Harvard Medical School morgue manager charged for conspiracy, theft and sale of human body parts

Harvard Medical School morgue director Cedric Lodge has been indicted for allegedly stealing and selling human parts in a conspiracy with his wife and three others, federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania announced on Wednesday. 

In the alleged plot that spanned from 2018 to early 2023, Cedric Lodge, 55, of Goffstown, New Hampshire, stole dissected portions of cadavers that were donated to Harvard Medical School (HMS), according to court documents. The school had no knowledge of the matter and has cooperated with the investigation, The Associated Press reports. 

The transactions involving the sale of the stolen remains often totaled tens of thousands of dollars, sometimes delivering purchased items by U.S. mail, according to the documents. 

The cadavers donated to the medical school are intended to be studied for scientific advancement and after their purpose for study has been met, the bodies are most often cremated and returned to the family.

In what the school's website titled "an abhorrent betrayal" on Wednesday, deans George Daley and Edward Hundert wrote in response to the matter which they call "morally reprehensible:"

"We are appalled to learn that something so disturbing could happen on our campus — a community dedicated to healing and serving others," the deans wrote. "The reported incidents are a betrayal of HMS and, most importantly, each of the individuals who altruistically chose to will their bodies to HMS through the Anatomical Gift Program to advance medical education and research."

Other than the Lodges, the three others indicted are reportedly Katrina Maclean, 44, of Salem, Massachusetts; Joshua Taylor, 46, of West Lawn, Pennsylvania; and Mathew Lampi, 52, of East Bethel, Minnesota. They have been charged with conspiracy and interstate transport of stolen goods.

Maclean reportedly purchased and resold the body parts from a shop she owned and operated called Kat's Creepy Creations in Peabody, Massachusetts.

The indictment includes charges against Maclean for agreeing to sell two human faces, dissected from their cadavers, for $600 in October 2020 and shipping human skin to Jeremy Pauley, 41. Maclean then reportedly hired Pauley in July 2021, the court documents state, "to tan the skin" purchased "to create leather" in exchange for more human skin instead of monetary compensation.

The defendants were part of a network of people across the country who bought and sold remains stolen from an Arkansas mortuary in addition to Harvard, according to prosecutors.