Harvard Morgue Manager Sold Body Parts Online

Summary

A former manager at Harvard Medical School's morgue, Cedric Lodge, has been accused of stealing and selling human body parts from donated cadavers. Investigations revealed that Lodge allegedly removed body parts from the morgue between 2018 and March 2023, transporting them to his New Hampshire home with his wife Denise, and then mailing them to buyers. Buyers included Katrina Maclean, who ran Kat's Creepy Creations and incorporated the remains into her art, and Joshua Taylor. Maclean reportedly paid $600 for two human faces and engaged in trades with a "human blood artist" named Jeremy Pauley. Federal investigators suspect that 350 to 400 bodies may have been mishandled. Lodge was fired in May 2023, and the Lodges, Maclean, and Taylor were charged in June 2023 with conspiracy and transporting stolen goods. This incident is reminiscent of a 2003 scandal at UCLA's Willed Body Donation program where a former embalmer and the program director were found to have sold body parts for profit, leading to prison sentences. Harvard Medical School is conducting its own investigation into the scope of the crime and the impacted donors.