January 13, 2026
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
Volunteers at Mount Moriah Cemetery are calling for donations to make security upgrades at the burial ground that spans part of Southwest Philly and Yeadon Borough. Jonathan Gerlach, 34, of Ephrata, was charged last week with making repeated break-ins. Above, headstones at Mount Moriah Cemetery.
The Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery, a small volunteer group that manages the historic burial grounds in Yeadon Borough and Southwest Philly, is raising money to install security cameras and repair perimeter fences after last week's capture of an alleged grave robber who targeted the property.
Authorities in Delaware County have charged 34-year-old Jonathan Gerlach with desecrating and stealing human remains from at least 26 grave sites at Mount Moriah between November and early January. When police searched Gerlach's home in Ephrata, Lancaster County, last week, they found more than 100 human skeletal remains in a scene District Attorney Tanner Rouse described as "a horror movie come to life."
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John R. Schmehl Jr., president of the Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery, wrote about the recent disturbances in a post Sunday on the nonprofit's Facebook page.
"The past eight weeks have been incredibly difficult for all of us," said Schmehl, a fourth-generation caretaker for the 160-acre cemetery. "The Friends have discovered several disturbed mausoleums and vaults on the property. I have personally placed nearly every 911 call regarding these incidents, ensuring that authorities were notified within minutes of any discovery."
Mount Moriah is split by Cobbs Creek and contains more than 150,000 grave sites, including many with remains that trace back to the Revolutionary War. The cemetery, founded in 1855, offers scenic views of the Center City skyline and is surrounded by popular cycling trails.
The grounds are accessible to the public most days between 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. with main entrances along Kingsessing Avenue in Philadelphia and Cobbs Creek Parkway on the Yeadon side. Although much of the property is fenced in, Schmehl said the original perimeter is about 100 years old and several areas are in need of repairs.
Since the break-ins started in November, the volunteers have "moved aggressively" to bolster security and spent more than $20,000 on upgrades and repairs to targeted mausoleums and vaults. The group relies entirely on donations and has an annual operating budget of about $90,000.
"We have begun repairing fencing along 61st Street, 63rd Street, and Kingsessing Avenue, including the recent completion of the fence line near the SEPTA loop," Schmehl said.
Fixing the fence will come at a steep cost, including a $9,000 quote for just 600 feet along the 61st Street side.
Schmehl said the volunteers — about 12 people — are now expediting the installation of security cameras across both sides of the cemetery. They have also begun conducting random patrols throughout the grounds to watch for unauthorized activity.
Delaware County prosecutors said Gerlach was caught at the cemetery on Jan. 6 as he returned to his car from a grave he had allegedly desecrated that night. New court documents obtained Monday by TMZ allege Gerlach did not take many precautions to cover his tracks during his visits to Mount Moriah. Volunteers and police found cigarette butts, empty energy drink cans and a nylon rope Gerlach allegedly used to repel into a vault.
Authorities are still investigating why Gerlach collected skeletal remains and whether he sold them.
The cemetery said it appears that the grave-robbing incidents were limited to mausoleums and underground vaults. No other areas of Mount Moriah appear to be affected.
Schmehl is asking families with loved ones at Mount Moriah and others committed to the preservation of historic landmarks to consider making tax-deductible donations to the cemetery.
"Mount Moriah is more than just a cemetery; it is a repository of our shared history and a final resting place for our families," Schmehl said. "These recent events have been a wake-up call that our aging infrastructure can no longer protect this sacred space on its own."
