Son Sentenced For Murdering Father With ‘Legend Of Zelda’ Sword

“Checkmate.”

That’s what Eli Goodrich told police he heard the voices in his head tell him after they tricked him into fatally stabbing his father with a sword patterned after one used in “Legend of Zelda” video game last August in his parents’ Trappe Lane home in Middletown.

Goodrich, who is 26 years old and suffers from schizophrenia, entered a negotiated plea of guilty but mentally ill Wednesday morning. He pleaded to charges of third-degree homicide and possession of an instrument of crime. He was sentenced by county Judge Theodore Fritsch Jr. to 17 ½ to 45 years in state prison for his crime.

Goodrich, a graduate of St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, was weeks away from being married in 2015 when he plunged a long-bladed sworn into the stomach of his father – 67-year-old Alan Goodrich, a retired Neshaminy School District teacher – while he sat in the TV room of his Middletown home at 527 Trappe Lane.  

Eli Goodrich previously told authorities he and his father had a good relationship but had clashed occasionally in the past over student loans and his mother’s healthcare.

“I’d just like to say that I loved my father. He was great to me,” Eli Goodrich told the judge Thursday morning. “I never would have done this if I had been in the right state of mind.”

Eli Goodrich was in tears for much on Wednesday’s court proceedings.

The judge, according to a statement from the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, stated he will recommend Eli Goodrich is sent to State Correctional Institution at Waymart. That facility specializes in dealing with prisoners with severe mental illnesses.

Eli Goodrich said the voices in his head tricked him into killing his father, whom he regarded as both his “best friend” and “the devil.”

Along with accusing his father of raping his 67-year-old mother, his fiancée, and his dog, Eli Goodrich had previously stated that he had smashed his cell phone to stop people from spying on him and that billboards and Netflix shows were about him. In addition, he stated that he showered in the dark to better listen to the voices that were speaking to him, according to the district attorney’s office.

Eli Goodrich told investigators after the murder that he had been up the night before killing his father drinking coffee and had just quit smoking marijuana cold turkey.

Here’s how the district attorney’s office explained the events on the afternoon of the murder on August 4:

His mother told police that her son had come home earlier in the day, retrieved the sword from upstairs and brandished it at his father. Eli Goodrich told his father that he was not going to let him control his mind anymore, saying, “I have to kill you” before leaving with the sword and his dog.

He returned at 4 p.m., spoke briefly with his father, and then asked his mother if Alan Goodrich had ever raped her. She told him no.

Eli Goodrich then returned to where his father was seated and plunged the sword through his body and part of the chair. From the next room, June Goodrich heard her husband cry out and say, “You’re going to kill me.” Using her walker, she entered the room to find her husband impaled by the sword.

“Don’t worry, Mom, it’s a fake sword,” Eli Goodrich said before removing the weapon. He then called his father “Satan” and said Alan Goodrich had raped his fiancée. When his mother asked if he was on drugs, he replied, “I must have gotten some bad weed.”

The shock of the scene caused Mrs. Goodrich to fall and fracture her back. Eli Goodrich then ran through the house, looking for a knife with which to kill himself. His mother convinced him to stop.

Middletown patrol officers responded to the scene around 5 p.m. after receiving a phone call. They arrested Eli Goodrich without incident. The murder weapon was found on the ground near Alan Goodrich’s body with blood coating the entire length of its blade.

Responding officers found Alan Goodrich dead in his chair with blood soaking his shirt. An autopsy found that Alan Goodrich died within four minutes of being stabbed because an artery was damaged by the sword.

The Goodrich family seemed like normal Trappe Lane resident to many neighbors who talked to LevittownNow.com in the hours after the murder.

One man, who lived 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 July 2013 that appears to show a light-hearted note from his mother to father.

An internet 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.”

Eli Goodrich’s attorneys were ready to present an insanity defense if the case made it to trial. Experts were ready to testify that Eli Goodrich was legally insane at the time of the murder. On the other hand, Deputy District Attorney Marc Furber was prepared to make the case that Eli Goodrich did not meet the legal criteria for insanity at the time of the murder.

“It’s a case involving mental illness (and) the tragic death of a well-loved father,” Fritsch said in court, adding that it was a “difficult case.”