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.
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 Paste BN, 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/ Paste BN
Jonathan Limehouse covers breaking and trending news for Paste BN. Reach him at JLimehouse@gannett.com.