A YouTube thumbnail with maxres quality

It is **Sunday morning, January 11th**, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and I’m standing here at **Mount Moriah Cemetery**. We’ve got some truly horrific breaking news. Just a couple of days ago this story broke, and everything is still very fluid. Over the last two months, **26 vaults, graves, and mausoleums** have been broken into, and corpses and remains have been stolen—apparently by one man.

I’m going to call him the **Pennsylvania Ghoul**: **Jonathan Christ Gerlach**. That’s what grave robbers were called back in the 1800s—ghouls—men who came in the night to steal bodies. Gerlach came here, repeatedly, to do just that. Police say they found over **100 skeletons, body parts, and skulls** in his apartment in **Ephrata, Lancaster County**, about an hour west of here.

To give you a frame of reference: over there is **Cobbs Creek Boulevard**, and the creek itself divides the cemetery. Mount Moriah is about **150–200 acres**—an absolutely massive cemetery that has been in decline since the 1950s. In 2011, the last board member died.

Since then, a group called the **Friends of Mount Moriah** has stepped in. They’ve put in enormous effort, clearing brush and restoring sections of the grounds. It’s still rough in places, but without them this would be a total disaster.

—

This story broke publicly just a few days ago. Today is **Sunday, January 11th**; on **Thursday**, there was a major press conference held by the **Delaware County prosecutor**, along with the sheriff and local police. Technically, we’re in **Yeadon Borough** here—the creek divides Philadelphia from Yeadon—so multiple agencies are involved.

They had been staking out the cemetery overnight, night after night, watching for whoever was breaking into these vaults. Starting right after Halloween, around **November 6th**, they began focusing surveillance here. Gerlach kept coming back, under cover of darkness, to break into mausoleums and steal bodies.

They finally caught him on **Tuesday, January 6th**. Imagine the scene: spotlights snap on, and there he is—**Jonathan Gerlach**, the Pennsylvania Ghoul—caught red‑handed, carrying a huge burlap sack. Inside were **three skulls**, **two mummified children’s corpses**, and other bones.

At that point, authorities had no idea what they would find when they executed a search warrant at his residence at **100 West Washington Street in Ephrata**.

What they found was straight out of a horror movie.

—

His place was essentially **Ed Gein, Jr.**

Police found **skulls on shelves**, **stitched‑together remains**, **infant bodies**, and even a **corpse with a pacemaker still attached**. In addition, he had a **storage locker** filled with body parts, plus more remains in his **garage and basement**. It was, and is, a **house of horrors**.

There is going to be a lot more coming out on this case.

My primary reason for being here today, aside from documenting this, is to scout the grounds for a close friend, **Kimberly**. Her family plot is on the **published list** of desecrated sites, but she’s out of state dealing with a family emergency. We want to see what shape her family plot is in, and whether it shows obvious signs of disturbance.

This isn’t just random graves. Authorities have released a **list of 26 family vaults and mausoleums** believed to have been targeted. Gerlach stole remains—including **babies**.

—

We’re going to walk the grounds, look at specific locations, and see what we can find.

As for Gerlach himself: he was apparently a **rock band singer**, playing in local clubs. At one point he worked as a **manager or team leader at a manufacturing plant**—possibly one that produced mausoleum components. People described him as “a little strange,” but nothing that screamed what he truly was.

He had, and apparently still has, a **girlfriend**. Neighbors in Ephrata saw them walking their dog regularly. She has not been arrested. How could she not know what was going on inside that house? We don’t know yet. This is all unfolding.

Gerlach is currently being held in **Delaware County Jail** on a **$1 million cash bond**. As of now, no one has bailed him out.

—

One of the most disturbing details for me is this: he had a **Facebook page** devoted to **selling human remains and skulls**. How is something like that even allowed to exist on Facebook?

He was actively **selling** remains online. It seems very likely that much of what he stole from here was feeding into this grisly business—his own modern‑day ghoul operation. The only difference between him and someone like Ed Gein—so far—is that we don’t yet know of any murders he committed. But who knows what further investigation will uncover.

This section of the cemetery is **mausoleum row**. I know that **at least one**, if not several, of these mausoleums was desecrated.

One family we’re specifically looking for is the **Ogden** family. Another mausoleum reported on is the **Thompson‑Carson** Egyptian Revival mausoleum. It’s difficult to tell which were hit because many have been sealed with cinder blocks over the years due to vandalism, but we can see **fresh masonry work** on some. That’s a clue.

—

Here is **Frank Charlton’s** mausoleum, which I saw on the published list. The concrete blockwork here looks **very fresh**, probably done within the last month. That suggests this is one of the places where Gerlach broke in and took bodies.

We’re still looking for the **Pritchard** mausoleum as well. I know it’s nearby. We’ll also keep moving toward the Ogden plot, which should be in the next section over.

Kimberly, who used to moderate the channel and still watches our back, has family among the Ogdens. That mausoleum is one we’re especially focused on.

There are a lot of famous and historically significant people buried in Mount Moriah. **Betsy Ross** was once here before being reinterred elsewhere. This is a major **military cemetery**, with burials from the **Civil War through World War II and beyond**. The veterans’ sections are heavily maintained, thanks to veteran organizations and volunteers.

—

We’ve now located the **Ogden** plot. The family name is worn, but this is the one. The ground shows some disturbance—small holes, minor digging—but that could be animals. The grass looks recently mowed, consistent with surrounding areas. It’s difficult to say for sure whether this plot has been actively desecrated.

This is one of the names on the official list, but the **Ogden family** is large—**76 Ogdens** across this cemetery complex. This plot may or may not be the exact one targeted. Kimberly’s family is spread across multiple sections and cemeteries.

She plans to contact the **hotline** authorities have set up and submit **DNA** to help identify remains. That’s going to be a huge part of this process—trying to match scattered bones and skulls back to the families they were taken from.

—

Back at mausoleum row, we see **Hunter** family mausoleum—older vandalism, heavily blocked and patched. Nearby is another structure with **freshly painted cinder blocks**: similar paint, similar construction. Likely another site Gerlach hit.

The question remains: **how will they figure out where each set of remains belongs?** DNA technology will be crucial. The plan, as Kimberly mentioned, is to have descendants submit DNA so investigators can establish genetic connections and return remains where possible.

On the **Philadelphia side** of the cemetery, across **Cobbs Creek**, we see ongoing construction and restoration work, which is a good sign. We pass the **veterans’ section**, immaculate and well‑kept. God bless our soldiers and veterans, and those who protect their resting places.

As we walk, we refer to the **published list of victims** and affected families.

—

Among the first names released:

– **Martha Chambers “Maddie” Hunter** – died August 25, 1869, only 15 years old. Her body was stolen. Her mother Jane’s maiden name was **Chambers**; Jane died in 1901, her father John in 1858. They are interred in Section 108 near mausoleum row.
– **Mary Capellini Paga** – born 1898, died 1991, also believed stolen.
– **Leo Terrin** – born 1928, died 1981, on the list as well.

We then move through the list of **family vaults** and surnames affected:

– **Alabach family**
– **Baker family**
– **Blakeney (or Blakey) family**
– **Captain Gay family**
– **Charlton family** – whose crypt we saw with fresh masonry
– **DeHaven family** – including **Agnes B. Rush DeHaven** (we have her photo; she may have been one of the stolen remains)
– **Dietrich family**
– **Forsythe family**
– **Hurst family** – possibly **Rachel Anna Boyd Hurst**, who died October 4, 1897 at age 94
– **Louder family**
– **Marshall family** – including **Katherine Brantis Marshall**, who died April 17, 1908
– **McCulla family** – including **Edna May Johnston McCulla**, who died July 6, 2010 at age 98
– **McGrady family**
– **Ogden family**
– **Slack family**
– **Steel family** – including **Laura Schistler Steel**, who died January 18, 1936 at age 58
– **Ziegler family**

In total, we’re talking about dozens of individuals, and roughly **100 sets of remains** found in Gerlach’s possession.

—

As we walk further, we stumble upon what appears to be a **freshly dug grave hole**, not on the official list. The stone for **Annie Armstrong** has been displaced, and a deep cavity is visible. We can’t say for sure whether this was Gerlach’s work or some older vandalism, but the evidence is unsettling.

We also see family crypts built into hillsides—Hofflich, Foster, Baker. Some of these granite front slabs look untouched, others show signs of repair. There are still large sections of the cemetery overgrown and untouched by restoration, with stones scattered deep in the woods.

Again, **God bless the Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery**. Without their work, this place would be almost completely lost. I’ll include their link below for anyone who wants to support them.

—

So where does this leave us?

As of **January 11th**, this story is still **breaking and evolving**. Gerlach was arrested on **Tuesday**, the press conference was **Thursday**, and the broader public began learning the details just a couple of days ago.

We still don’t know:
– Whether other cemeteries have been hit.
– How many remains can be definitively identified.
– How many families will receive some measure of closure—or further pain.

We do know this: **authorities took this seriously**. The detectives staked this cemetery out night after night, following a trail of **energy drink cans, cigarettes, zip ties, glasses, and disturbed earth**. DNA technology, advancing every year, helped tie Gerlach to the crime scenes.

There is still a long road ahead—both for the investigation and for the families.

—

Walking among these historic graves, you can’t help but feel the weight of it all. Mount Moriah is a **beautiful, solemn sanctuary**, even in its neglected corners. These aren’t just stones. They are markers of entire lives, family histories, sacrifices, and stories.

I’ll stay on top of this story and share updates as they emerge—along with **Kimberly** and other friends on the channel. We have a strong community here on *Faces of the Forgotten*, and we’re committed to remembering the dead with respect.

For now, I’ll close this report from **January 11th**. This is all still fluid and unfolding. More news will come, more names will surface, and hopefully, more answers will arrive.

Stay with me. Stay safe. And don’t forget: every stone you see out here marks a **real person**—someone who lived, loved, and mattered.