Pennsylvania Man Arrested After More Than 100 Human Skulls Found in Home

EPHRATA, PA — A Pennsylvania man accused of grave robbing was found with more than 100 human skulls and decomposing bodies in his basement, authorities said.

Jonathan Gerlach, 34, of Ephrata, was arrested Wednesday following months of reported break-ins at Mount Moriah Cemetery, police said. Investigators allege Gerlach possessed human remains in various stages of decay, including two decomposing torsos and remains ranging from skeletons more than 200 years old to months-old infants.

“Some of them were hanging, as it were. Some of them were pieced together, some were just skulls on a shelf,” Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse told The Associated Press.

According to court documents, Gerlach faces 574 charges, including burglary, abuse of a corpse and criminal trespassing. He remains in Delaware County Prison on $1 million bond, awaiting a preliminary hearing scheduled for Jan. 20.

Police said the break-ins occurred at least 26 mausoleums and underground vaults at Mount Moriah Cemetery since November. The cemetery, founded in 1855, spans 160 acres in Yeadon and contains an estimated 150,000 grave sites. Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery, a nonprofit group involved in its preservation, describes it as the nation’s largest abandoned burial ground.

Rouse said the scope of the case remains unclear. “Given the enormity of what we are looking at and the sheer, utter lack of reasonable explanation, it’s difficult to say right now, at this juncture, exactly what took place,” he told reporters.

The investigation led police to identify Gerlach as a suspect. He was arrested Jan. 6 as he exited the cemetery, according to court records. Police said he was carrying a burlap bag containing human remains, including the mummified remains of two small children, three skulls and several other bones.