A staggering discovery has been made in Lancaster County after a man was arrested for allegedly breaking into graves at Mount Moriah Cemetery. The gruesome find is believed to be linked to over 100 human skeletal remains discovered in the suspect's home.
Jonathan Gerlach, 34, of Ephrata, is facing numerous charges related to a series of grave robberies at the historic cemetery, which spans parts of Yeadon and Southwest Philadelphia. Mount Moriah, the state's largest cemetery, contains over 150,000 gravesites dating back to the Revolutionary War.
The investigation began in November when volunteers reported repeated desecrations of mausoleums and underground vaults. In total, 26 grave sites had been broken into or damaged, with stolen remains including full and partial skeletons, name plates, jewelry, and other items. Detectives tracked Gerlach's vehicle to the area surrounding Mount Moriah on numerous occasions, leading them to believe he was behind the thefts.
On Monday night, police spotted Gerlach's Toyota RAV4 parked next to Mount Moriah after the grounds had closed. A burlap bag containing two mummified remains of small children, three skulls, and other bones was found in the back seat. Gerlach was taken into custody and showed police the vault he had just broken into with a crowbar.
The search warrant at Gerlach's home uncovered human skulls, assorted skeletal remains, mummified feet and hands, and two decomposing human torsos in his basement. The scene described by Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse is nothing short of "horror movie come to life."
Gerlach faces 26 counts of burglary, abuse of a corpse, and desecration and theft or sale of venerated objects. His bail has been set at $1 million. Authorities are still investigating Gerlach's motives and whether he sold any of the stolen remains.
"We don't know exactly what he was doing with them," Rouse said. "It's not clear there was a motive." The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are working to identify other sites where remains may have been taken. Yeadon Police Chief Henry Giammarco Jr. described the case as the most disturbing he has encountered during his career.
The discovery raises serious concerns about the collection and return of human remains, with Rouse stating, "There is a lot that needs to be done to collect and humanely return these remains."
Jonathan Gerlach, 34, of Ephrata, is facing numerous charges related to a series of grave robberies at the historic cemetery, which spans parts of Yeadon and Southwest Philadelphia. Mount Moriah, the state's largest cemetery, contains over 150,000 gravesites dating back to the Revolutionary War.
The investigation began in November when volunteers reported repeated desecrations of mausoleums and underground vaults. In total, 26 grave sites had been broken into or damaged, with stolen remains including full and partial skeletons, name plates, jewelry, and other items. Detectives tracked Gerlach's vehicle to the area surrounding Mount Moriah on numerous occasions, leading them to believe he was behind the thefts.
On Monday night, police spotted Gerlach's Toyota RAV4 parked next to Mount Moriah after the grounds had closed. A burlap bag containing two mummified remains of small children, three skulls, and other bones was found in the back seat. Gerlach was taken into custody and showed police the vault he had just broken into with a crowbar.
The search warrant at Gerlach's home uncovered human skulls, assorted skeletal remains, mummified feet and hands, and two decomposing human torsos in his basement. The scene described by Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse is nothing short of "horror movie come to life."
Gerlach faces 26 counts of burglary, abuse of a corpse, and desecration and theft or sale of venerated objects. His bail has been set at $1 million. Authorities are still investigating Gerlach's motives and whether he sold any of the stolen remains.
"We don't know exactly what he was doing with them," Rouse said. "It's not clear there was a motive." The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are working to identify other sites where remains may have been taken. Yeadon Police Chief Henry Giammarco Jr. described the case as the most disturbing he has encountered during his career.
The discovery raises serious concerns about the collection and return of human remains, with Rouse stating, "There is a lot that needs to be done to collect and humanely return these remains."
This guy's obsession with grave robbery is straight outta horror movie but it's so real 
. I mean, who breaks into graves? What's the deal with all those bones in his basement? It's like he was collecting them for some twisted reason... or maybe he just didn't know better? 
The fact that there are over 100 remains and counting makes me wonder how this guy lived with himself. And to think these are real people, not just skeletons... it's just disturbing. 
I hope they catch the person who's selling these stolen remains because that's a whole other level of sick. 
. And now they're talking about how there might be more sites where these remains are being taken... it's just a whole mess 
. The fact that he's got a million bucks bail is just ridiculous - what's going on with our justice system? 
And what about the police officers who had to deal with this situation? They deserve some serious support and mental health checks, imo 
. This whole thing is just a big ol' disaster 
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. i mean i get that people might be interested in history and stuff, but come on, there are so many other things to learn about than just old dead people 
or does he really think he's some kind of collector? because let me tell you, if i found a bunch of mummies in my basement, i'd be like totally freaked out 
the thought of those poor kids' mummified remains in that burlap bag still gives me chills 
and make sure these poor people get their loved ones back 
. The DA is right, there needs to be more done about this. Like, how are we gonna make sure these remains are properly taken care of and returned to their families? 
The police investigation needs to get to the bottom of this ASAP, especially about whether he sold any of the remains. It's so disturbing to think about all those families who lost loved ones and now their remains are being exploited like that 
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. We need to get a handle on this ASAP, or else we're going to see more people getting caught up in this kind of twisted behavior 
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. But now we have to deal with the aftermath and try to figure out what drove someone to do such a heinous thing. I think it's clear that we need to be doing more to protect our cemeteries and ensure that human remains are treated with dignity and respect.
The police did their job, but now they gotta figure out what to do with all these human remains. Like, how are you gonna return 'em to where they belong? 
. I don't know what motivates people like this, but it's clear that they need help ASAP 
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), my mind is racin' about how these remains are gonna be organized and returned to their families 
. It's a huge responsibility, and I hope the authorities can get this sorted out quickly 
. And can we talk about the poor family members whose loved ones were desecrated? That's just heartbreaking 
.
