Cedric Lodge, the former morgue manager at Harvard Medical School, along with other suspects named in a federal indictment, has been accused of selling stolen human body parts on Facebook, according to reports.
Lodge, 55, and his wife Katrina MacLean, 44, and four other individuals were charged with trafficking in stolen human remains, per the Department of Justice.
They allegedly sold skulls, hearts, genitals, skin, and fetal remains through a Facebook group that focussed on buying, selling, and trading "oddities," according to a Mail Online report.
Tracy Walder, NewsNation's national security contributor, reflected on the case and stated there was a "hefty black market" for the selling of human body parts. "I think unfortunately some of these folks have become incredibly desensitized and are very much motivated by the profit and the money involved in this business," she said.
The DOJ issued a press statement on June 14 alleging there was a nationwide network of individuals that were buying and selling human remains stolen from Harvard Medical School and a mortuary in Arkansas and that those involved had been charged.
"The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Cedric Lodge, age 55, of Goffstown, New Hampshire, Katrina Maclean, age 44, of Salem, Massachusetts, Joshua Taylor, age 46, of West Lawn, Pennsylvania, Denise Lodge, age 63, of Goffstown, New Hampshire, and Mathew Lampi, age 52, of East Bethel, Minnesota, were indicted by a federal grand jury on conspiracy and interstate transport of stolen goods charges," the statement said.
"Additionally, Jeremy Pauley, age 41, of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, was charged by Criminal Information, and Candace Chapman Scott, of Little Rock, Arkansas, was previously indicted in the Eastern District of Arkansas."
Lodge had worked at the morgue for almost 30 years and is suspected of conducting this illegal operation between 2018 and 2022. He would allegedly steal organs from donated bodies before their scheduled cremation.
Newsweek has contacted Harvard University via email for comment.
He also allegedly brought the human remains to his home in New Hampshire to sell. In at least one instance, he reportedly brought prospective buyers to the morgue to choose which remains they wanted to purchase.
Both Scott and Pauley were members of the Facebook group that was dedicated to selling oddities, including antiques, toys, and witchcraft supplies. They have both pleaded not guilty, according to a report in the Associated Press.
Scott, who worked at a funeral home in Little Rock, Arkansas, first contacted Pauley in October 2021 and enquired about getting an "intact embalmed brain," according to federal court documents seen by the Mail Online.
"I follow your page and work and LOVE it. I'm a mortician and work at a trade service mortuary," Scott said in the message.
"We are contracted through the medical hospital here in Little Rock to cremate their cadavers when the medical students are done with them before they discard them in a cremation garden. Just out of curiosity, would you know anyone in the market for a fully intact [sic], embalmed brain?'"
U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam condemned the individuals for taking advantage of the deceased for profit.
"Some crimes defy understanding. The theft and trafficking of human remains strikes at the very essence of what makes us human," he said.
"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.
"For them and their families to be taken advantage of in the name of profit is appalling. With these charges, we are seeking to secure some measure of justice for all these victims."
The U.S. Attorney's Office has said it will continue to identify and contact the families of as many of the victims as possible but it is not yet known how many bodies were violated.
"We are appalled to learn that something so disturbing could happen on our campus," George Q. Daley, the dean of the faculty of Medicine at Harvard University, said in a statement released on June 14.
"The reported incidents are a betrayal of HMS and, most importantly, each of the individuals who altruistically chose to will their bodies to HMS through the Anatomical Gift Program to advance medical education and research.
"We are so very sorry for the pain this news will cause for our anatomical donors' families and loved ones, and HMS pledges to engage with them during this deeply distressing time."
Newsweek has contacted the DOJ via its website for comment.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Gerrard Kaonga is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter and is based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on U.S. ... Read more
