A Pennsylvania man is facing multiple criminal charges after authorities say he stole more than 100 sets of corpses from cemeteries and stored them inside his home and a separate storage facility.
Jonathan Gerlach was arrested Tuesday after police executed a search warrant at his residence in Ephrata, Pa., according to Fox 29 Philadelphia. During the search, investigators allegedly discovered approximately 100 full or partial sets of human remains in the basement of the home.
District attorney says remains were desecrated and mishandled
Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse charged Gerlach with several offenses, including criminal mischief, criminal trespass, intentional desecration of a public monument, and abuse of a corpse.
Rouse clarified that the abuse-of-corpse charge does not involve necrophilia. Instead, prosecutors allege the remains were considered abused because they were damaged and poorly stored. More than 100 skulls were also recovered from Gerlach’s home and a separate storage facility.
Investigators say some remains were more than a century old
According to the district attorney, the skulls and skeletal remains were not in such poor condition when Gerlach allegedly removed them from various cemeteries. Authorities also stated they do not believe Gerlach was involved in the deaths of any of the individuals whose remains were recovered.
Police say their investigation began after Mount Moriah Cemetery reported a series of burglaries starting in November 2025. Detectives allege they were able to track Gerlach’s movements to the cemetery multiple times by using cellphone location data.
Pacemaker found attached to one corpse
Investigators say at least 25 of the corpses found at Gerlach’s home were stolen from Mount Moriah Cemetery. Some of the remains were more than 100 years old, while others were more recent.
Authorities allege that one of the corpses still had a pacemaker attached, indicating it may have been buried relatively recently.
The investigation remains ongoing as officials work to identify the remains and determine whether additional cemeteries were affected.