Near an abandoned cemetery on the outskirts of Philadelphia, a car containing bones and skulls led authorities to a basement of body parts hoarded by a man who is now accused of stealing 100 sets of human remains.
Officers say the findings have ended a months-long investigation into break-ins at Yeadon’s Mount Moriah Cemetery where at least 26 mausoleums and vaults were forced open in November. During the investigation, police ran the plates of the car and learned owner, Jonathan Christ Gerlach had been in Yeadon multiple times during the period the burglaries occurred. The break-ins focused on sealed vaults and mausoleums of older burials.
Gerlach was arrested returning to his vehicle from the cemetery. He was carrying a crowbar and a burlap sack with three skulls, the mummified remains of two children, and other bones. He told investigators he took 30 sets of remains and showed them the graves he stole them from.
Later, authorities searched Gerlach’s home and storage unit to discover over 100 human skulls, mummified hands and feet, long bones, two decomposing torsos, and other skeletal bones.
Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse reported, “They were in various states. Some of them were hanging, as it were. Some of them were pieced together, some were just skulls on a shelf.” Additionally, investigators recovered jewelry believed to be linked to the graves and a “pacemaker was still attached.” Rouse said investigators are not really sure what took place given the enormity of the findings and the “sheer, utter lack of reasonable explanation.”
Gerlach, 34, was charged with 100 counts each of abuse of a corpse and receiving stolen property, multiple counts of desecrating a public monument, desecrating a venerated object, desecrating an historic burial place, burglary, trespassing, and theft. He is being held on a $1 million bond and a lawyer has not yet been assigned to Gerlach.
The 1855 cemetery is the country’s largest abandoned burial ground and is a 150-acre landmark with 150,000 grave sites.
By Jeanette Vietti
Source:
WLWT5: 100 skulls and mummified body parts found in a Pennsylvania grave robbery case, police say
Image Courtesy of Thomas’ Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
