"Detectives said they were already investigating reports of cemetery burglaries when police evidently received a tip that was submitted online and urged them to look into whether Gerlach was connected to one mausoleum robbery in particular. As the Pennsylvania news outlet WHP-TV reported in the Baltimore Sun, the tipster described knowing someone who had been in Gerlach's home and had spotted a partially decomposed corpse hanging in the basement."
"The tipster further alleged that Gerlach, 34, had claimed to have been in Chicago selling a human skull at one point. A social media account of his purportedly followed other users devoted to skeleton collecting and sales, and the tipster directed investigators' attention to it, authorities alleged. While combing through his social media, detectives noted how someone in a so-called human bones and skull selling group thanked Gerlach for what was described as a human skin bag."
Jonathan Gerlach allegedly admitted to selling some of more than 100 stolen human remains online. Search warrants contain his purported admission and detail how investigators linked him to multiple mausoleum and vault burglaries. An online tip urged police to investigate after a tipster described a partially decomposed corpse in his basement and alleged he once sold a skull in Chicago. Investigators found social media activity tied to skeleton-collecting groups, a payment-app profile showing a person holding an apparent human skull, and a message thanking Gerlach for a "human skin bag." License-plate readers and cellphone records placed his vehicle and phone near Mount Moriah cemetery during the burglaries.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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