A couple, their two children, and three dogs were found murdered in Romeoville, Illinois, in a crime authorities say was “not a random incident.”
Alberto Rolon, 38, Zoraida Bartolomei, 32, their 9- and 7-year-old sons, as well as the family’s three dogs, were all shot to death over the weekend and believed to have been murdered, People magazine reported.
“It is not a murder-suicide,” Romeoville Deputy Police Chief Chris Burne said at a press conference on Monday. “Right now, we are investigating it as a murder.”
Burne told the outlet that the family had moved into their new neighborhood, a village 26 miles southwest of Chicago, earlier this year.
At around 8:45 p.m. Sunday, police were called to the home for a well-being check after one of the family members failed to show up for work at 6 a.m. and wasn’t answering phone calls during the day. When police arrived at the residence, they found all four family members and the dogs with gunshot wounds, which they believe were inflicted between 9 p.m. Saturday and 5 a.m. Sunday.
“Our detectives and crime scene investigators spent the last 36 hours collecting a tremendous amount of evidence. We were able to determine that this was not a random incident and there was no cause for a shelter-in-place order,” Burne said at a press conference on Tuesday, according to Fox News.
Burne added that the investigation into the murders is the “top priority” for Romeoville police.
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“All our officers and our professional staff have been working tirelessly on this case,” Burne said. “The Will County Major Task Force has been brought in to assist our investigators with gathering evidence and reviewing video. The members of the community have been helpful in providing us with information and evidence.”
“We continue to seek their assistance in anything, including Ring doorbell footage that they think may be helpful with this investigation,” he added.
Burne said Monday that police were not “actively looking for anyone in the area” since more than 18 hours had passed between the crime and when police were called. Police have not discussed any suspects.
Lynn Phillips, a neighbor of the family, told People she was “devastated” by the crime and has “cried on and off since” the community learned about the incident.
She added that the family seemed like a typical, quiet family.
“They go to work, they go home, they take their kids to school,” she told the outlet. “They worked in the yard. We’d wave to each other.”
