Morgue manager at Harvard Medical school charged with selling stolen body parts

A morgue manager at the prestigious Harvard Medical School (HMS) has been charged with selling stolen body parts. According to US prosecutors, on Wednesday (June 14), Cedric Lodge, the morgue manager, allegedly took dead body parts from his workplace without permission and then sold them. Lodge, 55, has been charged alongside his wife Denise Lodge and five other alleged co-conspirators for involvement in a "nationwide network" of bought and sold human remains.

According to a report by the Boston Globe, the FBI's Boston office said that special agents arrested the Lodges and a codefendantKatrina Maclean without incident. Three other defendants face charges in Pennsylvania, and one was previously indicted in Arkansas

Add WION as a Preferred Source

In a statement, US attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania Gerard Karam said, "Some crimes defy understanding."

"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," Attorney Karam added.

Appalled to learn something so disturbing could happen: Harvard

In a joint statement, George Daley, the dean of Harvard University's medicine faculty, and Edward Hundert, dean of medical education, said, "We are appalled to learn that something so disturbing could happen on our campus."

Lodgemanaged the morgue for Harvard's anatomical gifts program and was fired from his post on May 6.Prosecutors said that from 2018 to 2022, he stole organs and other parts of cadavers donated for medical research and education before their scheduled cremations.

The 55-year-old is accused of taking the human remains from the Harvard site in Boston to his hometown in Goffstown. From here, he and Denise sold the remains to two other accused- Katrina Maclean and Joshua Taylor, who then sold them for profit.

The indictment

According to a report by the Boston Globe, a federal grand jury indictment alleged that Lodge spent years diverting organs and cadaver parts that had been donated to the medical school’s Anatomical Gift Program and were supposed to be cremated.

The indictment further alleged that Maclean shipped human skin to Taylor to have him "tan the skin to create leather." Maclean, who owns Kat's Creepy creations, has been charged with trafficking in stolen human remains, among other counts.

On Wednesday, Cedric and Denise made separate court appearances in Concord. They were released on personal recognisance and must appear in federal court in Pennsylvania, where the case is being prosecuted, the report added.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.