A group of people stole and sold human remains from the Harvard Medical School morgue, according to federal prosecutors, and a grand jury indicted the morgue manager and his wife, among others.
The body parts theft scheme ran from 2018 to early 2023, according to a complaint filed in federal court in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where one of the defendants lives. Another defendant owns a store called Kat’s Creepy Creations in Peabody, Massachusetts.
Cedric Lodge, the morgue manager, is accused of allowing buyers into the morgue to pick up remains they wanted to buy, then stole donated cadaver parts like brains, skin and bones, brought them to his New Hampshire home and they sent them to buyers through the mail.
The indictment also names Denise Lodge, the wife of Cedric Lodge, and Katrina Maclean and Joshua Taylor as defendants. It was not immediately clear if they had lawyers who could discuss the charges.
Cedric Lodge’s name was no longer listed on the Harvard Medical School website as of Wednesday, but an archived version of his bio page said he had worked with the school’s Anatomical Gift Program since the fall. of 1995 and who was responsible for “maintaining the anatomical morgue and teaching laboratories while working closely with HMS faculty and students”.
A person charged in the scheme allegedly sent the wife of the Harvard Medical School morgue manager “$200 with a note that read, ‘braiiiiins,'” according to the complaint.
“Some crimes defy comprehension,” US Attorney Gerard Karam said in a statement. “The theft and trafficking of human remains attacks the very essence of what makes us human. 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. To have them and their families taken advantage of in the name of profit is appalling.”
The federal complaint describes a black market dealing in human remains facilitated by the Lodges, who allegedly took body parts before they were cremated.
In 2020, MacLean allegedly paid $600 for two stuffed faces he picked up at Cedric Lodge’s school morgue. Months later, Taylor, who is from West Lawn, Pennsylvania, sent Denise Lodge “$200 with a memo that said, ‘braiiiiins,'” according to the complaint.
The Lodges were due to appear in federal court in New Hampshire for separate hearings on Wednesday.
The FBI confirmed in March that agents searched two locations in Peabody, including Kat’s Creepy Creations. The office had no comment on the search at the time.
The shop sells ghoulish and horror-themed oddities.
Cedric Lodge’s name was no longer listed on the Harvard Medical School website as of Wednesday, but an archived version of his bio page said he had worked with the school’s Anatomical Gift Program since the fall. of 1995 and who was responsible for “maintaining the anatomical morgue and teaching laboratories while working closely with HMS faculty and students”.
