Overview
- Detectives arrested Jonathan Gerlach, 34, on Jan. 6 after a Mount Moriah Cemetery stakeout, spotting bones in his car and a burlap bag holding mummified remains of two small children.
- Searches of his Ephrata home and a storage unit recovered more than 100 skulls and other remains, some centuries old and others apparently recent, including a body with a pacemaker.
- Prosecutors filed hundreds of counts, including burglary, abuse of a corpse, theft, receiving stolen property, desecration, trespass and criminal mischief, and set bail at $1 million.
- Investigators say Gerlach admitted taking about 30 sets of remains and pointed out graves; at least 26 mausoleums and vaults were forced open since early November.
- Authorities are working to identify the victims, determine whether remains came from other cemeteries, and examine social media for possible sales, with a preliminary hearing set for Jan. 20.