Jonathan Gerlach, 34, waived his preliminary hearing on Wednesday, June 3, on 494 criminal counts tied to what prosecutors have described as one of the largest grave robbery investigations in Pennsylvania history.
According to the Delaware County District Attorney's Office, the case has been assigned to Judge Stephanie Klein following the waiver.
A status conference is scheduled for Monday, June 29 at 9 a.m. at the Delaware County Courthouse.
Gerlach is accused of repeatedly burglarizing mausoleums and burial vaults at Mount Moriah Cemetery, a historic cemetery spanning Philadelphia and Delaware County.
The case gained national attention after investigators recovered more than 100 full or partial sets of human remains and skeletal remains from Gerlach's Ephrata home and storage units following his arrest.
Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse previously described the scene investigators encountered during the searches as "a horror movie come to life."
Authorities have alleged that 26 mausoleums and underground burial sites at Mount Moriah Cemetery were burglarized or desecrated.
Court documents identified numerous targeted family vaults and named several individuals whose remains investigators believe were stolen, including Martha Hunter, Mary Prichard Steigleman, Mary Cappelini Paga, and Leo Terence.
The investigation also revealed what detectives described as an extensive interest in human remains collecting. Investigators examined Gerlach's social media accounts and alleged connections to online groups involving skeleton collecting, taxidermy, "oddities," and the sale of human bones.
He was selling bones online, according to his social media. It is unclear if federal charges will be filed, as he did sell bones out of state, as shown in those posts.
In a previous court filing, detectives alleged that DNA recovered from a Monster Energy drink can left at one of the looted grave sites helped identify Gerlach as a suspect.
Gerlach remains incarcerated after previously being unable to post $1 million cash bail.
The case is continuing as investigators work to identify and return the recovered remains to affected families.
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