A federal indictment claims that the former mortuary manager at Harvard Medical School stole, sold, and shipped human body parts.
According to the federal indictment, which was made public in the US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Cedric Lodge, 55, a mortuary worker at the medical school in Boston, stole dissected body parts from donated cadavers, including heads, brains, skin, bones, and other human remains, without the school’s knowledge or consent. He then removed the remains from the mortuary in Massachusetts and brought them to his home in New Hampshire. According to the indictment, Joshua Taylor, 46, and Katrina Maclean, 44, were among the people to whom Lodge allegedly sold the human remains along with his wife Denise, 63.
The court records claim that Maclean is the owner of Kat’s Creepy Creations, a shop in Peabody, Massachusetts, where she is accused of selling other people the stolen body parts. In the indictment, conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen property are both accused of the Lodges, Maclean, and Taylor. The Lodges and Maclean could not be reached by CNN to provide a statement. In response to the accusations, Taylor’s lawyer, Christopher Opiel, told CNN that they had nothing to say. In a statement, US attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania Gerard M. Karam said that some crimes are beyond comprehension.
“Theft of human remains and the trade in them are in conflict with all that makes us human. It is especially appalling given so many of the victims here chose to authorize the use of their remains for medical professional education, the advancement of science, and therapeutic purposes. It is abhorrent that they and their families would be exploited for financial gain. We aim to provide some justice for all of these victims with these charges. In a news release, federal prosecutors stated that three additional individuals, including one who had previously been charged in Arkansas, were also named in separate indictments and that they were all charged concerning the case.
According to an official letter from Harvard Medical School, Cedric Lodge was dismissed on May 6. In the words of university administrators, Lodge’s actions were “an abhorrent betrayal.” Harvard is not connected to the other defendants. For instructional purposes, the medical school at Harvard accepts voluntarily donated human remains.
Harvard University lists Sujood like posture ‘best’ to treat back pain
When the medical school is through with the remains, they are usually cremated and either returned to the donor’s family or interred at a cemetery in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, according to the prosecution’s testimony in court filings. According to authorities, The Lodges are accused of stealing, selling, and transporting the remains between 2018 and early March 2023, often using the US Postal Service.
