Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
Some people take death metal quite seriously. Pennsylvania authorities apprehended an individual, Jonathan Gerlach, following the discovery of over one hundred human osteological specimens purportedly exhumed from a historical burial ground and deposited within his private residence and an adjacent storage facility. This investigation was deemed particularly unsettling by involved law enforcement entities, as reported by MetalInjection.
The inquiry was initiated subsequent to recurrent reports of unauthorized intrusions at Mount Moriah Cemetery, an extensive interment site established prior to 1855, spanning Yeadon Borough and Philadelphia. During the period spanning November 2025 to January 6, 2026, twenty-six mausoleums and subterranean interment structures experienced forcible entry or desecration.
On the evening of January 6, surveillance personnel at Mount Moriah observed a vehicle containing visible osteological material positioned in proximity to the burial ground; the operator was subsequently identified as Gerlach. He was then documented egressing the cemetery, conveying a burlap sack, a pry bar, and ancillary implements, with the sack’s contents comprising two mummified juvenile remains, three cranial specimens, and supplementary skeletal fragments.
Gerlach was apprehended at the site of the incident, and judicial records indicate his admission to employing a pry bar to breach subterranean vaults and extract human remains. Further osteological material was subsequently located within his adjacent Toyota RAV4 vehicle.
Subsequent to an apprehension, law enforcement officials executed a search warrant at the suspect’s residence in Ephrata, Lancaster County. Within the subterranean level, investigators exhumed over 100 complete or partial human remains, comprising skeletal structures, crania, disarticulated bones, and decomposed torsos. Furthermore, eight additional cadavers were retrieved from a proximate storage facility leased by the individual.
There were so many that they were in various states. Some were hanging. Some were pieced together. Some were just skulls on a shelf. – Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse
Official sources verified that a minimum of 25 of these remains originated from Mount Moriah Cemetery. The temporal provenance of the remains varied significantly, ranging from centenarian specimens to considerably more recent acquisitions. One such recent discovery included a cadaver retaining an implanted cardiac pacemaker, while infant and child remains, some merely months post-mortem, were also uncovered.
This is truly, in the most literal sense of the word, horrific. Detectives walked into a horror movie come to life. – Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse
This is probably the most horrific thing that I’ve seen. – Yeadon Police Chief Henry Giammarco
Telephonic data analysis indicates the individual’s presence at Mount Moriah Cemetery on six distinct occasions between late October and late December of 2025. Investigators are concurrently exploring potential linkages to a parallel incident in Luzerne County, alongside scrutinizing the individual’s digital footprint and involvement in online platforms facilitating the illicit exchange of human remains.
The accused is currently confronted with a substantial array of indictments, encompassing numerous counts of unlawful entry, unauthorized presence, defilement of human remains, possession of illicitly obtained property, and intentional damage to public memorials. Additional related transgressions have also been formally lodged. The individual is presently detained at Delaware County Prison, having been unable to secure a substantial financial bond. A preliminary judicial proceeding is slated for January 20, 2026, though current legal documentation does not indicate representation by legal counsel for the defendant.
