Burglar killed Lower Merion man who fought back to protect his mother during home invasion, DA says
The motive for the attack remained unclear Monday, and police were trying to determine what connection the suspects had to the victims, if any.
Kelvin Roberts and another man broke into a house on a quiet, tree-lined block in Wynnewood to steal from its owners, prosecutors said Monday, and when Andrew Gaudio fought back, he was shot “execution style” and left to die in his childhood home.
His mother, Bernadette, suffered critical injuries after being shot multiple times but still had the strength to call 911 to report the violent home invasion. Her attackers could be heard in the background of that call, investigators said.
Roberts, 42, was a fugitive from justice Monday night, being sought on criminal charges including second-degree murder, robbery, and burglary, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said at an evening news conference.
The motive for what Steele described as a “terrible” crime that shocked the tight-knit Lower Merion community remains under investigation.
“We can’t tell you specifically right now whether this was random or targeted. That’s something we’re continuing to work on and explore,” the district attorney said. “I can tell you that people shouldn’t do this in Montgomery County because we solve our cases, and I’m confident we’re going to solve this one, too.”
Around 2:20 a.m. Sunday, police said, Roberts and an accomplice police have not yet identified, broke into the Gaudios’ home on Meredith Drive through a basement door, Steele said. They stole Bernadette Gaudio’s jewelry, among other items, and left with her 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Lower Merion police arrived moments later and saw Roberts as he sped away in a Hyundai sedan that investigators later learned was registered to his girlfriend, according to the affidavit of probable cause for his arrest.
Inside the home, the officers found Gaudio, 25, dead. His mother, 61, was rushed to Lankenau Medical Center, where she remained in critical condition Monday.
Detectives traced the sedan Roberts was seen driving to the girlfriend, who lives on Sansom Street near 59th in West Philadelphia, the affidavit said. About a block from that home, the officers found Gaudio’s stolen Jeep.
At the time of the burglary, the Hyundai bore a license plate belonging to a different vehicle whose owner is dead, the affidavit said — an apparent attempt to obscure the identity of the car’s owner and driver.
Surveillance footage from Lower Merion showed Roberts arriving at the Gaudios’ neighborhood shortly before the burglary, and footage from West Philadelphia recorded him and another man there later, with Roberts carrying two large bags.
After serving a search warrant on the home of Roberts’ girlfriend, detectives discovered Bernadette Gaudio’s jewelry box, as well as boxes for two different handguns and ammunition.
The girlfriend told detectives that she hadn’t seen Roberts since around 10 a.m. Sunday, when he took the car to take her daughter to the doctor. He never returned the vehicle, she said.
Residents of the quiet, tree-lined block of Meredith Road were shaken by the crime, and most declined to talk about it on Monday. The block of mostly two-story Tudor and Colonial homes was tranquil, save for the sounds of leaves rustling in the wind and squirrels skittering across front yards.
Aside from what appeared to be drops of dried blood on the front walkway, there were no visible traces of the shooting that took place the day before.
The Gaudios had lived in their home for decades, according to neighbors. Bernadette Gaudio’s husband, Richard Andrew Gaudio, died in 2007 at the age of 45, according to his obituary.
A call to a number listed for Gaudio’s older son, Robert, was not returned Monday.
One neighbor, who asked not to be identified for safety reasons, said he was asleep at time of the shooting but woke up later Sunday morning to see police tape surrounding the brick house where the crime occurred.
Like other neighbors, he said he was anxious to know more about what happened.
“We want to know whether this was targeted or random,” he said, “so we can sleep better at night.”
Investigators said Roberts is dangerous and has a long criminal record of convictions for crimes including assault, as well as drug and firearm offenses.
At the time of the burglary, he had warrants for his arrest for an Oct. 27 theft in North Wales, as well as for a commercial burglary in Philadelphia that took place on Oct. 12.
Anyone with information about Roberts is asked to contact Lower Merion Police at 610-645-6231 or the Montgomery County Detective Bureau at 610-226-5553. There is a $5,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.