ANKARA: A 34-year-old man in the US state of Pennsylvania has been charged with more than 450 criminal counts after authorities allegedly discovered more than 100 full or partial sets of human remains in his home and a storage unit, according to local district attorneys,
Anadolu Ajansi reported.
Jonathan Gerlach, of the borough of Ephrata, was arrested on Tuesday evening as he left Mount Moriah Cemetery near Philadelphia carrying a burlap bag and a crowbar, according to a statement.
Prosecutors said police, who had been surveilling the cemetery, observed multiple bones and skulls in plain view inside Gerlach’s vehicle.
“Detectives walked into a horror movie come to life,” District Attorney Tanner Rouse said, adding: “None of them have ever seen anything like this before.”
Rouse said the remains recovered include those of infants as well as individuals who died hundreds of years ago.
“Some were months old, some were centuries old,” he noted. “We are still trying to piece together who they are, where they are from, and how many we are looking at.”
Gerlach allegedly admitted to stealing around 30 sets of human remains, but investigators believe more than 100 sets in total were found.
He faces more than 100 counts each of abuse of corpse, theft by unlawful taking, and receiving stolen property.
His bail has been set at US$1 million, and his arraignment is scheduled for Jan 20.
