Published: November 16, 2009 11:25 pm      

Burial plot scheme: Murder suspect tried to get space next to slain wife, police say

BEDFORD — Authorities say a man who shot and killed his wife in a McDonald’s parking lot has tried to acquire the cemetery plot next to her, with an eye toward being buried there.

Charges of forgery, theft and theft by deception have been filed against John Lewis Gerholt Sr., 39, Bedford County District Attorney William Higgins said Monday. Gerholt has been in the Bedford County Jail without bail since the Nov. 9, 2008, shooting of his wife, Karen Gerholt, 24, of Hopewell, a mother of three.

“This is an ongoing attempt for him to continue to torture this woman’s family,’’ Higgins said.

“Even after her death, he will not leave her alone.”

His preliminary hearing is set for Wednesday in Bedford County Central Court, Everett.

But his court-appointed defense attorney, Thomas Dickey, said Monday he needs more time to review the allegations and will ask for the hearing to be postponed.

“I want to look at who is who and what’s up with the signatures,” he said.

Gerholt, a Huntingdon County native, has conducted a public campaign attempting to put himself in a favorable light, Higgins said.

On Valentine’s Day and on the victim’s birthday, he ran remembrances in the local newspaper. Another one appeared last week, Nov. 9, the day of her death, with Gerholt citing how much he misses her.

Dickey said his client continues to be dedicated to his late wife.

“John loves his wife, even now after her death, and he wants to be buried by her,” Dickey said.

Authorities allege that Gerholt, who at the time was under a court order not to contact his wife, went to the Route 30 McDonald’s in Snake Spring Township, where she was employed. Police said he was armed with a rifle and waited for her.

When she stepped out on a break, he approached her and opened fire, witnessess testified at a December preliminary hearing.

Gerholt, who faces the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder, has said the gun fired accidentally and he never intended to harm her.

As a prosecutor for a decade, Higgins said this latest turn of events is one of the most bizarre actions he’s had to deal with.

In piecing the theft story together, Higgins said that following Karen Gerholt’s death, a family member provided a burial plot for her in a Broad Top area cemetery.

When attempts were made to transfer ownership of a second plot, the one next to her, family members learned it had already been transferred to John Gerholt.

The owner of the plots never signed the necessary paperwork transferring the plot to John Gerholt. Authorities think the documents were given to him by another family member.

The paperwork was notarized by a certified employee at the Bedford jail who apparently was not fully aware of the circumstances.

On Monday, Dickey raised questions about the role of the notary and said he needs to see the paperwork before proceeding to a hearing.

“This seems like it should be more of a civil thing,” he said.