Harvard Morgue Manager Charged With Stealing And Selling Human Remains

Credit: NBC Boston

Charges of stealing and selling human remains have been brought against the morgue manager at Harvard University's Medical School.

A federal grand jury has indicted Cedric Lodge, 55, his wife Denise Lodge, 63, and two other people in Goffstown, New Hampshire.

Harvard students frequently practice medical procedures on donated bodies, claims the indictment.

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It is reported that the bodies are frequently cremated when the lesson is over.

After that, the ashes are either returned to the deceased's relatives or "buried in the university's medical cemetery."

Authorities allege that Lodge sold "heads, brains, skin, and bones" provided for medical and scientific purposes while serving as morgue manager and director of the "Anatomical Gifts Program."

The lodge would let anyone "enter the morgue at Harvard Medical School and examine cadavers to choose what to purchase," according to the US Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

According to the allegations, the conspiracy allegedly took place between 2018 and 2021.

The stolen remains are said to have been purchased by Joshua Taylor, 46, of West Lawn, Pennsylvania, and Katrina Maclean, 44, of Salem, Massachusetts.

The charging document claims that in October 2020, Katrina spent $699 (£473) on dissected faces that she "intended to have tanned into leather."

Prosecutors assert that Taylor would occasionally transport the stolen goods to Pennsylvania, while on different occasions, the Lodges would ship the remaining items to Taylor and other individuals residing outside the state.

Over the course of four years, Taylor is said to have paid the Lodges with 39 digital payments.

According to the indictment, one specific payment totaling $1,000 (£790) was made through PayPal on May 19, 2019, and was reportedly identified as "head number 7."

The maximum sentence for each of the four defendants for conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen property is 15 years in prison if they are all found guilty.

Christopher Nielsen, the inspector in charge of the Postal Inspection Service's Philadelphia Division, stated in a statement: “Today, the United States Attorney has announced charges against several individuals who used the United States mail to ship stolen human remains.”

“Robbing families of the remains of their loved ones is an unconscionable act and confounds our collective sense of decency."

Attorney for the United States Gerard M. Karam said: “Some crimes defy understanding.”

"The theft and trafficking of human remains strikes at the very essence of what makes us human.”

He continued by saying that it "is particularly egregious" since so many of the "victims" gave their consent for their remains to be "used to educate medical professionals" and assist students in furthering "the interests of science and healing."

Karam added: “For them and their families to be taken advantage of in the name of profit is appalling. With these charges, we are seeking to secure some measure of justice for all these victims.”