Judy Prichard McCleary said five of the nine crypts in her family mausoleum were disturbed and that the remains of a great-great-great aunt were stolen, as the Pennsylvania case tied to grave thefts moved forward Friday in court. Jonathan Gerlach, 34, waived his right to an evidentiary hearing in a case that authorities say involved human remains taken from gravesites across several Pennsylvania counties.
McCleary said the damage to the Prichard family mausoleum, built in the early 1900s by her great-great-grandfather Jonathan Prichard, left her stunned. “It just made me sick to my stomach that anybody would want to do that,” she said, adding, “I believe their souls are in heaven. I still think it’s disruptive.”
The scope of the case is what gives it weight. Police said they arrested Gerlach in January near Mount Moriah Cemetery, a 160-acre landmark on the Philadelphia-Yeadon borough line that dates to 1855 and holds about 150,000 grave sites. Officers said they saw bones and skulls in the back seat of his car, and that a search of his home and a storage unit in Ephrata turned up more than 100 human skulls, mummified hands and feet, and similar items. They also said they recovered jewelry believed to be linked to graves and a pacemaker still attached to a body.
Authorities said Gerlach was walking back from Mount Moriah Cemetery toward his car with a crowbar when he was arrested. They said a burlap bag contained the mummified remains of two small children, three skulls and other bones. Gerlach, who is charged with two dozen burglary counts, told investigators he took about 30 sets of human remains and showed them the graves he stole from.
The case is part of a larger string of thefts involving more than 100 bodies from Pennsylvania cemeteries, and officials say one possible motive is the online sale of body parts. McCleary said that possibility outrages her as much as the damage to her family’s mausoleum. “To be able to sell body parts on the internet, just appalls me. I think it should be stopped,” she said. “I think the man needs help.” Gerlach’s arraignment is scheduled for June 3.