Officials announced the arrest of Charles Fulforth in connection to a home invasion and shooting in Lower Merion that left Andrew Gaudio dead and his mother critically injured. They continue to search for another suspect, Kelvin Roberts.
Police arrested one of two suspects in a home invasion and shooting that left a man dead and his mother critically injured in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania.
Charles Fulforth, 41, of Jenkintown, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, robbery and other related offenses in connection to the death of 25-year-old Andrew Gaudio, officials announced on Thursday, Dec. 12.
Deadly Lower Merion home invasion
On Sunday, Dec. 8, around 2:20 a.m., police responded to a home on Meredith Road in Lower Merion for a reported home invasion and shooting. When they arrived, they found Andrew Gaudio and his 61-year-old mother, Bernadette Gaudio, suffering from gunshot wounds.
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Andrew Gaudio was pronounced dead at the scene while his mother was taken to the hospital where she underwent emergency surgery. She was listed in critical condition. During a press conference on Thursday, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said she remains paralyzed but was showing improvement.
The woman told investigators she was sleeping inside her home when two men broke into the house. At least one of the men then went upstairs, entered her room, woke her up and opened fire, shooting her.
She told investigators her son -- Andrew Gaudio -- walked into her room to help her but was shot by the gunman. She said she then heard her son dying on the floor before the gunman shot her again.
Unable to move, she used Siri to call 911.
"It was a very brave move on her part because I think indications are that the individuals were still in the house at the time," Steele said.
Loved ones created a GoFundMe page for Bernadette Gaudio as she continues to recover.
“This was a horrible crime and I find it very difficult not to think about what Bernadette is going through with her recovery and what happened in that bedroom and what she saw happened to her son," Steele said.
Investigators said the two suspects stole items from the home -- including a jewelry box and a video game console -- and then fled in two separate vehicles, a white Hyundai Azera and a green Jeep Cherokee that belonged to the victim.
Investigators obtained dashcam video from a Lower Merion Police Patrol vehicle which captured the officer pulling in front of the white Hyundai. Investigators said that vehicle left the scene of the homicide. After searching the vehicle’s license and registration, detectives matched it to a residence on Sansom Street in Philadelphia. Police spoke to a person at the home and showed them a photo of a man inside the Hyundai Azera. That person then identified the man as 42-year-old Kelvin Roberts of Philadelphia, investigators said.
Police also recovered the stolen Jeep Cherokee along Sansom Street and found the stolen jewelry box inside.
On Dec. 10, detectives met with a source who told them Roberts' boss at his job at Junkluggers in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, was also involved in the home invasion.
Detectives went to Junkluggers where they met with Roberts' boss, who they identified as Charles Fulforth. Fulforth gave police his number, investigators said.
Police then determined Fulforth was with Roberts at the home on Meredith Road both before and after the deadly shooting.
Police also said they obtained images showing a man who looked like Fulforth getting out of the stolen Jeep Cherokee and going into the home on Sansom Street with Roberts.
U.S. Marshals arrested Fulforth at an apartment complex in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, Dec. 12, without incident. Police said they seized guns and a 3D printer during the arrest.
While Fulforth is charged with second-degree murder, investigators have not yet determined if it was him who shot and killed Gaudio or if Roberts was the gunman. Steele also said there's a possibility that both men committed the murder.
"At this point, we have not indicated the shooter," Steele said. "I believe there is more than one shooter and that's based upon some of the evidence that we recovered there."
Police also have not yet determined why the two suspects targeted the Lower Merion home specifically.
A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to Roberts' arrest. He is described as a man with black and gray hair, standing 6-feet-tall and weighing 260 pounds. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please call Lower Merion Police at 610-278-3386 or Montgomery County Detectives at 610-278-3386.
“We really need to get this other individual, Kelvin Roberts into custody," Steele said. "He’s dangerous. Anybody who would be involved with something like this needs to be behind bars.”
Roberts was already a wanted man at the time of the home invasion. Philadelphia police were searching for him due to his alleged involvement in a burglary. Police in North Wales, Pennsylvania, were also searching for him in connection to a burglary in September in which he allegedly stole electronics, including gaming equipment. Investigators said those stolen items ended up at a pawn shop in Cheltenham. Owners of the shop told NBC10 they had not seen Roberts before he came in to pawn the items. Once they learned they were stolen, they turned the items over to police.
Roberts was also arrested on gun charges in Montgomery County back in 2003. The serial number of his weapon was destroyed, according to court documents.
Records also show Roberts was arrested multiple times in Philadelphia for weapons violations, assault and drug offenses.
