Harvard Medical School morgue manager, others charged, indicted for trafficking human remains

The Harvard Medical School morgue manager, his wife and several others were indicted Wednesday for trafficking human remains stolen from Harvard Medical School and an Arkansas mortuary.

A federal grand jury indicted Harvard Medical School morgue manager Cedric Lodge, his wife, Denise Lodge, Katrina Maclean, Joshua Taylor and Mathew Lampi on conspiracy and interstate transport of stolen goods charges.

U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania Gerard Karam said that according to the indictments, the network of individuals across the country purchased and sold stolen human remains from Harvard Medical School and a mortuary located in Arkansas. Cedric Lodge stole organs and other parts of cadavers that were donated to be used for research and transported them to his residence In New Hampshire, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

“Some crimes defy understanding,” Karam 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 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.”

After stealing the remains, he then partnered with wife Denise Lodge to sell the body parts to Maclean, 44, and Taylor, 46, in deals that were organized over phone calls and social media platforms. The attorney’s office stated that the morgue manager allowed Maclean and Taylor to sometimes come into the Harvard Medical School morgue to “choose what to purchase.”

Sometimes, Taylor would drive back to Pennsylvania with the remains, but other times the Lodges would mail the remains to Taylor and other individuals who purchased them, according to the office.

“Today, the United States Attorney has announced charges against several individuals who used the United States mail to ship stolen human remains,” Christopher Nielsen, the inspector in charge of the Philadelphia Division of the Postal Inspection Service, said in a statement.

“Robbing families of the remains of their loved ones is an unconscionable act and confounds our collective sense of decency,” Nielsen added.

The remains Maclean and Taylor purchased were then resold by them for profit to others, including Pennsylvania resident Jeremy Pauley, 41. Pauley also bought human remains from a different seller, Candace Chapman Scott, who had stolen human remains from the Arkansas mortuary where she worked.

Pauley, for his part, sold many of the stolen remains he purchased to Lampi and other individuals. Lampi and Pauley bought and sold from each other over an extended time period and exchanged more than $100,000 in online payments, according to the release.

Pauley faces a criminal information charge for his alleged part in the scheme, and Chapman Scott was previously indicted in the Eastern District of Arkansas for her crimes.

The U.S. attorney’s office said the remains Scott stole included the corpses of two babies who were stillborn and were supposed to be cremated and returned to the families. Pauley resold the remains that he bought for a profit, according to the office.

If convicted, those charged could face up to 15 years in prison, a term of supervised release after they leave prison and a fine.