(NewsReady.com) – In March, federal authorities notified Harvard Medical School that the manager of the morgue at their Anatomical Gift Program was under investigation. The school put Cedric Lodge on leave. Now, a federal grand jury has indicted the 55-year-old and several others for allegedly trafficking stolen body parts.
On June 14, the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced the indictments of Cedric Lodge, 63-year-old Denise Lodge, 44-year-old Katrina Maclean, 46-year-old Joshua Taylor, and 52-year-old Matthew Lampi. According to authorities, Mr. Lodge stole body parts from cadavers that families donated to Harvard. He’s accused of taking them back to his home in New Hampshire, where he and his wife then arranged the sales of the hair, skin, heads, and other parts.
The Lodges reportedly sold the parts to Taylor, Maclean, and others. Mr. Lodge is also accused of allowing the buyers to enter the Harvard morgue to look over the cadavers and decided which pieces they wanted to purchase. Taylor and Maclean then resold the parts to others through private arrangements and through her store, Kat’s Creepy Creations, in Massachusetts.
One of Maclean’s alleged customers was 41-year-old Jeremy Pauley, who was indicted in Arkansas. He then sold the remains to Lampi and others.
Harvard’s Dean of Medical Education, Edward Hundert, and Medical School Dean George Daley sent an email to its school affiliates expressing anger over Lodge’s actions. The email stated the actions of their nearly 30-year employee were a “betrayal” of the school and the people who donated their bodies to “advance medical education and research.”
Federal prosecutors are trying to identify the families who were impacted by the crime. As they figure out who the body parts belonged to, they are contacting families to let them know what happened. Anyone who believes their family might have been impacted by the crimes, which took place from 2018 through 2022, is asked to contact the US Attorney’s Victim and Witness Unit by calling (717) 614-4249 or emailing [email protected].
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