NORRISTOWN — “Motivated by greed and determined to use violence,” two men took part in a deadly home invasion burglary during which they targeted the wrong house in Lower Merion Township while looking to steal guns as part of an alleged gun trafficking scheme, a prosecutor argued to a jury.
“On Dec. 8, 2024, the peace of a quiet neighborhood in Lower Merion was shattered in seconds,” Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Brianna Leigh Ringwood argued to a jury of seven women and five men as the homicide trial of Charles Edward Fulforth and Kelvin Roberts Jr. got underway on Monday.
Fulforth and Roberts face charges of first- and second-degree murder, attempted murder, robbery, burglary and conspiracy in connection with their alleged roles in the Dec. 8 fatal home invasion at a residence in the unit block of Meredith Road in Lower Merion.
The homeowner, Bernadette Gaudio, 61, suffered gunshot wounds as she lay in bed, was paralyzed and survived the attack. Gaudio’s son, Andrew, 25, was fatally shot in the head during the 2:20 a.m. home invasion as he came to his mother’s aid.
“They acted together in a brutal attack that ended in murder and nearly a double murder. They executed her son right in front of her, cold-blooded murder. Motivated by greed and determined to use violence. The evidence will show that they acted together with shared intent,” argued Ringwood, who is handling the case with First Assistant District Attorney Edward F. McCann Jr.
Fulforth, 41, of the 1600 block The Fairway, in the Jenkintown section of Abington Township, and Roberts, 42, of the 7200 block of North 21st Street, Philadelphia, face mandatory life prison terms if they’re convicted of first-degree murder, an intentional killing, or second-degree murder, a killing committed during the course of another felony such as burglary.
Charles Fulforth, of Abington, Pa., is escorted to a Montgomery County courtroom for his homicide trial on July 21, 2025. (Photo by Carl Hessler Jr. – MediaNews Group)
Ringwood and McCann are seeking first-degree murder convictions, contending the killing was deliberate and intentional.
But defense lawyer Francis Genovese, who represents Roberts, and defense lawyer Brooks Thompson, who represents Fulforth, suggested there is reasonable doubt in the case and they urged jurors not to rush to conclusions about their clients.
“In this case, there are areas of reasonable doubt. Keep an open mind throughout this trial and consider all the evidence in this case,” Thompson argued during his opening statement to jurors.
Genovese suggested evidence against Roberts is “lacking.”
“This case is about state of mind. It’s about Mr. Roberts’ state of mind on the night in question,” said Genovese, adding if prosecutors don’t prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, then “the law requires a finding of not guilty.”
The trial before Judge Risa Vetri Ferman is expected to last about five days.
Kelvin Roberts Jr., of Philadelphia, is escorted to a Montgomery County courtroom for his homicide trial on July 21, 2025. (Photo by Carl Hessler Jr. – MediaNews Group)
A third man charged in connection with the deadly incident, Jeremy Fuentes, who prosecutors alleged provided information that was the impetus for Roberts and Fulforth to carry out the deadly home invasion burglary, faces a separate trial in September.
Fuentes, 27, of the 7200 block of North 18th Street, Philadelphia, faces charges of second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy to commit burglary. While Fuentes was not present for the home invasion, he was charged with homicide under accomplice liability theories
Roberts, Fulforth and Fuentes were coworkers at Junkluggers in Upper Moreland Township.
The investigation revealed that on Dec. 6, 2024, Fuentes conducted an estimate for junk removal at a Bucks County residence that had an address similar to the Meredith Road residence in Lower Merion. During a meeting with the Bucks County homeowner, Fuentes observed a large gun safe, gun boxes, gun parts and ammunition, none of which were part of the estimate to be removed by Junkluggers, according to court documents.
But following that estimate, Fuentes called Fulforth and shared with him the information regarding the multiple firearms in that Bucks County home, detectives alleged. Fuentes and Fulforth allegedly were interested in stealing the firearms in furtherance of their alleged gun trafficking organization that illegally sold factory-made firearms as well as privately made ghost guns, machine gun conversion devices, or “switches,” and silencers using 3D printers.
What got lost in the translation, prosecutors alleged, was where the intended house was located and Fulforth and Roberts mistakenly went to the Gaudio home on Meredith Road in Lower Merion.
Prosecutors previously said the motive was to steal guns and that Roberts and Fulforth went to the wrong house.
Roberts, Fulforth and Fuentes also face a separate trial later this year on charges of corrupt organizations, illegal sale or transfer of firearms and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities in connection with their lead roles in the gun trafficking organization.
It was during the Lower Merion homicide investigation that authorities uncovered the gun trafficking organization.
As he was escorted to his homicide trial in Montgomery County Court on July 21, 2025, Charles Fulforth did not reveal his defense strategy or if he will testify at the trial. (Photo by Carl Hessler Jr. – MediaNews Group)
The homicide investigation began when Lower Merion police responded to the Meredith Road home after Bernadette Gaudio managed to dial 911 to report that she and her son were victims of a home invasion and that the attackers were rummaging through the home, according to a criminal complaint filed by county Detective John Wittenberger and Lower Merion Detective James Black.
When police arrived, they found Gaudio suffering from several gunshot wounds and she was transported to a local hospital, where she underwent surgery. Andrew Gaudio was found deceased from gunshot wounds that he suffered when he attempted to help his mother, detectives said.
Prosecutors previously described Andrew’s killing as an “execution,” alleging the young man was shot in the back of the head as he lay face down on the floor of his mother’s bedroom.
Gaudio told detectives she was asleep and awakened by a male intruder.
“This male shot her without provocation while she was lying in her bed, resulting in her becoming instantly paralyzed. Gaudio stated that her son entered her bedroom to check on her when he was shot and killed. Gaudio stated she heard her son dying on the floor,” Wittenberger and Black alleged.
Gaudio told detectives she was shot again after her son was killed in her bedroom. Gaudio believed there were two intruders in the home, one upstairs and one downstairs.
As a result of being paralyzed, Gaudio had to use the Siri voice function on her cellphone to call 911.
Prosecutors previously called Gaudio “a very brave and courageous woman.”
Detectives recovered dashcam footage from a Lower Merion patrol vehicle that captured one of the responding officers pulling in front of a white Hyundai Azera, leaving the scene of the homicide, a vehicle that was eventually linked to a Samson Street residence in Philadelphia.
Authorities also recovered dashcam footage depicting someone driving away in the victim’s green Jeep Cherokee, which authorities later found at the Samson Street address, according to court documents. Authorities believe Fulforth drove the victim’s vehicle from the crime scene.
A resident of the Samson Street address identified Roberts as the driver of the white Hyundai.
Detectives used cellphone data from both Fulforth and Roberts that allegedly showed both of them at Samson Street shortly after midnight on Dec. 8, and that around 12:40 a.m,. their phones moved toward Lower Merion, the area of the home invasion.
Both phones were connecting in the minutes following the fatal home invasion, detectives alleged.
Fulforth and Roberts each have extensive criminal histories, including serving time in county jail and state prison, according to court documents.
Originally Published: July 21, 2025 at 10:46 AM EDT