Four individuals face charges in the four-year, nationwide trafficking of human remains stolen from Harvard Medical School. "Some crimes defy understanding," one U.S. attorney said of the case.
The indictment from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania alleges that, from 2018 through 2022, the manager of the morgue at Harvard Medical School stole organs and cadaver parts that were donated for medical research.
The manager, Cedric Lodge, collaborated with his wife, Denise Lodge, to sell the human remains to buyers from their residence in New Hampshire, according to charging records. Katrina Maclean and Joshua Taylor are two individuals who bought body parts from the Lodges, according to the indictment.
At times, Mr. Lodge allowed buyers to enter the Harvard Medical School morgue in Boston to shop for body parts by examining cadavers, officials said. In one exchange, Ms. Maclean bought two dissected faces for $600 in a transaction conducted at the medical school morgue, according to the indictment.
Buyers would transport the organs and body parts out of state or the Lodges mailed them out of state, according to the indictment. Some payments were made electronically via PayPal. In 2019, Mr. Taylor sent Ms. Lodge $1,000 with a note that read "head number 7." In 2020, Mr. Taylor sent $200 to Ms. Lodge with a note that read, "braiiiiiins," according to the indictment.
Ms. Maclean and Mr. Taylor then resold remains stolen from Harvard Medical School for profit, according to the indictment. One buyer in such secondary transactions was Jeremy Pauley, who also purchased human remains from another seller of corpses and body parts — the employee of a mortuary and crematorium in Little Rock, Ark., named Candace Chapman Scott, according to the indictment. Mr. Pauley is then alleged to have sold those body parts in subsequent transactions.
United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam characterized the indictment and allegations as incomprehensible.
"Some crimes defy understanding," he said. "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. 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."
Mr. Karam said Harvard Medical School "is also a victim here" and thanked the institution for its cooperation in the investigation.
The indictment from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania names four individuals — Mr. Lodge, Ms. Lodge, Ms. Maclean and Mr. Taylor. The four were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy and interstate transport of stolen goods. Mr. Pauley was charged by Criminal Information.
Ms. Scott was indicted in April in the Eastern District of Arkansas.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 15 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.