Ex-Harvard Morgue Manager Jailed Eight Years for Selling Donated Body Parts

A former morgue manager at Harvard Medical School has been sentenced to eight years in prison for stealing and selling human body parts donated for scientific research, according to the US Justice Department.

Cedric Lodge, 58, was sentenced on Tuesday after pleading guilty in May to trafficking stolen human remains between 2018 and at least March 2020. The remains included internal organs, brains, skin, hands, faces and dissected heads taken from the medical school’s morgue.

Prosecutors said Lodge removed the body parts without the knowledge or consent of Harvard Medical School, the donors or their families. Investigations revealed that he transported the remains from the school near Boston to his home in Goffstown, New Hampshire, as well as to other locations in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, before shipping them to buyers in different states.

Harvard Medical School said Lodge was dismissed from his position in May 2023 following the discovery of the crimes.

Lodge’s wife, Denise Lodge, 65, was also involved in the scheme and was sentenced to one year in prison, the Justice Department said.

Authorities noted that many of the stolen human remains were later resold by buyers for profit. Several individuals who purchased the remains have already been sentenced, while others are still awaiting sentencing.

“This sentencing is another step toward ensuring accountability for a crime that violated the trust of donors and their families,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia field office.