Man accused of grave robbery had over 100 body parts in home, storage unit

"A Pennsylvania man is facing nearly 500 criminal charges after an investigation led to the discovery of over 100 full or partial sets of human and skeletal remains recovered from his home and storage unit, officials said Thursday. Jonathan Gerlach, 34, of Ephrata, was arrested earlier this week after detectives saw him leaving Mount Moriah Cemetery, in the Philadelphia metro area, holding a burlap bag, crowbar and other assorted items."

"Around 8 p.m. Tuesday, Det. Leah Cesanek of the Yeadon Police Department and Det. Chris Karr of the Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division were conducting surveillance in the area when they saw numerous bones and skulls in plain view in the backseat of a car. The driver of the vehicle, later identified as Gerlach, was taken into custody and allegedly admitted to stealing approximately 30 sets of human remains, investigators said."

"After a search warrant was executed at the suspect's home in Ephrata, about 65 miles northwest of Philadelphia, investigators recovered what they believe were at least 100 sets of human skeletal remains, both complete and partial, prosecutors said. Detectives walked into a horror movie come to life in that home. It is truly, in the most literal sense of the word, horrific, District Attorney Tanner Rouse said at a press conference Thursday afternoon."

Investigators responded to reports of burglarized graves and mausoleums at Mount Moriah Cemetery after at least 26 mausoleums and graves were forced open since Nov. 7. Surveillance officers observed numerous bones and skulls in plain view in the backseat of a car and arrested Jonathan Gerlach, 34, who allegedly admitted to stealing about 30 sets of remains. A search warrant at his Ephrata home and storage unit uncovered what prosecutors believe to be at least 100 complete and partial human skeletal remains. Gerlach was charged with 489 counts, including 100 counts of abuse of a corpse, and is held after failing to post $1 million bail.

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