Jonathan Gerlach case: Court docs reveal accused grave robber’s months-long plot to steal human remains in Pa.

YEADON, Pa. (WPVI) — Police say a Pennsylvania man carried out a calculated, months-long series of burglaries at a historic cemetery, rappelling into mausoleums, prying open underground vaults and removing human remains dating back more than a century before selling some of them online.

Jonathan Gerlach, 34, is facing more than 500 criminal charges following an investigation into repeated break-ins at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Yeadon.

According to court documents, the burglaries began in early November and continued through late December, targeting both above-ground mausoleums and underground burial vaults across multiple sections of the cemetery.

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This undated photo released by the Delaware County District Attorneys’ Office shows Jonathan Gerlach.

(Delaware County District Attorneys’ Office via AP)

“It’s a lot of questions, and I don’t know who to turn to,” said Barbara Kilmartin, who has family members buried at Mount Moriah.

The first reported burglary occurred on Nov. 7, when Yeadon Borough police were called by Friends of Mount Moriah, a volunteer group that maintains the cemetery. Investigators documented extensive damage inside the Hunter family mausoleum, where cinderblocks had been broken open, marble flooring destroyed, and crypts exposed below ground.

Court records state that a rope tied to a tree branch and fitted with a carabiner was found hanging into one mausoleum, positioned in a way that suggested the suspect rappelled down approximately 10 feet to access underground crypts.

Delaware County DA holds news conference on gravesite thefts on Jan. 8, 2026.

“It’s the last thing we can do for people is to honor their wishes and to not disturb them. I just can’t understand why somebody would do that,” Kilmartin said.

Over the following weeks, court documents detail a growing list of damaged mausoleums and vaults, including the Jonathan Prichard family mausoleum, where five of nine crypts were damaged.

Police say a Monster Energy drink can was found among the debris, which was later processed for DNA and fingerprints.

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Inside the Prichard mausoleum, investigators say the remains of Mary Prichard Steigleman, who died in 1940, were missing. Nearby, the Frank Charlton family mausoleum sustained damage, though police said there was no evidence of entry.

In a separate burglary in Plains Township, Luzerne County, police found human remains wrapped in clear plastic just outside a damaged mausoleum. Court records say cigarette butts and energy drink cans were recovered there as well and submitted for forensic testing. Investigators later connected that burglary to the Mount Moriah cases through similarities in method and evidence.

Grave markers at the Mount Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia, on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026.

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

“My great-grandparents are buried here,” said Kristy Cole, who visited Mount Moriah after learning of the investigation. “Of course, there’s anger and sadness. Nobody should be treated this way after life.”

According to affidavits, Gerlach repeatedly targeted underground vaults in December, prying stone and marble slabs out of place to reveal burial chambers 10 to 12 feet below ground. Police documented tool marks on the slabs and, in one vault, a broken wooden pallet positioned against the wall as if used to climb in and out.

On Dec. 20 alone, police say four underground vaults were burglarized, with multiple sets of remains missing from the Slack, Ogden, McCullough and Louber family plots. Additional vaults were damaged in the days that followed, including the Campbell, Ziegler, Hasson and Charlton family plots. In total, investigators believe dozens of sets of human remains were stolen.

In December, police received a tip alleging a partially decomposed corpse had been discovered hanging in Gerlach’s basement and that he had been “in Chicago selling a human skull.”

Investigators later uncovered online activity tied to Gerlach, including posts in a “Human Bones and Skull selling group,” where a buyer thanked him for mailing “a possible teen” and “a baboon and a monkey.” Other social media posts showed Gerlach posing with a skull, captioned, “riding a Harley, and slinging skulls.”

“Frightening, absolutely frightening. I can’t imagine the type of people and what they’d want to use it for,” Kilmartin said.

Police say they tied Gerlach to the cemetery burglaries through vehicle and phone records. After spotting his vehicle parked at Mount Moriah on Dec. 23, officers resumed surveillance weeks later.

On Jan. 6, investigators say they observed Gerlach returning to the cemetery, leaving with a burlap bag and a crowbar. Officers say bones and skulls were visible inside his vehicle when he was arrested. Gerlach allegedly admitted to stealing approximately 30 sets of human remains from Mount Moriah and explained how he accessed the burial sites.

“In my 30-year career, probably one of the most horrific things,” said Yeadon Borough Police Chief Henry Giammarco. “There was an infant, and unfortunately, to see that being a father and a grandfather, it truly tears your heart up. When people are laid to rest, that’s important.”

The following day, police executed search warrants at Gerlach’s Lancaster County home and a storage unit. According to court documents, investigators recovered more than 100 human skulls, long bones, and mummified human feet and hands from his basement. Eight corpses, along with body parts, ashes, jewelry and clothing believed to have been taken from graves, were found inside the storage unit.

Giammarco said identifying victims and notifying families will be a lengthy process due to the age of the burial records.

“Right now, we’re in the process of notifying families,” he said. “We have a substantial amount, but we’re still working on that because the records are so old. If it was the 1800s, we have to go through the records, and the records were done in a book, and we have to figure that out.”

Police say the investigation remains active. Authorities are urging anyone with loved ones buried at Mount Moriah Cemetery who has concerns to contact Yeadon Borough Police.

“The remains, they’re so old, but still, when they lived, they had a life, they mattered,” Giammarco said. “It was important to us to get justice, and that’s working with the DA’s office. Hopefully justice will be served.”

If you have a family member who was buried at Mount Moriah Cemetery and was interred in a mausoleum or underground burial vault, you are asked to contact Yeadon Police Chief Henry Giammarco at [email protected].

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