered and given up, Nathaniel drew a gun. the only one still in his possession. Then, he aimed the gun at Ermolinda and fired. As the flames grew around him, he placed the gun beneath his chin and squeezed the trigger. But it wasn't instant blackness and peace like he had expected. After shooting himself, the flames were still roaring around him. The pain was immense. And in that moment, he must have realized the first shot didn't kill him. Desperate,

he lifted the gun to his temple and squeezed once more. By the time police pulled him out of the wreckage, he was gone. Irma Linda, on the other hand, was still clinging to life. She was immediately rushed to the nearest hospital where she was determined to be in critical condition. Immediately, officers on the scene knew what they had faced. Here's some body cam, capturing officers discussing the aftermath. Armed in danger's murder suspect. He did shoot her back to the head.

He's the missing person endangered. He's the murder suspect. Soon after arriving at the hospital, Irma Linda was pronounced dead. Within hours of discovering the victims on September 17th, the Romneyville Police Department had developed a person of interest. That person of interest is 31-year-old Nathaniel Huey Jr. of Streamwood, Illinois. The second person, a female with the relationship to Huey, was also identified as a person of interest. In the evening hours of September 19th, the female person of interest was

reported by family as a missing endangered person out of Streamwood, Illinois, and entered into the law enforcement agency's data system. Later that same evening, the Romayville Police Department distributed a statewide bulletin to law enforcement agencies, believing Huey to be a credible suspect in this investigation. Do we know what the motive of made in the States? We have developed evidence has shown us a nexus between our suspect and the victims as well as possible moment. Did you show that? Not at this time. This is still an active investigation with a sensitivity to it. So the main suspect is dead, or the person at intercession? The Kutusa, Oklahoma

Police Department and the Oklahoma State Police are still conducting an investigation, this literally just happened very recently. So until the conclusion of their investigation and notification of family, we have not made any identifications yet. There were still so many questions surrounding this case, questions that wouldn't be answered for a while. But throughout the investigation, after finally looking through Nathaniel and Irma Linda's phone records, the Romeoville Police Department would finally solve the mystery. and what they found wasn't just a little bit of information. It was like breaking open a dam, one that was chock full of catfish.

Shockingly, the messages started as early as December 2021, long before Nathaniel even met Zerida. Throughout that time, Armilinda began creating fake personas on social media. She learned the art of manipulation, studying online scamming techniques and how to use the internet to her advantage. She knew she could get Nathaniel's attention by using, fake profiles of beautiful women. Using an image she found online, she sent him a message on Facebook posing as someone else. As she predicted, Nathaniel took the bait. In the beginning, the two exchanged

flirtatious messages, but then Irma Linda started adding small details that scared him. Pretending to be this pretty woman, she would message Nathaniel telling him that she was watching him. The woman would list Nathaniel's exact location. Then, when he moved somewhere else, she still somehow knew exactly where he was. She would tell him personal details about his job, schedule, and habits. When Nathaniel would ask how she knew all of this, she convinced him that someone was watching and tracking his every movement. Nathaniel started growing paranoid. He had no idea that this stranger was really his fiance. Our Melinda actually had an app that tracked his whereabouts, and it's around this time when Nathaniel began withdrawing from everyone around him. He started struggling at work. He truly

believed that this random woman online was a part of this big group that was stalking him and wanting to hurt him. All the while, he was completely unaware that the messages were coming from the woman he was sleeping right next to. What Irma Linda wanted out of this was control, and it's what she got, just not in the way that she wanted. Perhaps Irma Linda thought Nathaniel would come to her for comfort, and in some ways he did, but mostly the stress of feeling like he was being watched, had Nathaniel on edge. And it drove him and our Melinda even further apart. He constantly screened phone calls and started looking over his shoulder in public. He was convinced that someone was following him. He deleted his passwords. He erased messages. But no matter what

he did, the threatening messages continued. He started putting black electrical tape over the doorbell camera on his cell phone camera and even on the red light on the television, thinking it would stop stalkers from watching him. According to police documents, if anyone would remove the tape from the television, he would become extremely angry and immediately replace it. He started asking Urmalinda to drive him places to avoid being tracked. For Irmelinda, that was a win. The more scared Nathaniel got, the more time she got with him. She got confirmation that he trusted her, but it still wasn't enough. So near the end of 2022, she decided to take things a step further. Through hundreds of messages from various profiles. Irma Linda convinced Nathaniel that she was working with both

a Bulgarian gang and the Mexican cartel. She researched the dark web to prove to Nathaniel that some of her characters were skilled hackers. At times she used Bulgarian words that she had translated to communicate with Nathaniel. She made it believable, or maybe he wanted to believe. Perhaps it was the paranoia, or the fact that he could finally play the role of protector like he wanted. Whatever the case, Nathaniel fell for it, book, line, and sinker. In his mind, there was no way to escape. His orders, the message claimed, were to do what the cartel and gang wanted, and he had to do it when they wanted, or he and his family would pay the price. Irma Linda created multiple characters, including organization bosses, shot callers, hitmen, and hackers. And through the

characters, Irma Linda would convince Nathaniel to do whatever she wanted. And when she learned of his affair with Sarida, sometime in early 2023. She knew exactly what she wanted to keep Zerida the hell away from her fiance. Soon, Nathaniel began to get messages from the cartel and gang members, warning him about his interactions with Zerida. The messages claim that she was involved in shady criminal activity, specifically working for dangerous criminal organizations. The people that contacted Nathaniel wanted to let him know they were looking out for him. They wanted to warn him before it was too late. And after hearing this, Nathaniel started to question their relationship. He continuously asked Zerada if she was with him, who she was talking to, and if she was using him.

He retreated further into his own mind, constantly going over every conversation and scenario to pinpoint the truth. Everyone around him witnessed the change. For them, it made absolutely no sense, but for Irma Linda, it was exactly what she had intended to do. Nathaniel became so paranoid that he started stockpiling weapons. He had at least 13 guns, including numerous handguns and semi-automatic weapons. He started spending more time at the shooting range, practicing for the day that something actually went down. Irma Linda thought she had control, but ultimately, her catfishing only ended up giving her more heartbreak. Despite repeatedly typing warnings that Zerida was not who she claimed to be, Nathaniel continued seeing her. Apparently, his love for

Zerida was stronger than his fear of her connections. So frustrated, Irma Linda upped the ante. She tried to use her fake online personas to convince Nathaniel that his relationship with her was important. And under the guise of the cartel and gang members, she posed his loyalty to her as a test of his trustworthiness in the eyes of the leaders. Pretending to be these gang members, she would message Nathaniel telling him that he needed to be faithful in his relationship, that he needed to stop seeking out relationships with other women, to treat Irma Linda with respect and to only have sex with her. She warned him that he was under surveillance and that if he disobeyed, there would be consequences. But still, he continued his affair. Imagine how angry that must have made

Urmalinda. She was posing as a cartel leader, as hit men, as gangsters, and she still couldn't scare her fiancé into being loyal to her. Rather than cut her losses and walk away, she doubled down yet again. She started contacting Nathaniel with people she said were informants. These informants warned Nathaniel that Zerida was a mole within the organization and that she was the one feeding his personal information to his enemies. The informants told Nathaniel that Zerida had specifically targeted him and was working against him to blow his cover with the Mexican cartel. And Nathaniel believed every word of it. Now, sitting behind the phone sending these messages, Ermalinda knew she was playing a dangerous game, but it was working.

Nathaniel was now convinced that Zirida had ulterior motives. He believed that he had been set up. He believed that if Zirida exposed him to the cartel, that his family was in danger. But the informant assured Nathaniel that the situation could be taken care of. And that's when they introduced him to a person named Turtle. On September 14, 2023, Ermolinda created yet another fake profile, posing as someone called Turtle, a cartel hitman who promised to help Nathaniel kill Zerida.

With her gone, his family would finally be safe. There was never a second in the messages where their mission was ambiguous. They weren't talking about scaring Zerida or kidnapping her or even hurting her. They were discussing taking her life no matter what. For days over text, Turtle and Nathaniel researched Zerida's neighborhood and learned where surveillance cameras were located. They discussed the layout of her home, her children, the size and breed of her three dogs. A turtle told Nathaniel that the home behind Zerida's residence was vacant.

It was the perfect entry point. So in September 14th, Nathaniel called in sick to work, and he spent the next few days planning with the fake Mexican cartel hitman. Together, the two determined that the only way to eliminate the threat was to murder Alberto, Zerida and their two children, Adriel and Diego. Irma Linda, who is posing as turtle, told Nathaniel that it would be best to go in and damage the property to make it, quote, appear to be a burglary committed by kids, end quote. She reassured Nathaniel that, quote, many murders go unsolved, end quote. Throughout the entire correspondence, it's believed that Nathaniel had no idea the person he was talking to was his own fiancé, Irma Linda.

He truly believed that he was being guided by the Mexican cartel, and they were. were reassuring him that the hit would work. Now clearly Nathaniel was talking to Ermolinda about these plans, because as we know, she was his getaway driver. But around this time, Turtle instructed Nathaniel to, quote, move through, locate and hit the two adults first, then two kids, end quote. Above all, there was one thing Turtle repeated, time and time again, take Sarita and Alberto cell phones.

After all, Irma Linda hadn't just been sending threats to, Nathaniel, she had sent threatening messages to Zerida and Alberto as well, and she knew that if police found their cell phones, it could be traced back to her. So in the days before the murders, she went over the rules with Nathaniel time and time again, pretending to be Turtle, kill everyone inside the home, and take the phones. Then finally, on September 15th, and Nathaniel's eyes, the planning was complete. After several days of back and forth with Turtle, he was locked in. He was going to kill Zoraida on behalf of the Mexican cartel. At least, based on his text messages, that's what he seemed to believe. And on September 16th, just hours before Nathaniel decided to enact his plan,

Zerida texted him. It was a text that would have made his heart flutter weeks prior. She told him goodnight, that she loved him. All the while, Nathaniel was planning to murder her and her entire family. Around 3 a.m. on the morning of September 17, 2013, Nathaniel and Ermolinda drove to the Hampton Park neighborhood in Romeoville. Irma Linda played the role of supportive fiancé perfectly. She was to be the getaway driver and promised to stay in the car while Nathaniel carried out the hit. She even had a walkie-talkie for him to talk to her. Under the guidance of the fake Mexican cartel, Nathaniel crept up to the quiet house, cut two window screens to stage it as a home invasion, and then walked through. an unlocked door near the kitchen. Inside, Alberto, Zoraida, Adriel, and Diego were fast to sleep. But the commotion woke Alberto up. He walked out into the living room to see what was going on,

and without warning, Nathaniel raised his 9mm pistol and fired at him. He missed, and the bullet struck a wall. Fearing for the safety of his family, Alberto turned and ran toward the primary bedroom where Zerida, Adriel, and Diego had been sleeping together, all as a family. For the past few weeks, the boys had been having trouble sleeping on their own and had been sleeping in their parents' bed. It was supposed to be a safe place. But that night, because of jealousy, it was the most dangerous place they could possibly be. Before Alberto got a chance to warn his family, Nathaniel fired five rounds into his back. He collapsed in the hallway. Nathaniel then walked to the bedroom where Zerida was with her two children. She had woken up from the noise,

not knowing what had happened or what was going on, she rushed to the bedroom door and locked it. The sound of gunshots was terrifying. She was afraid for her husband, but at the same time, she had kids to protect. She threw her whole body weight against the door, desperate to keep it shut. Nathaniel attempted to open it with force,

thrusting his shoulder against the door, but it wouldn't budge. Frustrated, Nathaniel fired several shots through the door, and one of the bullets struck Zerida. She died almost instantly, falling to the ground in front of her children. Without her wade pressed against the door, Nathaniel was able to enter the room.

As he stepped inside, he found 9-year-old Adriel and 7-year-old Diego, cuddled together on the bed to scare to scream or move. They were just little boys, described by those who knew him as, quote, the sweetest and most innocent angels who could just cuddle your cares away, end quote. And yet, with no remorse,

Nathaniel shot both of them. When police found the boys hours' last, later, one of them was still wearing a sleep mask. But killing the innocent boys wasn't enough. For no reason at all, he decided to kill the three dogs as well, one in the primary bedroom and two in the kitchen. Then, surrounded by his carnage, he ran through the home to create more. He tossed furniture, overturned tables, and scattered their belongings on the floor, all in an effort to stage the inside of the home to look like it was a robbery gone wrong. Then for his final act, he spray-painted curse words onto the walls. When he was finally done, he walked back into the

night, got into the car with his fiancé, and together they sped off into the darkness. After the murders, Nathaniel texted Turtle and discussed what he had done. The hit was successful. Everyone was dead. However, he admitted that he forgot to carry out one specific instruction. taking Zerida and Alberto's cell phones. It was a tiny detail that led to his and Ermolinda's rapid downfall. Investigators theorized that Nathaniel Huey Jr. died never knowing that Ermolinda was the mastermind behind it all. Romeoville detective Daniel Zaccula told NBC,

Nathaniel fully believed the information being fed to him by Ermolinda, but did not know Ermolinda was the person he was communicating with. Irma Linda never pulled the trigger, but it was her words and actions that turned Nathaniel into a cold-blooded killer. Tragically, no one will ever know Irma Linda's full story. She died in that burning car in Oklahoma, taking with her whatever mix of jealousy, fear, love, and rage that drove her to create such an intricate web of lies. Those closest to Nathaniel and Irma Linda were shocked when it was all revealed.

Alex Hernandez, a family friend, told NBC Chicago, I don't know where things went bad or where they went sideways. I spent Thanksgiving here. I leave my kids here sometimes. It's like my mind is lost right now. In the end, a hardworking Puerto Rican family that had only just moved into their dream home was erased. Their young children will never grow up. Zerida's sister told the New York Post,

these were hardworking people that had just bought their first home. In just a few hours, their lives, their family's lives, completely changed. The world is going to be a much dimmer place without them. Tragically, their loved ones are now left with only memories and questions that will never be answered. In October 2004, the Romeoville police chief released a final statement after everything had been uncovered. The tragic deaths of a young family, including two young children, will forever impact the surviving family and those that investigated this case. Nothing can prepare a person for such an incident, and nothing can justify such a senseless act of violence. Although finalized, the finality of this case unfortunately does not mean closure for so many trying to grieve.

And with that, the case was closed. But for the family of Alberto Rolone and Zerida Bartolome, there would never be any justice. The blue house on Concord Avenue stands empty. The home that once held a loving family is now quiet and still. No more backyard barbecues. No more children playing in the driveway. No more laughter filling the home. that was taken by a violent man and a scorned woman who chose manipulation and lies instead of

facing the truth. For today's episode, we will be making a donation to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, which provides crisis intervention, safety planning, resources for shelters, legal help, counseling, and support for victims of violence, abuse, stalking, and controlling relationships. Hey, everybody. Thank you so much for listening to this week's episode of Murder in America. Courtney and I have a lot planned from now to the end of the year. A lot of different stories we're going to cover. And yeah, we can't wait to get into them and to share them with all of you online. If you want to help support the work that we do here on the show, please consider joining us over on Patreon. On our Patreon, you can get access to early ad-free versions of every single episode of the show.

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