A former Harvard Medical School morgue manager and five others have been charged with allegedly stealing, selling, and transporting body parts across state lines in what has become an ongoing multistate investigation.
The indictments and information allege that a nationwide network of individuals bought and sold human remains stolen from Harvard Medical School and an Arkansas mortuary.
From 2018 through 2022, Cedric Lodge, who managed the morgue for the Anatomical Gifts Program at Harvard Medical School, located in Boston, Massachusetts, stole organs and other parts of cadavers donated for medical research and education before their scheduled cremations.
Lodge at times transported stolen remains from Boston to his residence in Goffstown, New Hampshire, where he and his wife, Denise Lodge, sold the remains to Katrina Maclean, Joshua Taylor, and others, making arrangements via cellular telephone and social media websites.
At times, Cedric Lodge allowed Maclean and Taylor to enter the morgue at Harvard Medical School and examine cadavers to choose what to purchase.
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On some occasions, Taylor transported stolen remains back to Pennsylvania. On other occasions, the Lodges shipped stolen remains to Taylor and others out of state.
Maclean and Taylor resold the stolen remains for profit, including to Jeremy Pauley in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Jeremy Pauley also purchased stolen human remains from Candace Chapman Scott, who stole remains from her employer, a Little Rock, Arkansas mortuary and crematorium.
Scott stole parts of cadavers she was supposed to have cremated, many of which had been donated to and used for research and educational purposes by an area medical school, as well as the corpses of two stillborn babies who were supposed to be cremated and returned as cremains to their families.
Scott sold the stolen remains to Pauley and shipped them to Pauley in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Pauley sold many of the stolen remains he purchased 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.
“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.”
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“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,” said Karam.
The following were indicted by a federal grand jury on conspiracy and interstate transport of stolen goods charges.
- Cedric Lodge, age 55, of Goffstown, New Hampshire
- Katrina Maclean, age 44, of Salem, Massachusetts
- Joshua Taylor, age 46, of West Lawn, Pennsylvania
- Denise Lodge, age 63, of Goffstown, New Hampshire
- Mathew Lampi, age 52, of East Bethel, Minnesota
Additionally, Jeremy Pauley, age 41, of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, was charged by Criminal Information, and Candace Chapman Scott, of Little Rock, Arkansas, was previously indicted in Arkansas.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the East Pennsboro Township Police Department, and the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean A. Camoni is prosecuting the case.
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