Photo: Madison Rogers (WBZ)
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Six people have been charged with trafficking in stolen human remains, including body parts stolen from the morgue at Harvard Medical School, Pennsylvania authorities announced Wednesday.
FBI special agents arrested Cedric Lodge, 55, of Goffstown, New Hampshire, Denise Lodge, 63, of Goffstown, New Hampshire, and Katrina Maclean, 44, of Salem, Massachusetts on Wednesday. Maclean owned and operated Kat's Creepy Creations in Peabody, Massachusetts, which was raided by federal agents in March.
The three suspects, along with Joshua Taylor, 46, of West Lawn, Pennsylvania, and Mathew Lampi, 52, of East Bethel, Minnesota, were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy and interstate transport of stolen goods, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said. Additionally, Jeremy Pauley, 41, of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania was charged by Criminal Information. Candace Chapman Scott, of Little Rock, Arkansas, was previously indicted in the Eastern District of Arkansas.
The charges allege that from 2018 through 2022, Cedric Lodge, manager of the morgue for the Anatomical Gifts Program at Harvard Medical School, stole organs and other cadaver parts donated for educational purposes before their scheduled cremations. Lodge at times took the remains back to his home in Goffstown, New Hampshire where he and his wife Denise sold them to Katrina Maclean, Joshua Taylor, and others.
The indictment said Taylor made 39 electronic payments, totaling $37.355.56, to a PayPal account controlled by Denise Lodge between Sept. 3, 2018, and July 21, 2021. One of the memos attached to a transaction read, "head number 7," while another labeled, "braiiiiiins."
These arrangements were made via phone messages and social media. At times, Cedric allowed Maclean and Taylor to visit and examine the cadavers at Harvard Medical School to choose their purchases.
On some occasions, Taylor transported stolen remains to Pennsylvania. On other occasions, Cedric and Denise Lodge shipped the stolen remains to Taylor and other buyers outside the state.
The charges further allege that Maclean and Taylor resold the stolen remains for profit, including to Jeremy Pauley in Pennsylvania. The indictment cited examples including MacLean agreeing to sell two dissected faces for $600 in October 2020 and shipping human skin to Pauley. Pauley was hired in July 2021 to tan the skin into leather in exchange for more human skin, then subsequently ship the skin back to Maclean.
Pauley also allegedly bought stolen human remains from Candace Chapman Scott, who worked at a mortuary and crematorium in Little Rock, Arkansas. Scott stole remains that she was supposed to have cremated, including parts donated to the mortuary for research purposes from an area medical school, as well as the remains of two stillborn babies who were supposed to be cremated and returned as cremains to their families. Scott sold and shipped the remains to Pauley, who then sold many of the remains to other individuals, including Matthew Lampi. Lampi and Pauley bought and sold from each other over an extended period of time and exchanged over $100,000 in online payments, the indictment said.
Pauley was arrested last summer and charged with abuse of a corpse, receiving stolen property and dealing in the proceeds of unlawful activities.
"Some crimes defy understanding," said United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam. "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. I’d like to thank Harvard Medical School, which is also a victim here, for their cooperation in this investigation. Additionally, this prosecution would not be possible without the close cooperation and hard work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the United States Attorney’s Offices in multiple districts, including the Eastern District of Arkansas. From the beginning, this has been a multi-jurisdictional investigation, and our two offices have worked side by side to bring justice for these victims."
"We are appalled to learn that something so disturbing could happen on our campus — a community dedicated to healing and serving others," Harvard Medical School Dean George Q. Daley and Dean for Medical Education Edward M. Hundert said in a letter to the community Wednesday. "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."
HMS has set up a webpage with available resources for donor families and next of kin.
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App | TikTok