ROMEOVILLE, ILLINOIS: Alberto Rolon and Zoraida Bartolomei, an Illinois couple, and their two young children were all found shot dead inside their suburban home in a suspected quadruple murder, authorities said.
The bodies of 32-year-old Bartolomei, Rolon, and their two children were found at around 8.40 pm on Sunday, September 17 when Romeoville police officers stopped by their home for a welfare check.
Upon their arrival, officers discovered that the family had been shot dead along with their three dogs at the home on the 500 block of Concord Drive.
Authorities noted that the officers were called to the family home after one of the family members did not show up to work at 6 am, according to NY Post.
"A member of the family did not show up for work at 6 am on the morning of Sunday, September 17 and did not respond to phone calls throughout the day, resulting in family members becoming concerned," Romeoville police said in a statement on Monday.
Who killed Alberto Rolon and Zoraida Bartolomei?
On Monday, Romeoville Deputy Police Chief Chris Burne stated that the investigators don’t believe the deaths were the result of a murder-suicide.
“Right now we are investigating this as a murder,” he said during the press conference streamed by NBC Chicago.
He also noted that it is believed the shootings occurred between 9 pm Saturday and 5 am Sunday.
“Due to the timeframe that has gone by – more than 18 hours from the time we were contacted – we are not asking anybody to shelter in place, we are not actively looking for anybody in the area,” he said.
It has come to light that the family had only recently arrived in the neighborhood and lived in a single-family home in the village about 26 miles southwest of Chicago.
The two children were both students at RC Hill Elementary School, Valley View School District Superintendent Rachel Kinder said in a note to the community.
Alberto Rolon and Zoraida Bartolomei’s family mourns deaths
The deaths have left loved ones devastated. Zoraida's mother Lydia said that she has no idea why anyone would want to kill them.
"They were so happy, they had just bought their new house five months ago," she told Daily Mail from her home in Puerto Rico.
She had spoken to her daughter shortly before her death on Saturday night as the family settled down to watch a movie, and couldn't fathom why they were murdered.
"There are always people who are avaricious or jealous, but I've got no idea," she added.
Lynn Phillips, one of the couple’s neighbors, said, “I’m devastated. I’ve been crying on and off all day.”
“It was a mom and dad and a couple of kids. The parents would be outside working the yard, and we’d wave hi and bye, that kind of thing,” Phillips told the Sun-Times, adding, “Nothing unusual. We all keep to ourselves.”
Next-door neighbor Carol Love also told the newspaper the family made an effort to be good neighbors.
“It’s so sad. They were nice people. They didn’t bother anybody,” Love reportedly said. “I hope they find out who did it.”
