A Lower Merion man who died trying to save his mother from armed burglars was honored for his heroism

In life, Andrew Gaudio was a happy, fun-loving young man who wanted nothing but to help his friends and family, said his mother, Bernadette.

And in his final moments, Gaudio, 25, lived up to those values, rushing headlong into danger to protect his mother from armed men who had broken into their home in Lower Merion in December 2024.

“He very clearly understood the core values of right and wrong. And he was fiercely protective over his mother, and even at that cost of himself,” Bernadette Gaudio said Wednesday. “But I want people to remember not how he died, but how he lived. He just was a kind human being.”

Gaudio’s sacrifice was memorialized Wednesday, as Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele honored him with a civilian commendation for heroism during an annual law-enforcement award ceremony. Before handing the award to Gaudio’s mother, Steele described it as a rare accolade given to those who have “acted in extraordinary ways to help stop crime and catch criminals.”

“Heroism is defined as an exceptional courage, bravery, and particularly when facing danger, or performing self sacrificing actions for the benefit of others,” the district attorney said. “Andrew embodied all of that when he rushed to save his mother.”

On the night of his death, after the two burglars forced their way into his family’s home on Meredith Drive, Gaudio awakened to the sound of gunfire.

He rushed to save his mother, who had been shot as she slept in her bed. The gunfire hit her in the neck, paralyzing her instantly, according to evidence presented at the burglars’ trial last year.

The gunmen, Charles Fulforth and Kelvin Roberts, turned their weapons on Gaudio — who was unarmed — shooting him five times.

Fulforth, according to evidence presented during the trial, fired the shot that killed Gaudio, executing him as he lay wounded and prone in the hallway outside his mother’s room.

Both men were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Their accomplice, Jeremy Fuentes, was found guilty of second-degree murder during a separate trial and also sentenced to life in prison.

Though Fuentes did not set foot inside the home during the ill-fated break-in, a jury found he was just as culpable in Andrew Gaudio’s killing.

On the night of the burglary, Fulforth and Roberts, armed with illegal guns and carrying zip-ties, forced their way into the Gaudio family’s home. The two worked for a junk-hauling business in Willow Grove, and had been told that a large collection of guns would be waiting for them in the basement of the home.

But the group had been unwittingly misled by Fuentes: Days earlier he had gone to a home with a similar address in Bucks County to provide its owners with an estimate for junk-hauling.

Mistakenly, he gave his accomplices the wrong address, and sent them to Montgomery County instead.

On Wednesday, Gaudio was honored alongside 25 others, including Pottstown Police Cpl. Anthony Fischer, who received the medal of valor from the district attorney’s office for helping apprehend William Ciccoli Jr. while investigating a violent domestic assault in November 2024.

Ciccoli tried to disarm Fischer during a scuffle and shot Fischer’s sidearm while it was holstered, striking the officer in the leg. Fischer’s injuries forced him into early retirement.

Ciccoli, who Steele noted never took accountability for his actions, was convicted of assault on a law enforcement officer and related crimes and sentenced to 22½ to 45 years in state prison

“Your bravery, your resilience, your commitment to duty, under the most dangerous circumstance exemplifies the highest ideals of protecting and serving,” Steele told Fischer. “You have distinguished yourself through extraordinary courage and selfless devotion, and great personal sacrifice for you and your family.”