Former manager of Harvard Medical School morgue, Cedric Lodge, has been accused of selling stolen body parts donated to the institution as part of a nationwide scheme from 2018 through 2022, prosecutors announced on Wednesday.
According to a federal indictment, Lodge stole dissected portions of human cadavers, took them to his home in Goffstown, New Hampshire, and then sold them online.
According to a statement from the Justice Department, the school was a victim in this case. Cedric Lodge, 55, and his wife Denise Lodge, 63, of Goffstow, New Hampshire, were indicted alongside Katrina Maclean, 44, and Joshua Taylor, 46 by a federal jury in Pennsylvania and now face charges of conspiracy and interstate transport of stolen goods.
CNN reports that a statement from the US Attorney’s Office said, “At times, Cedric Lodge allowed [others] to enter the morgue at Harvard Medical School and examine cadavers to choose what to purchase.”
Katrina Maclean of Salem, Massachusetts, and Joshua Taylor, of West Lawn, Pennsylvania, allegedly bought body parts.
“Some crimes defy understanding,” said United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam in a statement. “The theft and trafficking of human remains strikes at the very essence of what makes us human.”
Both Cedric and Denise Lodge refused to answer reporters’ questions after making an initial appearance at a New Hampshire Federal courthouse on Wednesday.
Charges of conspiracy and interstate transit of stolen goods have been brought against all four defendants. They could each spend up to 15 years in jail if found guilty.
