Murder Suspect Accused Of Killing Wife Now Charged With Using Forged Docs To Swipe Adjacent Cemetery Plot So He Could Be Buried Beside Her

In Bedford County, Pennsylvania, The Associated Press reports:

• A man accused of murdering his wife has been charged with forging documents to steal a cemetery plot so he could be buried beside her. Bedford County District Attorney William Higgins contends the alleged scam is 39-year-old John Gerholt's latest effort to harass his late wife, Karen, and her relatives. [... ] Gerholt's defense attorney, Thomas Dickey, denied that his client is harassing his late wife's family. "This is just another sign of his true love and devotion to his wife, albeit deceased," Dickey said.(1)

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• Higgins said Gerholt has placed newspaper ads mourning his wife's passing on her birthday, on Valentine's Day, and on the anniversary of her death. He called the ads an effort to win public sympathy and further harass his wife's relatives. The anniversary ad says, "I won't stop looking for you until I meet up with you again in Heaven." [...] "He's letting her know that he's going to track her down in heaven, and be buried next to her," Higgins said. "That's the way we see this and it's extremely disturbing."

For the story, see DA: Pa. Man Scammed Burial Plot By Wife He Killed (DA: Pa. Murder Suspect Scammed To Get Burial Plot Next To The Wife He's Accused Of Killing).

(1) According to the story, Gerholt is accused of shooting his 24-year-old wife twice with a sawed-off shotgun as she left for a break at the McDonald's where she worked near Everett, about 90 miles east of Pittsburgh. District Attorney Higgins is reportedly pursuing the death penalty because Karen Gerholt had a protection-from-abuse order against her husband, and because John Gerholt allegedly endangered others outside the restaurant. Gerholt, of Mount Union, was already jailed when the forgery and theft charges were filed. DeedContraTheft