A Pennsylvania man who carried out a horrifying triple murder that claimed the lives of his 13-year-old sister, his stepmother, and the mother of his children will never walk free again. On May 28, Andre Gordon Jr. was sentenced to three consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to three counts of first-degree murder.
The sentencing follows a violent rampage in March 2024 that left an entire community shaken. The news came through a press release from the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office. Gordon, now convicted, killed his 52-year-old stepmother, Karen Murphy-Gordon, and his teenage sister, Kera Gordon, inside his father’s home in Falls Township.
Just minutes later, he murdered 25-year-old Taylor Daniel, with whom he shared two young daughters. Judge Raymond F. McHugh, who handed down the sentence, addressed the grief and devastation Gordon caused. “There are no words to explain why this happened,” he said, echoing the thoughts of many who followed this deeply disturbing case.
The nightmare began on the morning of March 16, 2024, when Gordon, after carjacking someone in Trenton, New Jersey, broke into his father’s home in Pennsylvania, reported ABC27. Inside, Karen and Kera were hiding in a home office and desperately called 911 for help. In the chilling audio, Karen is heard saying her stepson was “shooting,” followed by Kera pleading repeatedly, “Please, please, please, please hurry.” The call ends in horrifying silence after the sounds of screams and gunfire.
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Police arrived to find both mother and daughter dead. Other relatives in the house, including Gordon’s father and another young daughter of Karen’s, were unharmed. Not even 10 minutes later, Gordon forced his way into Daniel’s home and fatally shot her, too. A second 911 call from that scene captures Daniel warning others in the house, yelling “He’s got a gun” before the line again ends with screams and silence.
Her two young daughters, just 5 and 3 years old, were inside and could be heard crying for their mother after the gunfire stopped. Daniel’s mother, Nancy, was also in the house and tried to protect her daughter, but was struck in the head by Gordon with an assault rifle. She survived but needed staples to close her wound.
After fleeing the second murder scene, Gordon carjacked another vehicle outside a Dollar General in Morrisville. That triggered a three-hour shelter-in-place order as authorities searched for him. He was eventually tracked down and arrested in Trenton, barricaded in a house with hostages.
In a heartbreaking statement during sentencing, Karen’s brother said, “I lost more than my sister and my niece. I lost a piece of myself that I never thought I would ever come back from”, according to her obituary. Karen, an Army veteran who immigrated from Jamaica as a child, was remembered for her strength and love for her family. Kera was described as a gifted teen who played clarinet at her middle school.
“The evidence showed [Gordon] was hunting in that home,” said Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn. She called the 911 recordings among the most devastating parts of the case. In addition to the murder convictions, Gordon pleaded guilty to attempted homicide, aggravated assault, robbery, and more. He’s also serving up to seven more years for attacking two corrections officers while in custody.