Men break into wrong home and shoot 61-year-old mom, then kill her son, PA officials say
A 25-year-old man was shot five times and died as he tried to help his mother when two men invaded their home, Pennsylvania authorities say.
Now, the two men who officials say broke into the wrong home are charged with murder following the Dec. 8 incident in Lower Merion, according Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele.
Andrew Gaudio was killed in the shooting that also left his 61-year-old mother, Bernadette Gaudio, seriously injured, loved ones said in a GoFundMe.
“A young man of 25 whose life was just beginning - gone,” according to the GoFundMe. “A mother, who lost her husband 15 years ago, is now facing the loss of her youngest son and a life of possible paralysis.”
The mother gave a statement to Lower Merion officers following the shooting, saying she woke up to an intruder in her bedroom, the district attorney said.
She was shot by the man, later identified as 42-year-old Kelvin Roberts, according to Steele. Then her son was shot five times as he tried to help his mom.
The mother used Siri, a digital assistant feature on iPhones, to call 911, a move Steele called “very brave,” WCAU reported.
Steele said in a Dec. 17 news briefing streamed by WCAU that the son was “executed” by Roberts and his boss, 41-year-old Charles Fulforth.
“I say executed because Andrew was shot in the back of the head as he lay down on the floor of his mother’s bedroom, and he was facedown when that shot to the back of the head came,” Steele said in the news briefing.
Authorities said the Gaudio house is not the home Roberts and Fulforth intended to target.
Roberts and Fulforth worked for Junkluggers, a junk removal business, which did an estimate at a home with a similar address to the Gaudio’s home, the district attorney said, according to WPVI.
“During the estimate, there were several photos taken, including a large gun safe,” Steele said in a news release. “Phone records between Roberts and Fulforth show them discussing a house ‘with a whole lot of guns.’”
Steele said in the briefing the Gaudio’s home “was simply the wrong house,” WPVI reported. It’s believed the two accused suspects are gun traffickers, according to the district attorney.
Authorities said Fulforth was arrested Dec. 12, and Roberts arrested at his workplace Dec. 17. They are charged with murder, robbery, and burglary, among other charges.
“Mom is the strength of the family, and she’s pushing to fight every minute,” Robert Gaudio, Bernadette Gaudio’s other son, said in the GoFundMe. “While I continue to make a poor attempt at being the brains, I need to take a moment to recognize Andrew, our heart. Everyone who had the pleasure of spending more than a few seconds with him will carry a little of him for the rest of their lives.”
In a statement to KYW-TV, Junkluggers said it is cooperating with authorities and the two men arrested “are no longer employed” with the company.
Lower Merion is a northwest suburb of Philadelphia.
This story was originally published December 18, 2024 at 10:19 AM with the headline "Men break into wrong home and shoot 61-year-old mom, then kill her son, PA officials say."