Latest news with #AnatomicalGiftProgram
Indian Express
25-05-2025
- Indian Express
Brain, skin, hands and faces: How ex-Harvard morgue manager sold body parts on internet
A former morgue manager at Harvard Medical School has admitted in court to stealing and trafficking human remains, including brains, skin, hands and even faces, from donated cadavers meant for research and education. Cedric Lodge, 57, pleaded guilty in a court in Pennsylvania to the interstate transport of stolen human remains, Acting US Attorney John Gurganus announced this week. From 2018 to early 2020, Lodge turned the halls of Harvard's Anatomical Gift Program into a grotesque marketplace, stripping dignity from bodies entrusted to science. Prosecutors said Lodge, once responsible for managing Harvard's morgue, systematically took dissected portions of cadavers that had been donated for medical studies and sold them for thousands of dollars. 'Cedric Lodge's criminal actions were morally reprehensible and a disgraceful betrayal of the individuals who altruistically chose to will their bodies to Harvard Medical School's Anatomical Gift Program to advance medical education and research,' Dr George Q Daley, dean of Harvard Medical School, said in a statement. Investigators discovered that Lodge, with his wife Denise, transported the remains from Harvard Medical School's morgue in Boston to their home in New Hampshire, later shipping them to buyers across state lines or letting the buyers collect them directly. The sales, often conducted over social media and even the US Postal Service, included transactions with individuals in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and beyond. Court documents reveal that Lodge's actions were part of a wider network involving several defendants, many of whom have already pleaded guilty. In one chilling instance, prosecutors said a buyer paid $1,000 for a 'head number 7' and another sent $200 for 'braiiiiiins.' The Lodges received at least $37,000 from a single buyer. Authorities said Lodge also let certain buyers, including Katrina Maclean of Kat's Creepy Creations in Massachusetts, browse the morgue's inventory to select body parts themselves. In 2020, Maclean allegedly paid $600 for two dissected faces. A defense lawyer for Maclean argued last month that human remains 'are not, and have never been, deemed to constitute property or 'goods, wares or merchandise.'' However, prosecutors have stood firm in their case. The breach of trust has left the Harvard community reeling. 'We are appalled to learn that something so disturbing could happen on our campus — a community dedicated to healing and serving others,' George Daley and Edward Hundert, dean for Medical Education, had said in a joint statement when the scandal first emerged. Lodge's plea agreement spares him a conspiracy charge but carries up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. (With inputs from New York Times)
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Goffstown man pleads guilty in Harvard Medical School body parts case
A Goffstown man accused of trafficking human body parts out of Harvard Medical School's morgue has plead guilty for his role in the gruesome nationwide scheme. Cedric Lodge, 57, pleaded guilty during a change of plea hearing Wednesday in federal court in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, according to his plea agreement. Lodge, the former manager of Harvard Medical School's morgue, was arrested two years ago in connection to a scheme where people bought and sold human remains stolen from Harvard and a mortuary in Arkansas. Investigators accused Lodge of letting buyers come into the morgue to pick out body parts they wanted to buy. He would allegedly steal parts including brains, skin and bones from donated cadavers before their scheduled cremation, bring them to his home and ship them to buyers through the U.S. Postal Service. The scheme allegedly operated from 2018 through 2022, according to court documents. A brief filed in March indicated lawyers for Lodge were attempting to have the charges against him tossed out. Lodge's lawyers had argued the charges don't hold up because human body parts are not legally considered property and can't be assigned a market value. Lodge worked in the morgue as part of the Anatomical Gift Program until Harvard Medical School terminated his employment on May 6, 2024. According to U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam of the Middle District of Pennsylvania, a nationwide network of people bought and sold human remains stolen from the morgue and the Arkansas mortuary. Court documents show Harvard Medical School employees are not allowed to 'remove, keep, or sell any human remains, in whole or in part, belonging to a donated cadaver.' Prosecutors claim in court paperwork that Lodge transported the stolen body parts from Boston to his home in Goffstown and made sales arrangements via cellphone and social media. In October 2020, a customer purchased two 'dissected human faces' for $600 from Lodge, the indictment alleges. Another sent Denise Lodge, Lodge's wife, a check for $1,000 with the memo line 'Head number 7,' documents state. In November 2020, a customer sent another $200 check with the memo line 'braiiiiiins.' Court documents allege Denise Lodge shipped packages of human remains from a post office in Manchester. Lodge's plea comes a year after Denise Lodge agreed to a plea deal of her own on a federal charge of interstate transport of stolen goods. Denise Lodge's attorney said in February 2024 that her client's husband 'was doing this and she just kind of went along with it,' adding 'what happened here is wrong' and 'more of a moral and ethical dilemma … than a criminal case.' Cedric Lodge admitted to having sold remains to Joshua Taylor and Andrew Ensanian, among others. Many of the remains purchased from Lodge were resold for a profit, including to Jeremy Pauley, who previously entered a guilty plea to conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen human remains. Several other defendants have previously entered guilty pleas in related cases, including Lodge's wife, Denise Lodge, Joshua Taylor, Andrew Ensanian, Matthew Lampi, and Angelo Pereyra. Lampi was sentenced to 15 months in prison and Pereyra was sentenced to 18 months. Denise Lodge and Joshua Taylor are still awaiting sentencing. Additionally, Candace Chapman-Scott, who stole remains from an Arkansas crematorium where she was employed and sold them to Pauley in Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty in Arkansas federal court and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Ex-Harvard Med School Morgue Manager Helped Steal Corpses
Harvard is in the news a lot this week — mostly about lawsuits and executive orders and the like. But the prestigious university is also relevant for another reason: its former Medical School Morgue Manager has admitted to helping steal corpses. According to the Associated Press, Cedric Lodge, 57, pleaded guilty in Pennsylvania to the interstate transport of stolen remains. The crime carries up to 10 years in prison. Lodge was hardly alone in this crime though, which included the theft of hands, feet, heads, and other body parts stolen from corpses. Federal prosecutors say that Lodge was part of a nationwide network of people who were buying and selling stolen body parts. Lodge's wife, Denise was also involved in the scheme, coordinating the online sales of at least two dozen hands, two feet, nine spines, parts of skulls, five dissected human faces, and two dissected heads. The body parts were stolen from Harvard and a mortuary in Arkansas. The bodies stolen from Harvard had been donated to the school for research. A previous article from the AP detailed that Cedric would take the body parts home from work and store them in the couple's home. Sometimes, they would mail the stolen parts to customers. Other times, Cedric would allow people to come to the morgue and allow people to select which parts they wanted. Cedric was fired from Harvard 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,' Harvard Medical School deans George Daley and Edward Hundert said in a shared statement. '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.' Ex-Harvard Med School Morgue Manager Helped Steal Corpses first appeared on Men's Journal on May 23, 2025
USA Today
23-05-2025
- USA Today
Ex-Harvard morgue manager pleads guilty to trafficking organs, brains, other remains
Ex-Harvard morgue manager pleads guilty to trafficking organs, brains, other remains Lodge and his co-conspirators would sometimes ship the stolen human remains through the United States Postal Service, court documents say. Show Caption Hide Caption Pennsylvania man charged with buying human body parts online A Pennsylvania man has been charged with abuse of a corpse and receiving stolen property for allegedly trying to buy human remains online. unbranded - Newsworthy, unbranded - Newsworthy Organs, brains, skin, hands, faces and dissected heads are examples of the human remains stolen and trafficked by a former morgue manager at Harvard University, the ex-employee admitted in federal court. Cedric Lodge, 57, pleaded guilty on May 21 in the Middle District of Pennsylvania to the interstate transport of stolen human remains, Acting U.S. Attorney John Gurganus announced on May 22. From 2018 through at least March 2020, Lodge was involved in the sale and trafficking of human remains stolen from Harved Medical School's morgue in Boston, Massachusetts, according to the U.S. attorney's office. At the time of the crimes, Lodge was employed as the manager of Harvard Medical School's morgue. The stolen remains came from donated cadavers after they were used for research and teaching purposes, federal prosecutors said. Before they could be disposed of, Lodge took the remains without the knowledge or permission of Harvard, the donor of the cadavers or the donor's family, according to the U.S. attorney's office. "We are appalled to learn that something so disturbing could happen on our campus — a community dedicated to healing and serving others," George Daley, dean of the Faculty of Medicine, and Edward Hundert, dean for Medical Education, said in a joint statement in 2023. "The reported incidents are a betrayal of (the Harvard Medical School) 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." Who bought the stolen human remains? Once in Lodge's possession, he transported the remains to his home in New Hampshire. After Lodge and his wife, Denise Lodge, sold the remains, they would ship them to buyers in other states, or the buyer would purchase them directly and transport the body parts themselves, the U.S. attorney's office said. According to federal prosecutors, the stolen remains sold by Lodge were transported from the morgue in Boston to various locations in Salem, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. Lodge admitted to selling the remains to multiple individuals who have since pleaded guilty, including Jeremy Pauley, Joshua Taylor, Andrew Ensanian, Matthew Lampi and Angelo Pereyra. According to court documents obtained by USA TODAY, Ensanian and Pereyra bought and transported remains worth $5,000 or more. Lodge, his wife and Taylor would communicate with potential buyers of the stolen human remains through social media websites and cell phones, an indictment against the three says. According to the court document, the group sometimes shipped the remains through the U.S. Postal Service to Pennsylvania and elsewhere. When will Cedric Lodge be sentenced to prison? Another individual involved in the scheme was Candace Chapman-Scott, who stole remains from an Arkansas crematorium where she was employed and sold them to Pauley in Pennsylvania, federal prosecutors said. She pleaded guilty in Arkansas federal court and was sentenced to 15 years. The only person who has not pleaded guilty or been convicted is Katrina Maclean, who federal prosecutors allege helped Lodge, his wife, and Taylor. According to a criminal complaint, Maclean owns Kat's Creepy Creations, a studio and store in Peabody, Massachusetts. As of May 23, court records do not show that Lodge has a sentencing date scheduled. Contributing: Eric Lagatta/ USA TODAY Jonathan Limehouse covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at JLimehouse@
Boston Globe
22-05-2025
- Boston Globe
Former Harvard morgue manager pleads guilty to selling stolen body parts across state lines
Cedric and Denise Lodge were indicted in New Hampshire in 2023 for selling body parts across the country for at least five years before they were both arrested, records show. The couple used Cedric Lodge's position at the Harvard morgue to divert organs and cadaver parts that had been donated to the Anatomical Gift Program and were supposed to be cremated and instead selling them to people in other states, according to court records and Prosecutors alleged that Cedric Lodge removed organs, brains, skin, hands, faces, dissected heads, and other parts from the cadavers after they were used as for teaching and research purposes. He and Denise Lodge then sold the remains and shipped or personally delivered them to buyers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania, prosecutors said. Advertisement In 2023, the couple had two Subarus with vanity plates. One read 'DKSHDWS,' in homage to the gothic-horror show from the 1960s, and t In addition to the Lodges, several others have also pleaded guilty in cases related to the Harvard morgue scandal. Advertisement A Pennsylvania man, Joshua Taylor, pleaded guilty last week to a charge of interstate transport of stolen remains. Prosecutors said Taylor made 39 online payments to an account controlled by Denise Lodge. The payments, which totaled $37,000, sometimes had memos like 'head number 7″ and $200 for 'braiiiiiins,' according to court records. Denise Lodge and Taylor are still awaiting sentencing, prosecutors said in a statement Thursday. Many of the remains were resold at a profit, prosecutors said, including to Jeremy Pauley, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy and transporting human remains across state lines. Candace Chapman-Scott, a former mortuary worker in Arkansas who was accused of selling body parts to Pauley, also pleaded guilty in Arkansas federal court and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, prosecutors said. A sentencing hearing for Lodge had not been scheduled in court records as of Thursday. Lodge's lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment. Nick Stoico can be reached at
