Metal Crimes: Pennsylvania Man Arrested For Allegedly Stealing More Than 100 Human Remains From One Graveyard

Foreword – all joking aside about this being a "metal crime", these crimes are gross as hell.

Authorities in Pennsylvania have arrested Jonathan Gerlach, a 34-year-old Ephrata resident, following the discovery of more than 100 human remains allegedly stolen from a historic cemetery and stored in his home and a nearby storage unit. Law enforcement officials described the case as one of the most disturbing investigations they have ever encountered.

According to 8WGAL and NBC Philadelphia, the investigation began after repeated burglaries were reported at Mount Moriah Cemetery, a sprawling burial ground spanning Yeadon Borough and Philadelphia with graves dating back to 1855. Between November 2025 and January 6, 2026, investigators say 26 mausoleums and underground burial vaults were broken into or desecrated.

On the night of January 6, detectives conducting surveillance at Mount Moriah observed a vehicle parked near the cemetery with bones and skulls visible inside. The driver was later identified as Gerlach. Police say he was then seen exiting the cemetery carrying a burlap bag, crowbar, and other tools. Inside the bag were two mummified remains of small children, three skulls, and additional bones.

Gerlach was taken into custody at the scene. Court documents allege he admitted to using a crowbar to pry open underground vaults and remove remains. Additional bones were found inside his Toyota RAV4, which was parked nearby.

Following the arrest, police executed a search warrant at Gerlach's home on Washington Avenue in Ephrata, Lancaster County. Inside the basement, investigators uncovered over 100 full or partial sets of human remains, including skeletons, skulls, loose bones, and decaying torsos. Authorities also recovered eight additional bodies from a nearby storage locker rented by Gerlach.

"There were so many that they were in various states," said Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse. "Some were hanging. Some were pieced together. Some were just skulls on a shelf."

Officials confirmed that at least 25 of the remains originated from Mount Moriah Cemetery. Some were over a century old, while others appeared far more recent, including one body that still had a pacemaker attached. Investigators also reported finding infant and child remains, some believed to be only months old.

"This is truly, in the most literal sense of the word, horrific," Rouse said. "Detectives walked into a horror movie come to life."

Yeadon Police Chief Henry Giammarco, a veteran officer of 30 years, echoed the sentiment, stating, "This is probably the most horrific thing that I've seen."

Authorities say Gerlach's cellphone records placed him at Mount Moriah Cemetery six times between Halloween night and Christmas Eve of 2025. Investigators are also examining whether the thefts may be connected to a similar case in Luzerne County, as well as Gerlach's online activity, including social media groups where human remains may have been bought, sold, or traded.

Gerlach now faces a staggering list of charges, including:

• 26 counts of burglary
• 26 counts of criminal trespass
• 100 counts of abuse of a corpse
• 100 counts of receiving stolen property
• 26 counts of intentional desecration of a public monument, along with other related offenses

He is currently being held at Delaware County Prison after failing to post $1 million bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for January 20, 2026. Court records do not list an attorney representing him at this time.