Several Accused Of Trafficking Stolen Body Parts At Harvard Medical School Morgue

BOSTON: Two faces dissected for $600. Human brains for $200. “Head #7” for $1,000.

A former Harvard Medical School morgue director, his wife and a Peabody business owner are among several people accused of trafficking stolen body parts from the school’s morgue that were intended for use by researchers in a grotesque multi-state scheme, with part of the body. pieces sold through Facebook and PayPal and sent through US Postal Service mail, court documents allege.

Cedric Lodge, 55, and his wife, Denise Lodge, 63, both of Goffstown, New Hampshire, and Katrina Maclean, 44, of Salem, who own Kat’s Creepy Creations in Peabody, are among the defendants by a federal grand jury in Pennsylvania on charges of conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen property, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Cedric Lodge is accused of allowing people to visit the Harvard morgue where he worked as a manager to “examine the corpses to choose what to buy,” prosecutors said.

Cedric Lodge Cedric Lodge, 55, of Goffstown, NH, former morgue director at Harvard Medical School, leaves a New Hampshire court on June 14, 2023. (The Boston Globe)

Wearing a gray T-shirt and surrounded by reporters, Cedric Lodge remained silent as he left a New Hampshire courtroom Wednesday. His wife, Denise, shielded her face from reporters as she separately left a court in New Hampshire. Maclean, wearing sunglasses, held the hand of an unidentified man as he left U.S. District Court in Boston.

Also indicted on the trafficking charges were Joshua Taylor, 46, of West Lawn, Pennsylvania, and Mathew Lampi, 52, of East Bethel, Minnesota.

Additionally, Jeremy Pauley, 41, of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, was indicted by criminal information, and Candace Chapman Scott, of Little Rock, Arkansas, was previously indicted in the Eastern District of Arkansas.

Pauley was arrested last year in Pennsylvania for allegedly buying human remains on Facebook.

‘The Conspiracy’

Prosecutors allege that from 2018 to 2022, Cedric Lodge, while managing the morgue for Harvard Medical School’s anatomical gift program, stole organs and other parts from corpses donated for medical research and education before their scheduled cremations, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

He is accused of taking body parts stolen from the university morgue to his home in Goffstown, New Hampshire, from where his wife, Denise, sold the remains to Katrina Maclean, owner of Kat’s Creepy Creations in Peabody, who then sold the stolen goods. body parts at his business, court documents allege.

Creepy creations (Kat’s creepy creations)

In March, FBI agents were seen at the Maclean’s Peabody business and the Salem home.

Kat’s Creepy Creations sells dolls and “Creations that boggle the mind and shake the soul. Creepy Dolls, Oddities, Bone Art,” according to the business’ Instagram page.

According to the indictment filed Tuesday in the U.S. District of Pennsylvania, from 2018 to March of this year, the Lodges, Maclean and Taylor conspired with Pauley and others to transport the stolen body parts from Boston to New Hampshire and pennsylvania At times, they allegedly used the US Postal Service to ship the remains.

Maclean is accused of selling the stolen remains “to buyers in several states,” including Pauley in Pennsylvania, and also “stored and sold the stolen remains to Kat’s Creepy Creations,” the indictment states.

Denise Lodge also sold the remains to Joshua Taylor and others using her cellphone and social media websites, the US attorney’s office said.

Denise Lodge Denise Lodge, 63, of Goffstown, NH, shields her face as she leaves a court in New Hampshire on June 14, 2023. (The Boston Globe)

“At times, Cedric Lodge allowed Maclean and Taylor to enter the morgue at Harvard Medical School and examine the corpses in order to choose what to buy,” the U.S. Attorney’s office said. “On some occasions, Taylor transported the stolen remains to Pennsylvania. On other occasions, the Lodges shipped stolen remains to Taylor and others out of state.

In October 2020, Maclean “agreed to buy two dissected faces for $600” from Cedric Lodge, and the two agreed to meet at the Harvard Medical School morgue on October 28, 2020 “to carry out the transaction,” the indictment states.

Katrina Maclean Katrina Maclean, 44, of Salem, owner of Kat’s Creepy Creations in Peabody, leaves a courtroom in Boston on June 14, 2023. (Boston 25)

The indictment further alleges that in June and July 2021, Maclean “sent human skin” to Pauley to “tan the skin to create leather.” On July 31, 2021, Pauley sent a photograph of the leather “and Maclean agreed to provide Pauley with human skin in lieu of monetary payment,” the indictment states.

“Maclean then contacted Cedric Lodge and asked him about obtaining human skin to send to ‘the friend I sent the chest piece to be tanned,'” the indictment states, in ·stating that on August 15, 2021, Pauley shipped the tanned human skin from Pennsylvania to Maclean’s address in Massachusetts.

The indictment alleges that between September 2018 and July 2021, Taylor transferred 39 electronic payments totaling $37,355 to Denise Lodge’s PayPal account in payment for human remains stolen by her husband, Cedric. from Harvard Medical School.

On May 19, 2019, Taylor allegedly sent Denise Lodge $1,000 with a note that read “head number 7,” the indictment states. And on November 20, 2020, Taylor allegedly sent her $200 with a note that said “braiiiiiiins.”

“An Abominable Betrayal”

Harvard University officials reported the alleged crimes on campus on Wednesday.

“We are appalled that something so disturbing could happen on our campus: a community dedicated to healing and serving others,” George Daley, dean of Harvard Medical School, and Edward Hundert, dean of Education Doctor of the Harvard Medical School. , said in a joint statement.

“The reported incidents are a betrayal of HMS and, most importantly, of each of the individuals who selflessly chose to donate their bodies to HMS through the Anatomical Gift Program to advance medical education and research “, the statement said. “We deeply regret the pain this news will cause the families and loved ones of our anatomical donors, and HMS is committed to engaging with them during this deeply distressing time.”

Harvard has established the following specifically for family members and close relatives:

Harvard Medical School’s Anatomical Gift Program accepts donations of cadavers from the public for use in research and teaching by medical and dental students, according to the school’s website and the accusation

The school documents the identities of the donated corpses and maintains a database and record of each corpse, according to the indictment. As manager of the mortuary, Cedric Lodge was tasked with confirming the identity of each corpse prior to cremation using identifying marks and assigned identification numbers.

“Harvard Medical School employees are not permitted to remove, retain, or sell any human remains, in whole or in part, belonging to a donated cadaver,” the indictment states.

After a period of up to 24 months, when research studies are completed, Harvard Medical School disposes of the remains “as chosen in the Instrument of Anatomical Gift, to the extent compatible with the current policy of Harvard Medical School,” the school’s website states. .

Individuals may retrieve the remains at the expense of the donor’s estate or family for private burial, or may request that the school arrange for cremation.

Cremated remains may be returned to the donor’s delegate, picked up at Harvard, or buried at Tewksbury’s Pine Hill Cemetery in a registered grave, provided by Harvard, according to the school.

A memorial service for donors buried at Pine Hill Cemetery is held each fall.

Prosecutors allege that after the Lodges bought and shipped the stolen remains out of state, Maclean and Taylor resold the remains for profit, including to Pauley in Pennsylvania. Pauley also bought stolen human remains from Scott, who stole remains from his employer, a mortuary and crematorium in Little Rock, Arkansas, the US attorney’s office said.

Photo by Jeremy Pauley Jeremy Pauley is accused of buying human remains on Facebook. (Cumberland, Pennsylvania Office)

“Scott stole parts of the corpses he was supposed to have cremated, many of which had been donated and used for educational and research purposes by a local medical school, as well as the corpses of two dead babies who were supposed to be cremated and returned. as cremations to their families,” the US Attorney’s office said. “Scott sold the stolen scraps to Pauley and shipped them to Pauley in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Pauley sold many of the stolen scraps he bought to other people, including Matthew Lampi. Lampi and Pauley bought and sold each other over an extended period of time and exchanged over $100,000 in online payments.”

Candace Scott Candace Scott, of Little Rock, Arkansas, is accused of selling body parts from bodies that had been donated for medical research. (Or from the Pulaski County Sheriff)

Prosecutors echoed the sentiment of Harvard Medical School officials in denouncing the alleged trafficking of human remains.

“Some crimes defy understanding,” U.S. Attorney Gerard Karam of Pennsylvania said in a statement. “The theft and trafficking of human remains strikes at the very essence of what makes us human. It is particularly egregious that many of the victims here have volunteered to allow their remains to be used to educate medical professionals and advance the interests of science and healing.”

“For them and their families to be taken advantage of in the name of profit is appalling,” Karam said. “With these charges, we are seeking some measure of justice for all of these victims. I would like to thank Harvard Medical School, which is also a victim here, for its cooperation in this investigation.”

The case was investigated by the FBI, US Postal Inspection Service and US Attorney’s offices in several state districts, including Arkansas.

“The defendants violated the trust of the decedent and their families in the name of greed,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Jacqueline Maguire said in a statement. “While today’s charges cannot undo the unfathomable pain this heinous crime has caused, the FBI will continue to work tirelessly to ensure justice is served.”

The United States Attorney’s Office is working to identify and contact as many victims and families of victims affected by this case as possible.

Anyone who believes they or a family member may have been affected by this case is urged to call the Victim Witness Unit at 717-614-4249 or email usapam-victim.information @usdoj.gov.