Suspect arrested in deadly Lower Merion home invasion

Montgomery County law enforcement officials arrested a man Thursday in connection with a deadly Lower Merion Township home invasion, while a remaining suspect remains on the run in a case that has rattled communities in the Philadelphia suburbs.

Police arrested Charles Fulforth in a Jenkintown apartment building without incident and charged him with second-degree felony murder, robbery, and related charges, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said at a news conference.

Investigators believe that Fulforth, 41, of Jenkintown, was one of two men who broke into a house on a quiet, tree-lined block in Wynnewood early Sunday morning to steal from its owners.

The invasion would end with Andrew Gaudio, 25, shot dead “execution style” in his childhood home.

Meanwhile, Gaudio’s 61-year-old mother, Bernadette Gaudio, suffered critical injuries after one of the assailants shot her in her bed, leaving her paralyzed, according to Steele.

With Fulforth in custody, police are scouring the region for 42-year-old Kelvin Roberts, who they say was Fulforth’s accomplice.

“We’re dealing with some really terrible people at this point who have committed a really atrocious crime,” Steele said.

Fulforth’s role in the incident is still unclear; Steele said that based on ballistic evidence, investigators believe there was more than one shooter in the home.

Police also suspect that Fulforth fled in Andrew Gaudio’s 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee, with Bernadette Gaudio’s jewelry and other items.

Steele painted a harrowing portrait of the moments after, he said, Fulforth and Roberts broke into the Meredith Drive home through a basement door around 2:20 a.m.

One of the men entered an upstairs bedroom and shot Bernadette Gaudio, who was “bedridden” with a medical issue. “She couldn’t move afterward because of where one of the bullets struck her,” Steele said.

When Andrew Gaudio came to his mother’s aid and fought back, ‘that’s where he was murdered," Steele said.

Unable to move, Bernadette Gaudio used her phone’s Siri program to call 911 while the men were inside the home, according to Steele, describing the move as an act of bravery.

Bernadette Gaudio remains hospitalized at Lankenau Medical Center but was able to speak with investigators.

“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 happen to her son,” Steele said, appearing overcome with emotion.

There was still no answer on whether the men had targeted the Gaudio home.

Lower Merion Township police responded shortly after the two men fled and saw Roberts speeding away in a Hyundai sedan, officials said. Investigators found that it had plates belonging to a deceased owner and was registered to Roberts’ girlfriend, a resident of West Philadelphia, authorities said. Gaudio’s Jeep was eventually discovered about a block away from where she lives near 59th and Sansom Streets.

A search of the home of Roberts’ girlfriend yielded Bernadette Gaudio’s jewelry box, as well as boxes for two different handguns and ammunition, officials said.

Fulforth is being held at the Montgomery County Correction Facility without bail. He faces a possible life sentence in prison, according to Steele.

There is a $5,000 reward for information leading to Roberts' arrest.

“Anyone who would be involved in something like this needs to be behind bars,” Steele said.