Overview
- Officers responded to the 500 block of West Ormsby Avenue around 3:30 p.m. Thursday and found an adult male dead inside a residence.
- Police reported the victim’s body was concealed behind a mattress in a closet, and a small dog was found dead in the bathroom sink.
- An arrest citation states Charles Gerlach, 55, admitted to stabbing the man and to stabbing and drowning the Chihuahua.
- He was taken into custody and faces charges of murder, abuse of a corpse, torture of a dog or cat, and tampering with physical evidence.
- LMPD has not released the victim’s identity or a suspected motive, and Jefferson County Public Schools confirmed Gerlach is employed as an in-school security monitor.