World of the Bizarre

Man charged with stealing 100 human skeletons in Pennsylvania

By T.K. Randall
January 11, 2026 ·  11 comments

Image: Mt Moriah Old Gatehouse (file photo)
Credit: Smallbones / (PD) The bizarre and grim case, which had left police investigators scratching their heads, was finally solved last week when the perpetrator was caught red-handed with a crowbar and burlap bag.

The robbing of graves at the 200-acre Mount Moriah Cemetery in southwest Philadelphia had been going on for months, with even mausoleums dating back over 100 years being targeted.

When officers caught the culprit, they discovered skeletal remains in his car, and a search of his home revealed that he had taken over 100 humans skulls and various other body parts.

Some of the remains in his possession were over 200 years old.

According to Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse, the thefts had all been undertaken under cover of darkness and away from the view of the public."This guy did everything in his power to secretly and silently grave-rob," he said.

"Mount Moriah did everything they could to stop him from doing it. But as you can imagine, cemetery that size, it is very difficult."

The culprit ended up being charged with 574 counts of grave robbing, as well as a number of other crimes including trespassing, burglary and desecrating a public monument.

The cemetery itself is thought to contain over 200,000 remains.

"Detectives walked into a horror movie come to life," said Rouse.

Source: Sky News | Comments (11)

Tags: Skeleton, Cemetery