A 34-year-old Pennsylvania man named Jonathan Gerlach was arrested after authorities uncovered a shocking collection of human remains in his home basement in Lancaster County.
The investigation began when local groups notified police about repeated break-ins and desecrations at Mount Moriah Cemetery, a historic burial ground near Yeadon where mausoleums and vaults had been forced open. Officers tracked Gerlach to the cemetery and, upon arresting him, discovered he was carrying a burlap bag filled with bones, setting off a wider search of his property.
When police executed a search warrant on Gerlach’s house, they found more than 100 human skeletons and other remains scattered throughout the basement, some dating back centuries and others more recent, including parts that still contained medical devices like a pacemaker. Investigators have charged him with hundreds of offenses, including burglary, abuse of a corpse and desecration of burial sites, and say he may have stolen some of the remains from mausoleums over several months. Authorities are also looking into evidence that some of the bones may have been sold or traded online, and the unsettling scene has left neighbors and officials describing the case as one of the most disturbing they’ve encountered.