EXCLUSIVE: Couple Alberto Rolon and Zoraida Bartolomei, their two sons aged 9 and 7 and three dogs are all found shot to death in their new home in Romeoville, Illinois – as heartbroken grandmother says: ‘They were so happy’
- Police named the couple as Alberto Rolon and Zoraida Bartolomei of Concord Drive in Romeoville
- They have ruled out a murder-suicide and warned the killer is still at large
- Grandmother Lydia had spoken to her daughter a few hours earlier
The mother of a woman who was murdered along with her partner and their two children in their suburban Illinois home has said she has no idea why anyone would want to kill them.
Police found the bodies of Zoraida Bartolomei, 32, her partner Alberto Rolo, and sons Adriel, nine, and Diego, seven, during a routine welfare check at the Romeoville home on Sunday evening.
They had all been shot, along with the family’s three dogs, in the home on the 500 block of Concord Drive.
Police have ruled out a murder-suicide and warned the gunman is still on the run.
“They were so happy, they had just bought their new house five months ago,” Zoraida’s mother Lydia said from her home in Puerto Rico.
The Concord Avenue home was sealed off from police as they began their investigation yesterday
Romeoville Police Department Deputy Chief Chris Burne told reporters the killer is on the loose
Police arrived on the scene Sunday evening after being asked to conduct a welfare check on the family
She had spoken to her daughter shortly before her death on Saturday evening when the family went to see a movie, and she cannot understand why they were killed.
“There are always people who are greedy or jealous, but I have no idea,” she added.
A family member had asked Romeoville Police Department officers to conduct a welfare check on the family when one of the adults did not show up for work at 6 a.m. Sunday and did not answer the phone.
Officers found a scene of carnage when they arrived at 8:40 pm that evening.
Chris Burne, deputy chief of the Romeoville Police Department, revealed few details during a news conference Monday, citing the “sensitivity of the case and the need to protect the integrity of the investigation.”
But he was convinced that none of the dead were responsible and that the gunman left the scene.
Police believe the murders took place in suburban Chicago between 9:00 PM on Saturday, September 16 and 5:00 AM on Sunday.
“Due to the time that has passed, more than 18 hours from the time we were contacted, we are not asking anyone to provide shelter,” he added.
‘We are not actively looking for anyone in the area, but we always ask our residents to be self-aware and report anything they consider suspicious.’
Police believe the murders took place in suburban Chicago between 9:00 PM on Saturday, September 16 and 5:00 AM on Sunday.
Crime scene technicians removed several brown and pink bags along with part of a window from the three-bedroom house as the investigation began yesterday.