Two suspects sought by police in the murders of a family of four outside of Chicago were found shot inside a burning car states away in Oklahoma, authorities said Wednesday.
Nathaniel Huey Jr, 31, of Streamwood, Illinois, and an unnamed woman were identified as persons of interest in the slayings after the two adults, two children and three dogs were found inside a home in the small Illinois town of Romeoville over the weekend.
Romeoville Deputy Chief Chris Burne told local news outlets that a car linked to the man was spotted by a license plate reader in Catoosa, Oklahoma, sparking a traffic stop.
But when officers tried to stop the vehicle, it sped away, crashed and caught on fire. Officers on the scene reportedly “heard two noises believed to be gunshots,” Chief Burne said.
Officers found the man fatally shot in the driver’s seat and a critically wounded woman in the passenger seat.
“This is still an active and evolving investigation and this portion of the incident is still unfolding,” Chief Burne said.
He did not say what the relationship was between Huey and the family who was killed over the weekend, but said evidence “has shown us a nexus between our suspect and the victims, as well as a possible motive.”
It comes just days after a family of four was gunned down in a Chicago suburb.
Police were called in for a welfare check at the home in Romeoville, Illinois, on Sunday morning.
Officers arrived to find the bodies of Alberto Rolon, 38, Zoraida Bartolomei, 32, their two boys, aged 7 and 10, and their dogs.
“I want to know what happened to my nephews, my sister, her husband and WHY?” Bartolomei’s sister Bryana wrote in a heartbreaking Facebook post.
The loss of the Rolon-Bartolomei family has shocked many friends and family members – with Bartolomei’s sister Bryana stepping forward and sharing her heartache with the community.
In the description of a GoFundMe, Bryana wrote: “This fundraiser has been created with the aim of helping the Rolon-Bartolomei family with funeral expenses, as well as to create awareness of this ongoing case. Zoraida Bartolomei, Alberto Rolon, their kids Adriel & Diego (ages 10 & 7) were involved in a horrific crime that took their lives and shattered countless others.”
Bryana said her sister and brother-in-law had just brought their first home together and described the children as “the sweetest most innocent angels who could hug your worries away.”
“The world is going to be a much dimmer place without them,” she added.
