Pennsylvania ‘house of horrors’: Man charged after over 100 human remains found in home

Pennsylvania authorities uncovered a house of horrors after charging a man, Jonathan Gerlach, accused of stealing graves with more than 100 human remains, including infants, found in his home and storage unit.

WEBDESK – MediaBites – January 10, 2026

Authorities in Pennsylvania have uncovered what prosecutors described as a real-life horror scene after arresting a 34-year-old man accused of stealing human remains from cemeteries and storing them in his home and a storage unit.

Jonathan Gerlach of Ephrata has been charged with hundreds of offenses after investigators say they recovered more than 100 sets of human remains — including skulls, large bones and infant remains — from his house, vehicle and a nearby storage locker. Police allege many of the remains were stolen from Mount Moriah Cemetery in Yeadon and Philadelphia.

“Detectives walked into a horror movie come to life,” Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse said, calling the scene “truly horrific” in the most literal sense.

Gerlach was arrested during surveillance at the cemetery, where detectives allegedly found him with a burlap bag containing human remains taken from roughly 30 graves. A subsequent search of his Ephrata home revealed skulls, bones, grave jewelry and, according to police, decomposing corpses — some reportedly hanging from the ceiling. Eight additional skeletons were found in a storage locker.

Investigators believe some of the remains date back decades or even centuries, complicating efforts to identify victims and notify families. Authorities are also probing Gerlach’s alleged connection to an online marketplace and a Facebook group where human bones may have been sold.

Neighbors said they had grown suspicious after noticing disturbed graves and unusual activity. One resident near Cobbs Creek Park said open and damaged graves had fueled fears of grave robbing long before the arrest.

Gerlach now faces more than 450 charges, including burglary, abuse of a corpse, criminal trespass and theft. He is being held at George W. Hill Correctional Facility on $1 million bail, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for Jan. 20.

As investigators work to trace the origins of the remains and determine whether other cemeteries were targeted, authorities say the full scope of the case — and the motive behind it — remains disturbingly unclear.