{"id":198000,"date":"2026-05-20T16:53:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T16:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/198000\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T16:53:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T16:53:09","slug":"lower-merion-man-killed-while-trying-to-save-his-mother-honored-for-heroism-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/198000\/","title":{"rendered":"Lower Merion man killed while trying to save his mother honored for heroism"},"content":{"rendered":"

PLYMOUTH \u2014 A Lower Merion Township man who was killed while trying to save his wounded mother from armed intruders during a home invasion robbery was posthumously awarded a civilian commendation for heroism by Montgomery County\u2019s top law enforcement officer.<\/p>\n

\u201cHeroism is defined as exceptional courage and bravery, particularly when facing danger or performing self-sacrificing actions for the benefit of others. Andrew Gaudio embodied the very definition of \u2018hero\u2019 that night when he rushed to save his mother,\u201d Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said as he presented the commendation to Gaudio\u2019s mother, Bernadette, during a ceremony at the county\u2019s Public Safety Training Campus in Plymouth Township.<\/p>\n

Bernadette Gaudio beamed with pride as Steele approached her and presented the commendation that honored her son for what Steele said was his \u201cultimate sacrifice.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the 2:20 a.m. Dec. 8, 2024, home invasion, Bernadette Gaudio, 61, suffered gunshot wounds that left her paralyzed and her son, Andrew, 25, was fatally shot.<\/p>\n

\"BernadetteBernadette Gaudio with her sons, Andrew, on right, and Robert, on left. (Photo courtesy GoFundMe)<\/p>\n

The home invasion was carried out by Charles Edward Fulforth, 41, of Jenkintown, and Kelvin Roberts Jr., 42, of Philadelphia, who were later convicted by a jury of first-degree murder and were sentenced to life prison terms.<\/p>\n

\u201cAndrew was just 25 years old when he was asleep and jumped out of bed after hearing gunshots in his mother\u2019s bedroom. Without any consideration for his own safety, he ran unarmed out of his bedroom, into the hallway and confronted Fulforth and Roberts, who shot him,\u201d explained Steele, his voice quaking with emotion at times. \u201cYet he still tried to reach his mother to help her, making it into her bedroom, where he collapsed and was then executed by Fulforth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis senseless, horrific murder and crime impacted a beautiful family and moved the entire Philadelphia area,\u201d Steele added.<\/p>\n

\"MontgomeryMontgomery County DA Kevin Steele presents Bernadette Gaudio with a commendation honoring the heroism of her son, Andrew. (Photo by Carl Hessler Jr. \u2013 MediaNews Group)<\/p>\n

During the trial, Bernadette Gaudio, who was shot in the neck and left paralyzed, testified that her son was shot as he rushed from another bedroom to her aid after one of the intruders shot her.<\/p>\n

During the trial, prosecutors argued Fulforth and Roberts were motivated by greed and determined to use violence while looking to steal guns from a residence to support their gun trafficking \u201cside hustle.\u201d Armed with information from a third man, Fulforth and Roberts mistakenly went to the wrong residence.<\/p>\n

A third man charged in connection with the deadly incident, Jeremy Fuentes, 27, of Philadelphia, who prosecutors said provided information that was the impetus for Roberts and Fulforth to carry out the deadly home invasion robbery, was sentenced to life imprisonment after he was convicted of charges of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit robbery and burglary.<\/p>\n

\"MontgomeryMontgomery County DA Kevin Steele presents commedation for exception performance to Lower Merion detectives and police officers. (Photo courtesy Montgomery County District Attorney)<\/p>\n

Steele also presented six Lower Merion detectives and police officers who investigated the deadly home invasion with commendations for \u201cexceptional performance.\u201d They are: Detective James Black; Sergeant Ronald Eckert; Sergeant Josephine Murray; Officer Jeffrey Seamans; Officer Michael Theiss; and Officer Corwyn Wasson.<\/p>\n

Steele said \u201cdue to the superb work of these Lower Merion Township officers\u201d and the prosecution team of First Assistant District Attorney Edward McCann Jr. and Deputy District Attorney Brianna Ringwood \u201cwe obtained justice for the Gaudio family.\u201d<\/p>\n

The commendations were among honors handed to 20 law enforcement officers and six civilians on May 13 during Steele\u2019s annual law enforcement commendation ceremony. Steele said commendations are awarded to those who make extraordinary efforts and perform exemplary work in protecting and serving county residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cMontgomery County wouldn\u2019t be the safe and wonderful place it is without this teamwork between law enforcement agencies and civilians,\u201d Steele said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PLYMOUTH \u2014 A Lower Merion Township man who was killed while trying to save his wounded mother from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":197987,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[46,182,183,185,184,186,139,28,1444],"class_list":["post-198000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lower-merion","tag-courts","tag-local-news","tag-lower-merion","tag-lower-merion-headlines","tag-lower-merion-news","tag-lower-merion-township","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-top-stories-lan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/197987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}