Topline: Police say the thefts spanned multiple months and involved graves and mausoleums more than a century old.
Published: January 9, 2026 5:01 pm ET
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Jonathan Gerlach (via Delaware County District Attorney's Office)
YEADON, PA — A months-long investigation into repeated break-ins at a historic cemetery in Delaware County culminated this week with the arrest of a Lancaster County man accused of stealing and stockpiling human remains on a scale prosecutors described as unprecedented.
According to the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office, Jonathan Gerlach, 34, of Ephrata, was taken into custody the evening of Jan. 6 after detectives conducting surveillance at Mount Moriah Cemetery & Arboretum in Yeadon observed his vehicle parked near the burial grounds. Investigators say bones and skulls were visible in plain view in the back seat of the car, and Gerlach was later seen exiting the cemetery carrying a burlap bag, a crowbar and other tools.
Detectives Leah Cesanek of the Yeadon Police Department and Chris Karr of the Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division had been responding to reports of burglarized graves and mausoleums at Mount Moriah since Nov. 7, according to the district attorney’s office. The cemetery, which straddles Delaware and Philadelphia counties, was hit repeatedly through early January, with investigators documenting damage to underground vaults and mausoleums, many more than a century old.
An affidavit of probable cause cited by the Delco Daily Times states that investigators developed Gerlach as a suspect after license plate reader data showed his Toyota RAV4 repeatedly appearing in the area on the same dates as reported break-ins. Phone records later reviewed by Karr allegedly showed Gerlach’s phone pinging off towers covering Mount Moriah on multiple dates between late October and late December, despite no prior history of the vehicle traveling through that part of the county before November.
On Jan. 6, detectives watching the cemetery around 8 p.m. said they found Gerlach’s vehicle unoccupied along Cemetery Avenue near Chester Avenue, adjacent to Mount Moriah. “In plain view inside of the vehicle there were numerous bones and skulls in the back seat of the vehicle,” the affidavit states. When Gerlach returned from the cemetery, police took him into custody and discovered human remains inside the burlap bag, including two mummified remains of small children, three skulls and other bones, according to court documents summarized by the Daily Times.
Investigators say Gerlach surrendered without incident. During a later interview, he allegedly admitted to stealing approximately 30 sets of human remains from Mount Moriah. He was later brought back to the cemetery, where police say he identified several underground vaults he had entered and removed remains from, including skulls.
A search warrant executed the same day at Gerlach’s home in Ephrata by county detectives, Ephrata police and Middle Creek Search and Rescue led to what prosecutors described as a shocking discovery. According to the district attorney’s office, investigators recovered more than 100 full or partial sets of human and skeletal remains from the home and an associated storage unit. The Delco Daily Times reported that remains found inside the residence included skulls, long bones, decomposing human torsos and infant remains, primarily stored in the basement.
“Very simply, detectives walked into a horror movie come to life,” District Attorney Tanner Rouse said during a news conference Thursday, a remark echoed across multiple media reports. “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.”
Rouse said some of the remains appeared to be more than 200 years old, while others were clearly much more recent, noting that one body still had a pacemaker attached. Investigators also recovered jewelry from the home, though authorities said it is unclear whether any items or remains were sold or what Gerlach’s motivation may have been.
WPVI reported that investigators are examining Gerlach’s possible association with an online social media group dedicated to buying and selling bones, though Rouse said authorities do not yet know whether any transactions occurred or whether others could face charges. One social media post from June 2025 referenced by the Daily Times showed Gerlach writing that he was “Now living alone in the mountains, riding Harley and slinging skulls.”
Yeadon Mayor Rohan K. Hepkins, who serves on the board of Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery, told the Daily Times he became aware of the initial break-ins early in November and alerted police. “This was a heinous act, very depraved,” Hepkins said. “I’ve never heard of anything like this. It defies logic or comprehension.”
Yeadon Police Chief Henry Giammarco, a 30-year veteran, also said he had never encountered a case like it. “This is probably the most horrific thing I’ve seen,” Giammarco said, according to the Daily Times. “To the families … ‘rest in peace’ is ‘rest in peace,’ and this is definitely something that tears your heartstrings, especially when you see … an infant.”
Following a review of the evidence, the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office approved a sweeping slate of charges against Gerlach, totaling 574 counts. They include 26 counts each of burglary, multiple felony counts of criminal trespass, 100 counts each of abuse of a corpse, theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property, along with charges of intentional desecration of public monuments, venerated objects and historic burial places, criminal mischief and seven counts of defiant trespass.
Gerlach was arraigned and remanded to the George W. Hill Correctional Facility, where he is being held on $1 million cash bail. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 20. No defense attorney was listed as of Thursday.
Rouse said the investigation remains ongoing and that authorities are working to identify the remains and notify families. He noted it is “almost certain” the alleged activity was not confined solely to Mount Moriah, though no additional locations have been confirmed. Jurisdiction over the case has been transferred to Delaware County, with assistance from multiple local, county and state agencies.
“Very simply, detectives have recovered an awful lot of bones at this point and we are still trying to piece together who they are, where they are from and how many we are looking at,” Rouse said. “It’s going to be quite some time before we have a final answer.”
Anyone with additional information is urged to contact Detective Leah Cesanek at 610-623-1500 or Detective Chris Karr at 610-891-4700. Prosecutors emphasized that Gerlach is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
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Police: Man Stole More Than 100 Sets of Human Remains From Cemetery
Police say the thefts spanned multiple months and involved graves and mausoleums more than a century old.
By Jacob Charles
Published: January 9, 2026 5:01 pm ET
Jonathan Gerlach (via Delaware County District Attorney's Office)
YEADON, PA — A months-long investigation into repeated break-ins at a historic cemetery in Delaware County culminated this week with the arrest of a Lancaster County man accused of stealing and stockpiling human remains on a scale prosecutors described as unprecedented.
According to the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office, Jonathan Gerlach, 34, of Ephrata, was taken into custody the evening of Jan. 6 after detectives conducting surveillance at Mount Moriah Cemetery & Arboretum in Yeadon observed his vehicle parked near the burial grounds. Investigators say bones and skulls were visible in plain view in the back seat of the car, and Gerlach was later seen exiting the cemetery carrying a burlap bag, a crowbar and other tools.
Detectives Leah Cesanek of the Yeadon Police Department and Chris Karr of the Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division had been responding to reports of burglarized graves and mausoleums at Mount Moriah since Nov. 7, according to the district attorney’s office. The cemetery, which straddles Delaware and Philadelphia counties, was hit repeatedly through early January, with investigators documenting damage to underground vaults and mausoleums, many more than a century old.
An affidavit of probable cause cited by the Delco Daily Times states that investigators developed Gerlach as a suspect after license plate reader data showed his Toyota RAV4 repeatedly appearing in the area on the same dates as reported break-ins. Phone records later reviewed by Karr allegedly showed Gerlach’s phone pinging off towers covering Mount Moriah on multiple dates between late October and late December, despite no prior history of the vehicle traveling through that part of the county before November.
On Jan. 6, detectives watching the cemetery around 8 p.m. said they found Gerlach’s vehicle unoccupied along Cemetery Avenue near Chester Avenue, adjacent to Mount Moriah. “In plain view inside of the vehicle there were numerous bones and skulls in the back seat of the vehicle,” the affidavit states. When Gerlach returned from the cemetery, police took him into custody and discovered human remains inside the burlap bag, including two mummified remains of small children, three skulls and other bones, according to court documents summarized by the Daily Times.
Investigators say Gerlach surrendered without incident. During a later interview, he allegedly admitted to stealing approximately 30 sets of human remains from Mount Moriah. He was later brought back to the cemetery, where police say he identified several underground vaults he had entered and removed remains from, including skulls.
A search warrant executed the same day at Gerlach’s home in Ephrata by county detectives, Ephrata police and Middle Creek Search and Rescue led to what prosecutors described as a shocking discovery. According to the district attorney’s office, investigators recovered more than 100 full or partial sets of human and skeletal remains from the home and an associated storage unit. The Delco Daily Times reported that remains found inside the residence included skulls, long bones, decomposing human torsos and infant remains, primarily stored in the basement.
“Very simply, detectives walked into a horror movie come to life,” District Attorney Tanner Rouse said during a news conference Thursday, a remark echoed across multiple media reports. “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.”
Rouse said some of the remains appeared to be more than 200 years old, while others were clearly much more recent, noting that one body still had a pacemaker attached. Investigators also recovered jewelry from the home, though authorities said it is unclear whether any items or remains were sold or what Gerlach’s motivation may have been.
WPVI reported that investigators are examining Gerlach’s possible association with an online social media group dedicated to buying and selling bones, though Rouse said authorities do not yet know whether any transactions occurred or whether others could face charges. One social media post from June 2025 referenced by the Daily Times showed Gerlach writing that he was “Now living alone in the mountains, riding Harley and slinging skulls.”
Yeadon Mayor Rohan K. Hepkins, who serves on the board of Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery, told the Daily Times he became aware of the initial break-ins early in November and alerted police. “This was a heinous act, very depraved,” Hepkins said. “I’ve never heard of anything like this. It defies logic or comprehension.”
Yeadon Police Chief Henry Giammarco, a 30-year veteran, also said he had never encountered a case like it. “This is probably the most horrific thing I’ve seen,” Giammarco said, according to the Daily Times. “To the families … ‘rest in peace’ is ‘rest in peace,’ and this is definitely something that tears your heartstrings, especially when you see … an infant.”
Following a review of the evidence, the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office approved a sweeping slate of charges against Gerlach, totaling 574 counts. They include 26 counts each of burglary, multiple felony counts of criminal trespass, 100 counts each of abuse of a corpse, theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property, along with charges of intentional desecration of public monuments, venerated objects and historic burial places, criminal mischief and seven counts of defiant trespass.
Gerlach was arraigned and remanded to the George W. Hill Correctional Facility, where he is being held on $1 million cash bail. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 20. No defense attorney was listed as of Thursday.
Rouse said the investigation remains ongoing and that authorities are working to identify the remains and notify families. He noted it is “almost certain” the alleged activity was not confined solely to Mount Moriah, though no additional locations have been confirmed. Jurisdiction over the case has been transferred to Delaware County, with assistance from multiple local, county and state agencies.
“Very simply, detectives have recovered an awful lot of bones at this point and we are still trying to piece together who they are, where they are from and how many we are looking at,” Rouse said. “It’s going to be quite some time before we have a final answer.”
Anyone with additional information is urged to contact Detective Leah Cesanek at 610-623-1500 or Detective Chris Karr at 610-891-4700. Prosecutors emphasized that Gerlach is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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Police: Man Stole More Than 100 Sets of Human Remains From Cemetery
Police say the thefts spanned multiple months and involved graves and mausoleums more than a century old.
By Jacob Charles
Published: January 9, 2026 5:01 pm ET
Jonathan Gerlach (via Delaware County District Attorney's Office)
YEADON, PA — A months-long investigation into repeated break-ins at a historic cemetery in Delaware County culminated this week with the arrest of a Lancaster County man accused of stealing and stockpiling human remains on a scale prosecutors described as unprecedented.
According to the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office, Jonathan Gerlach, 34, of Ephrata, was taken into custody the evening of Jan. 6 after detectives conducting surveillance at Mount Moriah Cemetery & Arboretum in Yeadon observed his vehicle parked near the burial grounds. Investigators say bones and skulls were visible in plain view in the back seat of the car, and Gerlach was later seen exiting the cemetery carrying a burlap bag, a crowbar and other tools.
Detectives Leah Cesanek of the Yeadon Police Department and Chris Karr of the Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division had been responding to reports of burglarized graves and mausoleums at Mount Moriah since Nov. 7, according to the district attorney’s office. The cemetery, which straddles Delaware and Philadelphia counties, was hit repeatedly through early January, with investigators documenting damage to underground vaults and mausoleums, many more than a century old.
An affidavit of probable cause cited by the Delco Daily Times states that investigators developed Gerlach as a suspect after license plate reader data showed his Toyota RAV4 repeatedly appearing in the area on the same dates as reported break-ins. Phone records later reviewed by Karr allegedly showed Gerlach’s phone pinging off towers covering Mount Moriah on multiple dates between late October and late December, despite no prior history of the vehicle traveling through that part of the county before November.
On Jan. 6, detectives watching the cemetery around 8 p.m. said they found Gerlach’s vehicle unoccupied along Cemetery Avenue near Chester Avenue, adjacent to Mount Moriah. “In plain view inside of the vehicle there were numerous bones and skulls in the back seat of the vehicle,” the affidavit states. When Gerlach returned from the cemetery, police took him into custody and discovered human remains inside the burlap bag, including two mummified remains of small children, three skulls and other bones, according to court documents summarized by the Daily Times.
Investigators say Gerlach surrendered without incident. During a later interview, he allegedly admitted to stealing approximately 30 sets of human remains from Mount Moriah. He was later brought back to the cemetery, where police say he identified several underground vaults he had entered and removed remains from, including skulls.
A search warrant executed the same day at Gerlach’s home in Ephrata by county detectives, Ephrata police and Middle Creek Search and Rescue led to what prosecutors described as a shocking discovery. According to the district attorney’s office, investigators recovered more than 100 full or partial sets of human and skeletal remains from the home and an associated storage unit. The Delco Daily Times reported that remains found inside the residence included skulls, long bones, decomposing human torsos and infant remains, primarily stored in the basement.
“Very simply, detectives walked into a horror movie come to life,” District Attorney Tanner Rouse said during a news conference Thursday, a remark echoed across multiple media reports. “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.”
Rouse said some of the remains appeared to be more than 200 years old, while others were clearly much more recent, noting that one body still had a pacemaker attached. Investigators also recovered jewelry from the home, though authorities said it is unclear whether any items or remains were sold or what Gerlach’s motivation may have been.
WPVI reported that investigators are examining Gerlach’s possible association with an online social media group dedicated to buying and selling bones, though Rouse said authorities do not yet know whether any transactions occurred or whether others could face charges. One social media post from June 2025 referenced by the Daily Times showed Gerlach writing that he was “Now living alone in the mountains, riding Harley and slinging skulls.”
Yeadon Mayor Rohan K. Hepkins, who serves on the board of Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery, told the Daily Times he became aware of the initial break-ins early in November and alerted police. “This was a heinous act, very depraved,” Hepkins said. “I’ve never heard of anything like this. It defies logic or comprehension.”
Yeadon Police Chief Henry Giammarco, a 30-year veteran, also said he had never encountered a case like it. “This is probably the most horrific thing I’ve seen,” Giammarco said, according to the Daily Times. “To the families … ‘rest in peace’ is ‘rest in peace,’ and this is definitely something that tears your heartstrings, especially when you see … an infant.”
Following a review of the evidence, the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office approved a sweeping slate of charges against Gerlach, totaling 574 counts. They include 26 counts each of burglary, multiple felony counts of criminal trespass, 100 counts each of abuse of a corpse, theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property, along with charges of intentional desecration of public monuments, venerated objects and historic burial places, criminal mischief and seven counts of defiant trespass.
Gerlach was arraigned and remanded to the George W. Hill Correctional Facility, where he is being held on $1 million cash bail. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 20. No defense attorney was listed as of Thursday.
Rouse said the investigation remains ongoing and that authorities are working to identify the remains and notify families. He noted it is “almost certain” the alleged activity was not confined solely to Mount Moriah, though no additional locations have been confirmed. Jurisdiction over the case has been transferred to Delaware County, with assistance from multiple local, county and state agencies.
“Very simply, detectives have recovered an awful lot of bones at this point and we are still trying to piece together who they are, where they are from and how many we are looking at,” Rouse said. “It’s going to be quite some time before we have a final answer.”
Anyone with additional information is urged to contact Detective Leah Cesanek at 610-623-1500 or Detective Chris Karr at 610-891-4700. Prosecutors emphasized that Gerlach is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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