Cops: Son Stabbed Father With Sword, Ailing Mother Called 9-1-1

District Judge Maggie Snow, donning her black robe, settled into her Buckingham office on Route 413 just after midnight Wednesday morning. On the flat-screen monitor in front of her sat a disheveled-looking 26-year-old man, his image beaming to the judge from the Middletown Township police station.

“Did your father pass away?” the judge asked with compassion in her voice.

“Yes. He did,” said 26-year-old Eli Goodrich of Philadelphia.

He shook his head several times before looking down for a moment.

Moments later, Snow informed Goodrich that he was charged with a felony count of criminal homicide and a misdemeanor count of possessing an instrument of crime. A district attorney, who was off camera, then asked the judge to withhold bail due to the seriousness of the crime Eli Goodrich is accused of and she complied.

Eli Goodrich, who attended St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and was set to be married in the coming weeks, is accused of stabbing his father, 67-year-old Alan Goodrich, with a long-bladed sword in the TV room inside 527 Trappe Lane in Middletown’s Langhorne section around 4:50 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said.

According to Middletown police and Bucks County Detectives, Eli Goodrich, who lived in Philadelphia with his fiancée came home Tuesday as he did every week to sleep at his parent’s home. Neighbors said he came home to help Alan and June Goodrich, both of whom were not in the best of health.

On Tuesday Eli Goodrich’s mother, June, heard the 26 year old come into their home between 1:30 p.m. and 1:45 p.m. He reportedly told his father, who was a retired Neshaminy School District English teacher, that he was “not going to control my mind anymore.” June Goodrich added by stating she also heard her son say, “I have to kill you.”

According to court paperwork, Eli Goodrich left the home around 4 p.m.with the family dog and returned a short time later.

He walked into the room of June Goodrich, who police and neighbors both describe as “very ill,” and said he loved her, authorities said.

A short time later, June Goodrich told detectives she heard her husband of 45 years say, “you’re going to kill me.”

June Goodrich left the room she was in and walked into find Alan Goodrich with a sword protruding from his stomach, according to police.

Eli Goodrich allegedly stood behind his father and told his mother the sword was fake and collapses.

The only flaw – it didn’t collapse and Alan Goodrich had suffered a fatal injury to his stomach. It was an injury that no amount of care from first responders or the staff at St. Mary Medical Center could fix.

Eli Goodrich eventually pulled the sword from his father, revealing blood, according to court papers.

June Goodrich was able to make an 9-1-1 call and told a dispatcher her son stabbed her husband intentionally.

Middletown police quickly arrived to the home on quiet Trappe Lane in the Maple Point development and arrested the 26 year old. Neighbors said they watched Eli Goodrich, who one called a “real nice kid,” as he was placed in the back of a patrol vehicle in handcuffs.

Sgt. Steve Foreman, according to an affidavit of probable cause, found the sword with blood on it laying in the TV room after he arrived at the Goodrich residence.

Detectives from Middletown and Bucks County District Attorney’s Office were summoned to the scene and began the hours-long investigation at the Trappe Lane house. Within an hour of the crime, media and neighbors milled around. Police tape was put up to preserve the scene and protect evidence.

About an hour after the homicide, an ambulance from the Penndel-Middletown Emergency Squad arrived outside the home to transport June Goodrich to St. Mary Medical Center, where officials eventually informed her that her husband had succumbed to his wound.

Chief of Police Joseph Bartorilla said June Goodrich is mainly confined to a hospital bed in the house due to a medical condition. He added that due to her fragile state, it was determined best to transport her to the hospital before breaking the tragic news to her.

Investigators were not publicly stating late Tuesday night what caused Eli Goodrich to allegedly shove a sword into his father’s stomach, but the assistant district attorney said during the arraignment for the 26 year old that his mental health will be evaluated.

From 6 p.m. until after midnight, investigators came in and out of the Goodrich residence. A older green Audi suspected to belong to Goodrich was scrutinized and photographed several times before being towed away.

Outside the Trappe Lane home, Bucks County’s large crime scene truck shined lights on the residence. Inside, detectives took 3D images of the rooms and collected evidence.

Click here to see an exclusive photo gallery from the scene

Neighbors along with current and retired Neshaminy teachers talked with police following the stabbing. One woman said she wanted to know as much as possible about what had happened in her neighborhood.

“Alan was a good guy, but I knew he could be a hell of a bastard after his stroke,” a man who claimed to know the Goodrich family, said late Tuesday night.

Another neighbor said Eli Goodrich came home often to help care for his parents. “That’s a lot to put on someone,” they remarked.

A search of Eli, Alan and June Goodrich quickly turns up Goodrich Antiques, a business that reportedly operated out of the house. The website states the business “is a second generation family business. With over 35 years of expertise combined with the awareness and strong back of youth, the Goodrichs have carved out a niche within the art world.”

Two neighbors said they weren’t aware of the antiques business operating out of 527 Trappe Lane.

One of the neighbors, who did not want to give their name due to the nature of the crime, said June Goodrich was too sick to work. He believed she had retired from working in the New Jersey school system more than two decades ago.

A search of public records in New Jersey shows 67-year-old June Goodrich worked for the Northern Burlington County Regional School District before retiring in 1993 with 22 years of experience under her belt.

The Goodrich family seemed like normal Trappe Lane residents to many neighbors.

One man, who lives almost directly across the street, said Alan Goodrich “spoke pretty lovingly of his son.”

Eli Goodrich, on what appears to be his Twitter account, posted a photo in 2013 that appears to show a light-hearted note from his mother to father.

This is a note my mom left for my dad pic.twitter.com/5X8VzBO7AS

— Eli Goodrich (@eligoodrich) July 11, 2013

A Maple Point development resident who was taking an evening bicycle ride noted what happened in the house may never be know.

“We might never find out what happened. Sometimes things happen, people snap. I know one thing: it’s a damn shame the dad died.”