Man Arrested for Stealing Human Remains in Pennsylvania

A 34-year-old man in Pennsylvania has been arrested for allegedly stealing over 100 skeletons, including those of children, from cemeteries in Delaware County and Philadelphia, with suspicions of further crimes in Luzerne County as well.

Jonathan Gerlach is facing serious charges, including 26 counts of burglary, 26 counts of criminal trespass, 100 counts of abuse of corpse, 100 counts of receiving stolen property, and 26 counts of desecration of public monuments.

“Detectives walked into a horror movie come to life… This is an unbelievable scene that no one involved, from myself to the detectives to the medical examiners, has encountered before,” stated District Attorney Tanner Rouse on Thursday. “Detectives are still trying to figure out who these remains belong to and how many there are. It’s going to take some time to have a complete understanding.”

Gerlach was apprehended at Mount Moriah Cemetery after authorities found him with a burlap bag containing the remains of two small children, three skulls, and other bones. A search of his Toyota RAV4 parked nearby revealed more remains. Following the arrest, Ephrata police executed a search warrant at his home, uncovering a disturbing collection of over 100 human remains. Eight additional sets were later found in a nearby storage unit.

“There were so many that they were in various states,” said Rouse. “Some of them were hanging, some were pieced together, while others were just skulls on a shelf.” He added, “I cannot imagine what families would feel knowing that someone had dug up those remains and was doing who knows what with them. It is, in every sense, horrific.”

Since early November 2025, Mount Moriah Cemetery had been troubled by a series of burglaries. Investigators discovered that Gerlach’s phone had pinged at the cemetery six times between Halloween and Christmas Eve. Authorities observed Gerlach’s vehicle during a surveillance operation on Tuesday evening around 8:00 PM.

According to the District Attorney’s Office, many skulls and bones were visible in the back seat. Investigators confirmed that 25 of the bodies in Gerlach’s possession came from Mount Moriah. These remains reportedly included specimens that spanned centuries, including one body with a pacemaker still attached.

Investigators have suggested that Gerlach sold some of the stolen remains online. Court documents detail his activities in a Facebook group dedicated to “Human Bones and Skull Selling,” including a post where a buyer thanked him for sending a skull believed to belong to a teenager. Additionally, there was a photo of Gerlach on a motorcycle with what looked like a human skull, serving as further evidence of his involvement.

“Gerlach was seen exiting the cemetery with a burlap bag, crowbar, and other items. He was taken into custody and admitted to stealing around 30 sets of human remains,” the District Attorney noted.

The motivation behind Gerlach’s disturbing collection remains unclear, as investigators are still working to understand why he gathered such a large number of human remains. His bail has been set at $1 million, and he is expected to appear for an arraignment hearing on January 20th.