A Scorned Woman, Cheating Fiancé and “Cartel” Quadruple Murder

When Ermalinda Palomo, 50, found out her fiancé Nathaniel Huey Jr., 32, was cheating with a coworker, she created a catfish page to troll him and ultimately convince him to commit a quadruple murder on behalf of a nonexistent cartel. The results were devastating.

Palomo, Palomo

Police performed a well-being check on a woman in Romeoville, IL and discovered the bodies of an entire family: Alberto Rolon, 32, Zoraida Bartolomei, 38, the person whom they had come to check on, and their sons, Adriel, 9, and Diego, 7, all shot to death. So were the family dogs.

Palomo created fake social media profiles and began a years-long trolling campaign.

It all started when Palomo discovered her to-be husband was having an affair with Zoraida Bartolomei, whom Nathaniel had met at an engineering company in Glendale Heights. Instead of confronting Nathaniel, Palomo created fake social media profiles and began a years-long trolling campaign that would ultimately lead to the previous deaths mentioned, Nathaniel’s and her own.

According to police, Palomo “created multiple online personas” to contact Nathaniel and “convince [him] that he was part of a Mexican and Bulgarian criminal organization.” Using these personas, she persuaded him to believe his life was on the line and that a snitch in the cartel was to blame. The snitch had to be taken out.

The Cartel Gets Involved

Over time, Palomo, in her fake cartel character, told Nathaniel the snitch was Zoraida, the woman he’d been having an affair with. Even though he understood the dangers of a snitch, Nathaniel also understood the consequences of committing murder. Mainly, if caught, he could do life in prison. Palomo pointed to the number of unsolved murders and noted that he would not be caught.

However, Palomo and Nathaniel sped away, and a chase ensued.

On September 16, 2023, Palomo drove Nathaniel to the murder scene around 3:17 a.m., as seen on the home’s surveillance footage later by police. On September 18, 2023, the day after police discovered the murdered family, the police found and questioned Huey at his job. They questioned Palomo separately. They both denied involvement. Nathaniel refused a polygraph.

Palomo and Nathaniel fled, but they were later found leaving a store in Cartoosa, Oklahoma. But the two sped away, and a chase ensued. In the end, before turning the gun on himself, Nathaniel shot Palomo. It is unclear what transpired between the two beforehand, but it’s probably safe to assume they agreed to take this route, instead of life in prison.

The Takeaway

Palomo used the threat of a fake cartel to force her husband-to-be to end the life of the woman with whom he was cheating. Over an extended period of time, she pretended to be a cartel and planned the murder of her rival without considering the consequences. What she did was beyond atrocious. Nathaniel committed the murders. He didn’t have to do it. But he did for whatever reasons. The family did not deserve what happened to them. There is no happy ending, no Romeo and Juliet.

This article was written by Jermaine Reed, MFA, the Editor-in-Chief of The Reeders Block. He also works an Adjunct College Professor. Join the email list to get notifications on new blog posts and books. This article is 100% human-written. And remember, if you see an error, that’s what makes us human. Subscribe and share.