Court hearing delayed for Jonathan Gerlach, man accused of robbing Mount Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia area
Jonathan Gerlach, the accused grave robber who allegedly targeted a Philadelphia-area cemetery and hoarded more than 100 sets of remains in his Lancaster County home, was granted a postponement to his preliminary court hearing on Friday.
Gerlach was due in Magisterial District Court in Media, Pennsylvania, on Friday for a preliminary hearing on charges that he stole from graves in Mount Moriah Cemetery, a historic cemetery split between the borough of Yeadon and Philadelphia.
Court documents indicate police caught Gerlach in the process of stealing remains, and it's said officers pulled him over and found bones in his car and later, more in his home.
On Friday, Gerlach's public defender said they received new information, but did not say what it was. Meanwhile, CBS News Philadelphia confirmed with numerous sources close to the case that Gerlach will face additional charges for thefts from at least several crypts on the Philadelphia side of Mount Moriah Cemetery.
Yeadon Police Chief Henry Giammarco would only say they're still working.
"Right now, it's still an ongoing investigation. We are still investigating; wherever it leads, it leads," Giammarco said.
Meanwhile, Judy Prichard McCleary of Bethel Township showed up to see Gerlach. Police say Prichard McCleary's great-great-grandfather's grave was targeted.
"He built this mausoleum because he wanted to keep his family together, and all his children are buried in Mount Moriah," the woman said. "Somebody broke into five of the crypts in the nine that were there, and as I understand it, they only got into one, but they actually took my great-great-great-aunt's bones out of there."
The missing bones are still unaccounted for, the woman said.
Investigators say the Lancaster County defendant worked by flashlight at night, using ladders and rope systems to move several thousand-pound slabs and expose centuries-old resting places.
Gerlach allegedly left behind cigarette butts and energy drinks inside graves and vaults. Investigators say they are using that evidence and his cell phone data to track where he was.
Police say they recovered more than 100 sets of human remains from his home, as well as a storage shed and from inside his car on the night he was arrested.
"I worked in Kensington as a Philadelphia cop, and I thought I saw everything as a Philly cop, but this definitely blew me away. It's horrific," Giammarco said.
Gerlach's public defender had no comment for our reporting, including the additional charges.
Gerlach, of Ephrata, Pennsylvania, has not entered a plea. Arrest papers show he confessed to some of the thefts.
Gerlach is under investigation for other grave thefts, according to sources close to the case.
He remains in jail, unable to post bail. Gerlach's hearing is expected to be rescheduled sometime next month.
Mount Moriah Cemetery staff told CBS News Philadelphia they enhanced security measures after learning of the alleged thefts.