The theft of human remains from the Harvard Medical School morgue and their sale on the black market has shocked New England and left those who knew Cedric Lodge, the morgue manager accused of stealing and selling them, speechless.
Lodge, 55, was arrested Wednesday morning at his home in Goffstown, New Hampshire. He is accused of letting the buyers into the morgue, picking up the remains they wanted to buy, stealing donated body parts like brains, skin and bones, bringing them to his house and mailing them to the buyers.
His wife, Denise Lodge, was also among those arrested.
“It’s crazy,” said neighbor Roxanne Ryder. “I woke up this morning to a bunch of FBI agents with their guns. It’s crazy, it’s scary.”
An alleged scheme involving trading human remains stolen from the Harvard Medical School morgue for money was made public Wednesday as unsealed federal charging documents showed an apparently lucrative black market in body parts.
Federal prosecutors say the scheme began in 2018 and lasted until this year.
Also on the list of defendants is a woman named Katrina Maclean, who runs a store called Kat’s Creepy Creations in Peabody, Massachusetts.
Here is what is known about the case so far.
MORBID CHARGES DESCRIBED BY THE FEDERALS
Seven people in all have been charged in what investigators have said is a nationwide ring of people involved in the theft, sale and purchase of human remains, some of which came from Harvard Medical School.
Of the seven defendants, three are from New England, including the Lodges. Prosecutors allege that Cedric Lodge stole human organs and bones from cadavers donated for medical research, which were supposed to be cremated.
The couple’s home had been raided in March, but they were not arrested until Wednesday, leaving their neighbors in shock.
“It’s creepy that it’s two doors down, what kind of sick people do we have in this world that would even buy this,” Ryder added.
Among the alleged buyers is Katrina Maclean, who Cedric reportedly allowed into the morgue to pick out the parts she and a Pennsylvania man wanted to buy, including the skin, brains and bones. Court documents say that in 2020, Maclean bought two dissected faces for $600 and shipped human skin to Pennsylvania, while she managed Kat’s Creepy Creations store in Peabody that sells creepy dolls, bone art and other oddities.
He did not speak to the media as he left federal court Wednesday, but his attorney did speak on his behalf.
“She had never been in trouble and obviously this was very distressing,” said her lawyer, Gordon Spencer. “She just wants to be home with her family.”
REACTION OF THE AFFECTED FAMILY
A pair of sisters were in disbelief after learning their father’s remains were among those said to have been stolen.
“It’s like a dream, you know what I mean? It’s like it’s not real, but it’s real,” said Paula Peltonovich.
Peltonovich and her sister, Darlene Lynch, said their parents were police officers and wanted to donate their bodies to science. They want their mother’s body back, now.
“My concern is getting my mom back,” Peltonovich said. “I don’t want my mom to be touched. I mean, seriously, it’s all wrong.”
Harvard Medical School said Wednesday that it was “deeply sorry for the pain and uncertainty caused by this troubling news.” He established a resource page for family members of people who have donated their bodies to the Anatomical Gift Program.
Among those resources is a free information and support center that can be reached 24 hours a day at 1-888-268-1129, the institution said.
