On January 21, 2024, a day of horrific violence in and around Joliet, Illinois, claimed the lives of eight people, including 14-year-old Angel Nance. Angel, a Black female, was one of seven members of her family who were shot and killed by her 23-year-old relative, Romeo Nance. Surviving family members described them as a close-knit group who always supported one another.
A relative wrote, "To see one family member was to see all family members, as we always showed up and showed out for one another."
The tragedy unfolded on a Sunday, when Romeo Nance first killed his seven family members in two homes on the 2200 block of West Acres Road. In one house, at 2212 West Acres Road, authorities would later find Angel; her sisters, Alexandria Nance, 20, and Alonnah Nance, 16; her brother, Joshua Nance, 31; and her aunt, Christine Esters, 38. Across the street at 2225 West Acres Road, Nance’s mother, Tameka Nance, 47, and his uncle, William Esters II, 35, were also found deceased. All seven had been shot. After killing his family, Nance drove away and committed two more shootings that afternoon, wounding a 42-year-old man on Davis Street and then, about ten minutes later, fatally shooting 28-year-old Toyosi Bakare at the Pheasant Run Apartments.
Investigators with the Will County Sheriff’s Office linked the car used in the afternoon shootings to Romeo Nance’s address on West Acres Road. Deputies set up surveillance on the home, and after about 12 hours with no activity, they approached the residence on January 22. They discovered blood outside and entered to find the bodies of Tameka Nance and William Esters II. Officers then went to the home across the street, where they found the other five family members, including Angel. Joliet Police Chief Bill Evans later called it the "worst crime scene I've ever been associated with."
A manhunt for Romeo Nance was launched, and authorities tracked him as he fled to Texas. At approximately 8:30 p.m. on January 22, U.S. Marshals located Nance near Natalia, Texas. Following a confrontation with law enforcement officials, Romeo Nance died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
In the days that followed, police arrested Kyleigh Cleveland-Singleton, Romeo Nance’s girlfriend and the mother of his young son. She was charged with felony obstruction of justice after detectives said she made statements intended to prevent Nance's apprehension. She was later released to home confinement.
The community mourned the immense loss, holding a vigil and funeral services for the seven family members. At a celebration of life on February 3, 2024, a surviving relative, Cara Esters, told mourners, "I don’t have words for our heartache and I don’t think I ever will.” As of February 2024, the case was considered closed due to the death of the primary suspect.
