Federal prosecutors claim that several individuals stole and sold human remains, including skin and brains, from the mortuary at Harvard Medical School.
According to the complaint, a grand jury indicted Cedric Lodge, 55, the morgue manager, and his wife in connection with the criminal scheme that took place between the end of 2018 and the beginning of this year.
One of the defendants’ hometowns of Scranton, Pennsylvania, is where the federal lawsuit was submitted.
The lodge apparently allowed interested purchasers to visit the mortuary and select the remains they desired to purchase. Additionally, he is accused of taking donated corpse parts, including bones, skin, and brains, to his house in New Hampshire and selling them by mail to customers.
Six people have been accused of participating in the scheme: Denise Lodge, Lodge’s wife; Katrina Maclean; Joshua Taylor; Mathew Lampi; Jeremy Pauley; and an Arkansas mortician.
A federal grand jury has indicted all six on charges of conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen property.
If found guilty, they could spend up to 15 years in prison, according to the prosecution.
The specifics of the allegedly illegal commerce are horrifying.
In 2020, MacLean is said to have spent $600 on two dried-out faces from the mortuary. Pauley was supposedly sent human skin by MacLean as well.
In the meantime, Pauley is charged with purchasing two stillborn kids’ corpses from an Arkansas funeral worker.
Denise Lodge allegedly received a $200 payment from Taylor with the note “braiiiiins.” For human remains, Taylor allegedly paid more than $37,000 in total.
In Peabody, Massachusetts, one of the accused owns a store called Kat’s Creepy Creations. In March, the FBI searched the shop.
“If you’re in the market for human bones hit me up!” one post from the Kat’s Creepy Creations Instagram page read.
“Some crimes defy understanding,” U.S. Attorney Gerard Karam said in a statement. “The theft and trafficking of human remains strikes at the very essence of what makes us human. It is particularly egregious that so many of the victims here volunteered to allow their remains to be used to educate medical professionals and advance the interests of science and healing. For them and their families to be taken advantage of in the name of profit is appalling.”
The U.S. attorney claimed that Harvard Medical School was not involved in the conspiracy and expressed his gratitude for their assistance with the government inquiry.
The deans of Harvard Medical announced Lodge’s dismissal on May 6.
“We are appalled to learn that something so disturbing could happen on our campus — a community dedicated to healing and serving others. 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,” Harvard Medical’s dean of faculty and dean for medical education said in a joint statement.
“We are so very sorry for the pain this news will cause for our anatomical donors’ families and loved ones, and HMS pledges to engage with them during this deeply distressing time,” the statement said.
Lodge spent 28 years working for Harvard Medical School before being let go.
He was originally listed as having worked at Harvard Medical School’s Anatomical Gift Program on his biographical page, which is no longer accessible.
According to his biography, Lodge was in charge of “maintaining the anatomical morgue and teaching labs while working closely with HMS faculty and students.”
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