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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)
Mint
25-05-2025
- Mint
‘Head number 7, braiiins': Chilling PayPal memos of ex-Harvard worker, wife who sold human organs
In a case as macabre as it is surreal, a former manager at the Harvard Medical School morgue has pleaded guilty to trafficking stolen human remains including dissected heads, brains, faces, and skin, and selling them on the black market. Alongside the man, Cedric Lodge, his wife Denise Lodge, was also involved, who received $37,355.16 (nearly ₹ 32 lakh) over three years. Payments were made via PayPal and had memos such as "head number 7" and 'braiiiiiiins," as per the federal indictment obtained by People Magazine. Cedric Lodge, 57, admitted on May 21 in a federal court in Pennsylvania to interstate transport of stolen human remains taken from cadavers donated to Harvard for medical research and education. Between 2018 and March 2020, Lodge used his privileged access to the school's morgue to harvest body parts from corpses that had already been dissected, and used for academic purposes, but had yet to be disposed of. The ex-Harvard worker took them to his home and, along with his wife, sold them to people in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, prosecutors said. The transactions totalled to tens of thousands of dollars, ABC News reported, citing the indictment. Prosecutors say Cedric Lodge ferried the stolen remains from Harvard's morgue in Boston to his home in Goffstown, New Hampshire. He and his wife, Denise Lodge, then sold the body parts to buyers across state lines, sometimes shipping them directly and at other times allowing the buyers to pick them up in person. Their network stretched across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania. On one occasion, Denise Lodge supplied a Massachusetts woman with human skin, knowing she intended to tan it. He even met her at the morgue to hand over 'two dissected faces,' revealed the indictment, state multiple reports. Lodge now faces up to 10 years in federal prison, plus fines and a supervised release. His sentencing will be determined by Chief US District Judge Matthew W Brann. Lodge's wife, Denise Lodge, pleaded guilty last year and is waiting for her sentence. The story has horrified Harvard officials and the public alike. "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 statement.
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@
Fox News
22-05-2025
- Fox News
Former Harvard Medical School morgue manager pleads guilty to swiping, selling stolen body parts
A former Harvard Medical School morgue manager recently entered a plea in relation to an alleged scheme to steal and sell donated body parts. Cedric Lodge, 57, of Goffstown, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty to interstate transport of stolen human remains on Wednesday before Chief U.S. District Judge Matthew W. Brann, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The maximum penalty under federal law is 10 years in prison, a term of supervised release following imprisonment and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the judge after "consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the federal sentencing guidelines," according to the release. Officials said Lodge admitted that from 2018 through at least March 2020 he participated in the sale and interstate transport of human remains stolen from Harvard Medical School morgue in Massachusetts. Lodge, then-manager of the Harvard Medical School Morgue, removed human remains, including organs, brains, skin, hands, faces, dissected heads and other parts from donated cadavers after they had been used for research and teaching purposes, but before they could be disposed of according to the anatomical gift donation agreement between the donor and the school, according to the release. He took the remains to his home in New Hampshire without the permission or knowledge of his employer, the donors or donors' families. After he and his wife sold the remains, they would ship the remains to the buyers in other states or the buyer would take possession directly and transport the remains themselves, according to the release. Remains stolen and sold by Lodge for a profit were sent to locations in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. "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," Harvard Medical School Dean George Daley wrote in a statement to Fox News Digital. "While Lodge has agreed to plead guilty and taken responsibility for his crimes, this likely provides little consolation to the families impacted," Daley added. "We continue to express our deep compassion to all those affected." Several defendants charged in related cases pleaded guilty, receiving sentences of about a year in prison. Denise Lodge and Joshua Taylor are still awaiting sentencing. The case was investigated by the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the East Pennsboro Township Police Department in Pennsylvania. Harvard University did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Former morgue manager at Harvard admits to selling human remains
BOSTON (WWLP) – The former morgue manager at Harvard Medical School in Boston pleaded guilty to trafficking stolen human remains. In a news release from the Department of Justice, 57-year-old Cedric Lodge of Goffstown, New Hampshire, stole organs and other parts of cadavers donated for medical research and education from the morgue from 2018 through 2022. Lodge would sometimes take stolen remains, which included heads, brains, skin, and bones, to his home where he and his wife, Denise Lodge, would then sell the remains to buyers in other states, prosecutors said. Some remains were sent through the mail, while other buyers were allegedly allowed to visit the morgue to select remains for purchase. On Wednesday, Lodge pleaded guilty to interstate transport of stolen human remains. He faces up to 10 years in prison. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
