Pennsylvania man facing hundreds of charges, accused of stealing large amounts of human remains

A Pennsylvania man is facing hundreds of criminal charges after prosecutors accused him of keeping more than 100 sets of human remains.

Law enforcement responded to Mount Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia multiple times between Nov. 7 and Tuesday for reports of break-ins and burglaries from 26 graves and mausoleums, the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office said.

At about 8 p.m. Tuesday, detectives spotted bones and skulls visible in the back seat of the car of suspect Jonathan Gerlach. Detectives then saw Mr. Gerlach, 34, leaving the cemetery carrying a crowbar and a burlap sack, the district attorney’s office said.

The police took him into custody, and he admitted to stealing about 30 sets of human remains from the cemetery, the district attorney’s office said.

A search warrant of Mr. Gerlach’s home in Ephrata, 67 miles northwest of Philadelphia, turned up 100 skeletons, with eight sets of human remains in his storage locker, Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse said, according to Philadelphia’s WCAU. 

“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,” Mr. Rouse said.

Mr. Rouse said some of the skeletons date back centuries, with some of the remains being babies and children.

One skeleton had a pacemaker still attached, Mr. Rouse said, according to another Philadelphia station, WPVI-TV.

Mr. Gerlach is charged with 26 counts each of burglary, second-degree criminal trespassing, third-degree criminal trespassing, intentional desecration of a public monument, intentional desecration of a venerated object, intentional desecration of historic lots and burial places, and criminal mischief.

He is also charged with 100 counts each of third-degree theft by unlawful taking, third-degree receipt of stolen property and abuse of a corpse. Finally, the district attorney’s office charged him with seven counts of defiant trespassing.

Mr. Gerlach remains in custody with bail set at $1 million, and he is due in court on Jan. 20.