Woman found with man suspected of killing Chicago-area family was shot dead, her attorney says

An Illinois woman who was in a vehicle with a man suspected of killing a Chicago-area family died following a car crash in Oklahoma, according to officials and her family.

Ermalinda Palomo, 50, was shot in the head and died Wednesday afternoon at an Oklahoma hospital, JohnPaul Ivec, an attorney for her family said Thursday. Ivec said the death had been ruled a homicide.

One of her daughters also confirmed her death, and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said the woman in the car died after being taken to a hospital.

Palomo was involved in an accident with a man police believe to be Nathaniel Huey Jr., 32, who was a suspect in the deaths of Alberto Rolon, 38; Zoraida Bartolomei, 32; and their two boys, 7 and 9. The family was found dead in their Romeoville, Illinois, home Sunday night.

The motive in those slayings is not clear.

Ivec said Palomo was engaged to Huey. He said she “had nothing to do with the murders” and was home sleeping when the family was killed.

“We know without a shadow of a doubt,” he said.

Police said the car had fled authorities in Oklahoma and crashed, catching on fire. Officers then heard gunshots, according to police in Romeoville. Both occupants were found with a gunshot wound. The man died at the scene, and Palomo was taken to the hospital.

Police had said that she was a person of interest in the killings before she was reported missing and in danger Tuesday night by her family.

One of the Palomo’s daughters, who did not want to be named, said that Huey was a “very angry man” and that her mother “was scared of him.”

“Huey is someone I thought I could trust,” she said. “And the past few months, he distanced himself from us, and it turned out to be that we could not trust him.”

Another daughter, Cristiana Espinoza, 25, of Streamwood, Illinois, said her mother had dated Huey for about eight years. She said Huey was “very dangerous” and was a “huge manipulator.”

Ivec said Palomo was a mother of five, who had five grandchildren.

“The family is in shock and grieving,” he said.

Romeoville police and Deputy Police Chief Chris Burne said Wednesday that evidence pointed to a connection between the suspect and the family, as well as a possible motive, but did not provide further details.