Over 100 sets of human remains found at man’s home in ‘horror movie’ discovery

A Pennsylvania man has been arrested after authorities say he robbed multiple graves at a historic cemetery, and they found over 100 sets of human remains at his home.

The Yeadon Borough Police Department has arrested Jonathan Christ Gerlach, 34, in connection with a string of burglaries among graves and mausoleums at Mount Moriah Cemetery, which is split between Philadelphia and a nearby borough, the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office confirmed in a press release on Jan. 8.

According to the DA’s office, the burglaries happened between late November and Jan. 6. 

Since Gerlach’s arrest on Jan. 6, the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office has charged him with burglary, criminal trespass, abuse of corpse, theft and desecration of venerated objects.

Court documents obtained by USA Today list over 400 charges for the ‌defendant, most of which are abuse of a corpse, theft, receiving stolen property and trespassing.

There was no lawyer listed in the court documents for Gerlach, and the DA’s office confirmed that as of Jan. ‌8, he is still in custody in Delaware County. His bail remains at $1 million. ‌Gerlach has a preliminary hearing scheduled for 10 a.m. on Jan. 20. 

Here’s how the arrest and searches unfolded and what’s to come in the case.

Finding remains was like a ‘horror movie come to life,’ prosecutor says

Most recently, around 8 p.m. on Jan. 6, detectives were surveilling the cemetery when they saw Gerlach’s car. In plain view were numerous bones and skulls in the back seat of the vehicle, the district attorney’s office wrote in ​the press release.

Detectives also saw Gerlach exiting the cemetery with a burlap bag, crowbar and other items. ‌They took him into custody, and he admitted to ⁠stealing 30 sets of human remains. They later searched his home and storage unit and found over 100 sets of human remains.

According to the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office, authorities issued a search warrant for Gerlach’s home and storage unit in ‌Ephrata, about 70 miles west of Philadelphia.

“It is believed that over 100 full or partial sets of human and skeletal remains have been recovered from Gerlach’s home and storage unit in Ephrata,” the DA’s office shared in the press release, adding that the investigation is ongoing.

“Detectives walked into a horror movie come to life in that ‌home,” District Attorney Tanner said in the release and at a press conference on Jan. 8. “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.” 

About the 170-year-old historic cemetery

Yeadon Borough Police Chief Henry J. Giammarco, Jr. shared news of ‌the arrest in a Facebook post on Jan. 8 ​as well, ‌adding that his team worked with Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery, a nonprofit focused on preserving the 170-year-old cemetery. 

The Mount Moriah Cemetery is a historic burial ground incorporated in 1855, split between Philadelphia and Yeadon. While the cemetery initially covered 54 acres, it is now estimated to be about 200 acres. 

The site is the final resting place of people such as Native American war veterans, as ‌well as Nancy Lee “Nezzie” Barlow, a centenarian and the third-oldest person buried at Mount Moriah. She died in 2005, according to Mount Moriah’s website.

There are also celebrities buried at Mount Moriah Cemetery, such as Marlena Davis Easley, a singer with the 1960s rhythm-and-blues group the Orlons. The group’s top hits sold over a million copies ​and earned gold disc status, per the Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery. She died in February 1993.

Police chief calls gravesite burglaries’ horrific’

Giammarco, of the Yeadon Borough Police Department, called Gerlach’s alleged robberies of the graveyard a “horrific crime that deeply impacted our community.”

 “I want to thank Detective Leah Cesanek and the entire Yeadon Borough Police Department, along with our many law enforcement partners, for their tireless dedication,” he wrote online on Jan. 8.

The Yeadon Borough Police Department said on ⁠Jan. 9 that investigators want to speak to those whose family members are buried at Mount Moriah Cemetery and interred in a ​mausoleum or underground burial vault. They can also email Giammarco at HGiammarco@yeadonpd.org.

The DA’s office asks that anyone with information contact the lead investigator ⁠on this case, Det. Leah Cesanek, at 610-623-1500. Tipsters can also contact Det. Chris Karr at 610-891-4700.