LOUISVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56) — A Louisville man has pleaded not guilty in court nearly two weeks after police found him outside an apartment complex where he allegedly admitted to stabbing a man and a dog to death before jumping from a fourth-floor window.
According to court documents, just after 11:45 a.m. on Feb. 26, officers with the Louisville Metro Police Department were dispatched to the 500 block of Ormsby Avenue following reports that someone had jumped from an apartment window in the area.
Investigators located the apartment the man allegedly jumped from. When officers entered, they discovered a dead chihuahua in a sink. The body of the man who lived in the apartment was found stuffed behind a mattress inside a living room closet.
Police said the suspect, identified as Charles Gerlach Jr., was found outside the building and later questioned. According to an arrest citation, he allegedly admitted to killing the resident and placing the body in the closet, saying he was trying to “get it out of the way.”
Charles Gerlach Jr., 55, was booked into the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections on Feb. 26.
Police said Gerlach also admitted to stabbing and drowning the dog that was found in the sink. Authorities arrested him and charged him with murder, torture of a dog or cat, abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence.
Court records show Gerlach was scheduled to be arraigned March 3 but did not appear because he remained hospitalized. On Wednesday, a public defender entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
According to court filings, he is being held at the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections on a $1 million cash bond. A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for Thursday, March 12.
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