MEDIA, Pa. – Jonathan Gerlach, a Pennsylvania man accused of robbing several graves at a Delaware County cemetery, will appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Friday.

What we know:

Gerlach, 34, will appear in-person for his 10 a.m. hearing at the Delaware County Courthouse in Media.

He was charged in January with several crimes related to grave robberies, including burglary and abuse of a corpse.

Gerlach will be represented by a public defender, according to courthouse officials.

The backstory:

Gerlach was arrested at Mount Moriah Cemetery in January after investigators say he was found with a burlap bag containing 30 human remains, many of them children and those who have been dead for decades.

The investigation turned more sinister when detectives searched Gerlach’s home in Ephrata and found even more remains, including skulls, large bones, and jewelry taken from graves. Chester County District Attorney Tanner Rouse described the home as “a horror movie come to life.”

It’s alleged that Gerlach may have been selling remains on Facebook, and traveled to Chicago last year to sell a human skull. A tipster who first alerted police about Gerlach mentioned a partially decomposed corpse hanging in his basement.

Investigators later found eight more bodies in a storage locker located near Gerlach’s home. Neighbors previously told FOX 29 News that they were suspicious of Gerlach’s home after noticing flies swarming near the basement windows.

What we don’t know:

Authorities are still trying to determine if other cemeteries were affected and how long Gerlach’s activities have been ongoing. 

Investigators are seeking to understand the full extent of the operation and any potential connections to other individuals or groups.

The Delaware State Police is investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred on Wednesday in Greenwood while serving a warrant.

On March 11, 2026, at approximately 1:30 p.m., the Delaware State Police, including members of the Sex Offender Apprehension and Registration (SOAR) Unit, Troop 4 Criminal Investigations Unit, and the Special Operations Response Team (SORT), responded to the 11000 block of Wheatfield Road in Greenwood to execute a search warrant and apprehend 60-year-old Jeffrey Mitchem.  Earlier in the day, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Threat Operations Center notified DSP of threatening online posts by Mitchem. He had also sent a picture of himself holding what appeared to be a black handgun to a State Police SOAR detective, along with an image of a coffin. Additionally, Mitchem was wanted by the Arlington County Police Department (Virginia) for felony terroristic threatening.

When troopers arrived, Mitchem barricaded himself in his camper and refused to come out. The DSP Crisis Management Team established contact with Mitchem, who repeatedly refused commands to surrender and threatened that he had a large amount of gunpowder and was holding the trigger to detonate. Mitchem was seen spreading what appeared to be an unknown powdery substance inside the camper, and he kept one hand hidden inside when he stepped outside the door, supporting his threats.

A trooper fired a single shot, hitting Mitchem in the arm.  Following the shot, Mitchem threw a handgun out of the camper, exited, and was taken into custody without further incident.  Troopers provided first aid until emergency medical professionals arrived, and he was taken to an area hospital for serious injuries.

In accordance with DSP standard operating procedures for officer-involved shootings, the Homicide Unit assumed the investigation.  Preliminarily, detectives determined that the black handgun Mitchem threw from the camper was an airsoft pistol/replica of a Walther PPS M2 firearm. A search of the camper revealed that Mitchem had placed a 6.5-inch wooden-handled hunting-style knife on a shelf near the entrance where he was standing before being forced to surrender. Mitchem is prohibited from possessing a deadly weapon due to prior felony convictions. The DSP Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit confirmed that the unknown powdery substance was not explosive material.

Mitchem remains hospitalized. He was charged with the offenses listed below, arraigned by the Justice of the Peace Court 11, and turned over to the custody of the Delaware Department of Correction on a $43,000 secured bond.

• Possession of a Deadly Weapon by a Person Prohibited (Felony)
• Intent Threaten the Life of or Threatens Severe Physical Injury to Public Official or Public Servant (Felony) – 19 counts
• Resisting Arrest

The involved trooper has been placed on administrative leave while a use-of-force investigation is conducted in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Justice’s Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust.

This is an active investigation, and detectives ask anyone with information about this case to contact Detective M. Csapo at (302) 741-2729. Information may also be provided by sending a private Facebook message to the Delaware State Police or contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-847-3333.

If you or someone you know is a victim or witness of a crime or has lost a loved one to a sudden death and needs assistance, the Delaware State Police Victim Services Unit / Delaware Victim Center is available to offer you support and resources 24 hours a day through a toll-free hotline at 1-800-VICTIM-1 (1-800-842-8461). You may also email the Victim Services Unit at DSP_VictimServicesMail@delaware.gov.

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Disclaimer: Any individual charged in this release is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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An amendment to enshrine the right to marry in the Delaware Constitution advanced March 11, clearing the House Administration Committee and moving closer to completing its first of two legislative hurdles.

Backed by state Sen. Russ Huxtable, the proposed amendment would recognize the right of individuals to marry as “a fundamental right.”

It adds that such rights may not be abridged or denied “on account of any basis protected” in Delaware’s most sacred legislative document, according to the bill pushing it forward. That includes race, sex, gender or national origin, to name a few. The amendment would also not “infringe upon the right to freedom of religion.”

Should this become law, all legally binding marriages under Delaware law “must be treated equally.” That also includes laws pertaining to married spouses or children of wedded spouses. 

In other legislative news: Delaware advances another bill related to property reassessment tools

Delaware already legalized same-sex marriage in 2013 – two years before the U.S. Supreme Court made its historical decision in the case Obergefell v. Hodges.