Pennsylvania Man Arrested for Hoarding 100+ Human Remains

Authorities in Pennsylvania have arrested a 34-year-old man accused of breaking into historic mausoleums at an abandoned cemetery near Philadelphia and hoarding more than 100 human skulls and other body parts in his home. Jonathan Christ Gerlach of Ephrata faces hundreds of charges stemming from the desecrations at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Yeadon, which began in early November and culminated in his arrest on a Tuesday night in early January.

Police launched a monthlong investigation after reports of vandalism at the 1855 cemetery, considered the nation's largest abandoned burial ground. The 160-acre site, maintained by a volunteer group, contains an estimated 150,000 graves. Investigators identified at least 26 mausoleums and underground vaults that had been forced open, with stonework smashed to access sealed burials, many over a century old. Gerlach became a suspect after license plate readers and cell phone data placed his vehicle near the cemetery repeatedly during the break-ins.

On the night of his arrest, detectives spotted Gerlach leaving the cemetery carrying a crowbar and a burlap sack. Bones and skulls were visible in the back seat of his car, according to an affidavit...