By: Alicia Chen
One of the people that has been heavily connected to this crime is Cedric Lodge, a former manager of the morgue, aged 55. Authorities discovered that he had been stealing dissected body parts from the corpses during a period of 4 years, from 2018-2022, without the consent or knowledge of the school. He kept some of these body parts, which included brains, bones, skin, and even heads; others he distributed to sellers across the country.
Lodge was fired when this horrible thievery was discovered and is still waiting in line to appear in court.
Deans George Daley and Edward Hundert said they were “appalled to learn that something so disturbing could happen on our campus-a community dedicated to healing and serving others. 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.”
Gerard Karam, a United States Attorney, agrees. He said, “Some crimes defy understanding. The theft and trafficking of humans remain strike 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 changes, we are seeking to secure some measure of justice for all these victims.”
Three other people have also been charged with thievery: Katrina Maclean, aged 44, Joshua Taylor, aged 46, and Mathew Lampi, aged 52. They are the ones responsible for the distribution of stolen body parts across an array of states.
After Cedric Lodge and his wife, Denise Lodge, shipped the body parts to buyers in exchange for money, Maclean and Taylor would then sell the body parts.r They communicated via social media and phone calls.
They were part of a vast network of people who bought and sold body parts stolen from Harvard Medical School and a morgue located in Arkansas.
Lampi has partnered with Jeremy Pauley, aged 41, who bought from Candace Chapman Scott. She worked at a morgue and stole from corpses that were to be cremated, many of which were supposed to be utilized for research. Lampi and Pauley have sold and exchanged more than 100,000 dollars worth of body parts through online payments.
All people involved in this case are recognized as innocent unless decided otherwise in court. If they are found to be guilty, they may face up to 15 years in prison followed by a fine and a term of supervised release.
An FBI Special Agent stated that “The defendants violated the trust of the deceased and their families all in the name of greed. While today’s charges cannot undo the unfathomable pain this heinous crime has caused, the FBI will continue to work tirelessly to see that justice is served.”