Trial begins for two men who ‘simply got the wrong house’ in fatal Lower Merion burglary, killing a man and wounding his mother

Two men, motivated by greed and determined to use violence, broke into a Lower Merion home in December and coldly executed a 25-year-old man, Montgomery County prosecutors said Monday at the start of their trial on murder, conspiracy, and related charges.

Charles Fulforth, 41, and Kelvin Roberts, 42, were looking for guns to steal — weapons to bolster their black market business that armed criminals, Deputy District Attorney Brianna Ringwood said.

But the burglars went to the wrong house — and instead, found Andrew Gaudio, 25, whose last moments were spent trying to protect his mother, Bernadette, from the armed burglars.

Gaudio was shot five times, Ringwood said, including once in the head as he was lying on the floor. His mother was shot in the neck, paralyzing her.

“When you hear the evidence in this case, you will not be asking ‘Who did this?’” Ringwood told jurors in her opening statement. “That’s because these defendants left a trail of evidence that will lead you to the same conclusion as detectives: That this attack was carried out by them.”

Ballistics proved a 3D-printed gun found in Fulforth’s apartment fired the shot that killed Andrew Gaudio, according to Ringwood. Cell phone records showed the two men planned the robbery over text messages, and moved to and from the Gaudios’ home during the time of the murder.

“This was a business opportunity,” she said, “a failed execution of that plan and a heartbreaking execution of a son in his mother’s bedroom.”

Roberts’ attorney, Frank Genovese, conceded that some of the allegations against his client, particularly his involvement in the burglary, are reasonable, but said he had no intent to kill anyone that night.

Genovese urged jurors to pay close attention to the evidence being presented during the trial, and to weigh whether it applies equally to both defendants.

Meanwhile, Fulforth’s attorney, Brooks Thompson, cast doubt on the prosecution’s case, saying the presence of three distinct calibers of shell casings indicates a third, unidentified suspect was involved in the crime and could be the true murderer.

At the time of the burglary, Roberts and Fulforth worked for Junkluggers, a junk-hauling business in Willow Grove, and were told by one of their coworkers, Jeremy Fuentes, that an elderly couple in Bucks County had a sizable gun collection, according to investigators.

(Fuentes has been charged with second-degree murder and related crimes for helping plan the fatal robbery, and will be tried separately, in September.)

Fuentes had seen the weapons, investigators said, while giving the couple a junk-hauling estimate.

He wanted the weapons, prosecutors said, for the benefit of an illegal gun ring that the three men and other accomplices ran out of Fulforth’s apartment in Jenkintown, selling black market pistols, rifles, and other weapons.

So, the three planned a heist. Fulforth and Roberts armed themselves with handguns and zip ties. Fulforth wore a ballistic vest.

But they flubbed the address provided by Fuentes, traveling to Meredith Drive in the Wynnewood section of Lower Merion, rather than the similarly named street where the intended targets lived.

They broke into the Gaudio family home through its basement and quietly made their way inside. On the home’s second floor, they encountered Andrew Gaudio, who prosecutors say Fulforth executed while the younger man attempted to protect his mother, Bernadette, bedridden with her leg in a cast.

The two burglars also shot Bernadette Gaudio and ran off with her jewelry and Jeep. Despite her injuries, Gaudio was able to call 911 while the burglars were still ransacking her home.

Days later, investigators identified and arrested the two men. And while both men have acknowledged breaking into the Gaudios’ home, neither have identified the one who fired the fatal shots.

During their investigation, detectives uncovered the group’s gun ring. Using 3D printers, Fulforth created untraceable “ghost guns” as well as suppressors and “switches,” devices that convert semiautomatic handguns into automatic weapons.

The trial is expected to last through Friday before Montgomery County Court Judge Risa Vetri Ferman.