EPHRATA, Penn. (TCN) — A man is in custody after being charged with 496 counts in connection with the alleged burgling of graves and mausoleums. About 100 full or partial sets of human remains were allegedly found in his home and storage unit.
Between Nov. 7, 2025, and Jan. 6, 2026, detectives responded to the Mount Moriah Cemetery several times in response to burglarized mausoleums and graves. WPVI reports 26 mausoleums and vaults had been forced open over the course of the two months. The break-ins reportedly centered on older burials. The Mount Moriah Cemetery is home to approximately 150,000 grave sites and is considered the nation’s largest abandoned burial ground, according to the outlet.
On Dec. 23, 2025, police received a tip from a man who knew someone who had allegedly seen decomposed bodies hanging in the basement of Jonathan Gerlach, 34, but that those people were afraid to go to the police, the Washington Post reports.
On Jan. 6, Gerlach was arrested at the cemetery while allegedly holding a burlap bag and a crowbar, the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office announced in a statement. Detectives were surveilling the cemetery on Jan. 6 when they saw Gerlach’s car, which allegedly contained human skulls and bones in plain sight. WPVI reports the burlap bag contained three skulls, various bones, and the mummified remains of two young children.
WPVI reports an investigator checked the plates and found Gerlach’s vehicle had been seen multiple times in the area when the burglaries occurred.
Gerlach was taken into custody and he admitted to stealing more than 30 sets of human remains, according to the district attorney’s office. Search warrants were executed at his home and storage unit; 100 full or partial sets of human remains were allegedly found.
In the statement issued by the district attorney’s office, “Detectives walked into a horror movie come to life in that home. It is truly, in the most literal sense of the word, horrific. I grieve for those who are upset by this, who are going through this, who are trying to figure out if it is in fact one of their loved ones.”
WPVI reports that though some of the remains were approximately 200 years old, some were much newer, and one body had a pacemaker attached. Police are also investigating a Facebook group where Gerlach was allegedly a member, titled “Human Bones and Skull Selling Group.” Gerlach’s profile picture for the group allegedly shows him holding a human skull, WPVI reports.
According to the Washington Post, Gerlach allegedly followed taxidermy and skeleton collection pages on Instagram.
In a press conference, District Attorney Tanner Rouse said, “We are still trying to piece together who they are, where they are from, and how many we are looking at. It’s going to be quite some time before we have a final answer,” WPVI reports.
According to the district attorney’s office, Gerlach remains in custody on $1 million bail. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Jan. 20.
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