Trial begins for Upper Merion man accused of machete attack

NORRISTOWN — An Upper Merion Township man intended to kill another man when he “hacked” the victim with a machete during a jealous rage after he believed the victim showed an interest in his estranged girlfriend, a prosecutor argued to a jury.

“The defendant’s jealousy turned to rage. He hacked (the victim) five times with a machete. He had the specific intent to kill when he did this act,” Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Christian Taffe argued during his opening statement to a jury as Edward Gomery Jr.’s attempted homicide trial got underway on Monday.

The victim suffered injuries, some “down to the bone,” to his arms, head and neck, argued Taffe, who is handling the case with co-prosecutor Tanner Christian Beck.

Prosecutors alleged the Aug. 27, 2024, attack occurred inside Gomery’s apartment in the 200 block of New Church Road, where Gomery still resided with his ex-girlfriend and after the woman invited the victim into the apartment. Prosecutors suggested Gomery believed the victim expressed romantic interest in the woman and that Gomery did not like it.

But defense lawyer Geoffrey David Hood argued the evidence will show that Gomery acted in self-defense when the victim, a younger, stronger man, attacked him with “a barrage of punches” during their encounter inside the apartment.

Testimony revealed the machete, or sword, was a decorative piece of wall art that Gomery retrieved during the disturbance.

“You’re going to hear from Mr. Gomery. He has a very clear recollection of everything that happened that night,” Hood argued during his opening statement to the jury, revealing that Gomery will testify in his own defense. “He’s swinging the sword to save himself, so he doesn’t get hurt.”

Hood argued that the alleged victim entered the apartment and immediately went into a bathroom where Gomery was seated on a toilet and began throwing punches at Gomery. The altercation spilled out into a hallway where Gomery retrieved the machete to defend himself, Hood argued.

Gomery, 57, faces charges of attempted homicide, aggravated and simple assault, possessing an instrument of crime and recklessly endangering another person.

The trial before Judge Risa Vetri Ferman is expected to last several days.

The victim, who testified he had no romantic interest in Gomery’s ex-girlfriend, claimed he went to the apartment to talk to Gomery about an issue he was having with his cellphone, a belief that his phone had been hacked. The victim said that as he entered the apartment behind the woman, Gomery struck him in the head with the machete.

“The door came open and the machete came down on my head. He hits me again in the neck,” the victim testified, adding Gomery yelled an expletive at him and told him to leave the apartment as he struck him several more times in the shoulder and elbow, injuries that required sutures to repair and which have left lasting scars. “I was soaked with blood, everywhere.”

Prosecutors showed jurors photographs of the victim’s wounds.

The victim testified he tried to punch back, but only after being struck with the machete and told the jury no words were exchanged before the attack.

“I was almost decapitated. I couldn’t believe it. I was never there for trouble. I was there to talk. The last thing I expected was to be assaulted in any way,” the victim testified, adding he and Gomery had been friends who occasionally ingested methamphetamine together.

After the alleged attack, the victim left the residence and walked to the nearby home of his mother, who summoned police and medical officials. The victim was transported by ambulance to Paoli Hospital for emergency treatment and remained in the hospital for three days.

Hood suggested the victim was a methamphetamine user whose testimony about the incident could not be trusted.

Gomery’s ex-girlfriend testified she ran to her bedroom, locked the door and called 911 as the alleged attack unfolded. Jurors listened to her 911 call during the trial.

“I heard (the victim) on the porch begging for his life,” the woman told the jury.

The woman suggested the attack was unprovoked and that she didn’t hear any words exchanged between the men before the incident.

However, at one point during her testimony, the woman claimed Gomery “did not like” that the victim showed an interest in her.

If he’s convicted of the charges, Gomery potentially faces decades in prison. Gomery remains in the county jail pending the outcome of the trial.