A Pennsylvania man who has allegedly admitted to selling stolen human remains from cemeteries online is now facing more than 500 charges.
Jonathan Gerlach was arrested on Jan. 6 after Yeadon Borough Police Department in Yeadon Borough, Pa., finished a monthslong investigation during which authorities seized more than 100 human skulls, two decomposing torsos and mummified feet and hands among other human remains, according to CBS 21 out of Central Pennsylvania.
Notable in this case is who Gerlach is following on social media, specifically in that one band has responded to the fact that the alleged grave robber is only following two other accounts on his confirmed TikTok profile.
One of those accounts is for Awsten Knight, lead singer and guitarist of the pop-punk band Waterparks.
“What do you mean follow back? What?” said Knight in a TikTok post from Jan. 12 as he reviewed the username of the person, which Collegian isn’t publishing because it contains explicit language and the nature of the content.
Knight asked whether Gerlach was “misinterpreting” the band.
“Is he listening to Waterparks like while he’s doing this … ?” asked Knight.
Waterparks has navigated at least one other instance of controversy in its career.
In a peculiar spin of events, rumors spread alleging that bandmate Wood was an infamous serial killer. It all started as an inside joke between fans of the band. Knight added fuel to this fire by taking to social media and joining in on this stunt.
But it was revealed as a stunt.
“This might be the worst and weirdest thing, worse than the Otto stuff,” noted Knight on Instagram. The “Otto stuff” refers to Waterparks’ drummer Otto Wood that caused conversation between fans of Waterparks and ultimately led to various news outlets reporting on said rumors in 2024.
In one post Knight expressed enjoyment with the rumor going beyond the band’s fanbase, taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, to say: “IM SO HAPPY THE OTTO WOOD SERIAL K*L**R DISCOURSE IS REACHING OUTSIDE THE PARX UNIVERSE THIS IS LIKE CHRISTMAS FOR ME.” [sic]
The band’s song “REAL SUPER DARK” even acknowledges the whirlwind of a fandom inside joke turned controversy, including the lyrics: “I’ll call you beep you later / If Otto doesn’t serial kill me (Otto, I’m sorry, stop.)”
Almost a year later, Knight finds himself and his fellow bandmates Wood and guitarist Geoff Wigington in another morbid controversy.
“Why am I here? I shouldn’t be here?” asked Knight in the video on Instagram as to why he is one of the accounts Gerlach is following.
Gerlach’s Instagram profile, which was still publicly accessible as of Jan. 21, is also shown to be following other similar alternative musicians such as Wigington’s personal profile, lead singer of Fall Out Boy Patrick Stump’s personal Instagram profile, the official Fall Out Boy page, lead singer of the band Taking Back Sunday Adam Lazzara and the official page of the band Spiritbox among others.
These bands all fall under the same genre, which is generally considered alternative rock or pop punk. So what does this say anything about listeners of alternative music artists?
In an April 2025 article from Psychology Today, author Katherin Ramsland notes that “some killers find their sense of identity in a song.” Ramsland specifically notes Night Stalker Richard Ramirez and his obsession with AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell.” Ramsland also added the example of Ronald Pituch who was found guilty of murdering his mother “with a dumbbell when she wouldn’t buy him cigarettes.” He claimed a fixation on a song that featured a “boy with a violent temper who went on a shooting spree,” according to the article.
David Terry, a correctional science and sociology professor at Delta College, said songs with darker themes common in alternative music can have an influence on negative actions and thoughts like Gerlach’s, but can also have a positive impact on those in alternative music communities.
“There have been court cases where lyrics have been called into question and used against artists. So yes, music can influence,” said Terry. “Music can have that impact on us, and we should certainly acknowledge that impact and that negative messages can impact us as well.”
Gerlach is in police custody. Waterparks has been the only artist followed by Gerlach’s social media pages to put out a statement.
