Authorities in Pennsylvania have levelled hundreds of criminal charges against a man accused of conducting a months-long, "horrific" spree of grave robberies from a historic cemetery, with over 100 pieces of human remains discovered in his possession.
A Grisly Discovery in Car and Home
Jonathan Gerlach, 34, was arrested on Tuesday after police spotted him leaving the Mount Moriah cemetery in Yeadon, Delaware County, carrying a crowbar and a burlap sack. Upon his arrest, officers made a chilling discovery inside his Toyota Rav4: numerous bones and skulls were in plain view in the back seat area.
The contents of the sack were equally disturbing. Yeadon police confirmed it held two children's mummified remains, three skulls, and several loose bones. Gerlach allegedly told detectives he had used the crowbar that night to pry open a grave and steal what was inside.
‘A Horror Movie Come to Life’ in Suspect’s Home
The investigation took an even more macabre turn the following day when police searched Gerlach's home in Ephrata, roughly 70 miles away. There, they uncovered a vast collection of human remains scattered throughout the property and a separate storage locker.
Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse described the scene as a "horror movie come to life," with remains found in the basement, on shelves, and even hanging from the ceiling. Among the grisly inventory were human skulls, bones, mummified feet, headless torsos, and a skeleton with a cardiac pacemaker still attached. Some of the remains are believed to be hundreds of years old.
"I can say this is probably the most horrific thing that I’ve seen," remarked Yeadon Police Chief Henry Giammarco, reflecting on his three-decade career in law enforcement.
Historic Cemetery Targeted in Alleged Months-Long Spree
Prosecutors allege that Gerlach spent months breaking into at least 26 mausoleums and underground burial vaults at the historic Mount Moriah cemetery. The site, which lacks a perimeter fence and has multiple accessible entrances, is the final resting place of notable figures including Betsy Ross, the seamstress credited with sewing the first US flag.
Gerlach became a suspect after his vehicle was repeatedly captured on licence plate readers near the cemetery, and his mobile phone records placed him in the vicinity during the thefts. He allegedly admitted to stealing at least 30 sets of human remains from the cemetery on various occasions.
Authorities have filed a staggering 575 criminal charges against Gerlach. These include over 100 counts of corpse abuse, alongside theft, burglary, intentional desecration of venerated objects, and desecrating historic burial places.
A judge has ordered Gerlach held on $1 million bail. He is tentatively scheduled for a court appearance on 20 January. Investigators are now painstakingly working to identify all the recovered remains, a process District Attorney Rouse warned will take "quite some time."
Rouse expressed profound sympathy for families connected to the cemetery, noting the particular tragedy of finding infant remains. "I grieve for those who are upset by this, who are going through it, who are trying to figure out if it is, in fact, their loved one," he told reporters.
