PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Were you or a loved one impacted by the grave robberies in Southwest Philadelphia? Delaware County officials want to know.
Last week, officials charged 34-year-old Jonathan Gerlach, of Lancaster County, with burglary, abuse of a corpse and theft or sale of venerated objects. He’s accused of grave robbing Mount Moriah Cemetery on the border of Southwest Philadelphia and Yeadon, Delaware County.
Yeadon Police Chief Henry Giammarco said that rather than “traditional” graves, Gerlach broke into larger, underground burial spaces — some of which housed 10-15 caskets. Inside his home, authorities discovered hundreds of human skeletal remains.
If you believe your loved one’s remains were kept at Mount Moriah, and they may be involved in this case, email hgiammarco@yeadonpd.org with their name and date of death. If possible, they also ask to include the location within the cemetery, date and time you noticed the issue and photos or video if available.
“We’ll review the records that we currently have, and we’ll notify them via email. If God forbid it is one of their loved ones, and they put a phone number on the email, I’ll call them directly, but I’ll also email them,” Giammarco said.
Some remains are currently being held for investigation by Lancaster County officials.
“Everything is still under investigation, and we’re just trying to figure out what the next steps are. This is uncharted territory for all of us,” Giammarco said.