A former manager at the Harvard Medical School morgue has agreed to plead guilty to charges stemming from a shocking scandal involving the theft and sale of human remains donated for scientific research and education.


Cedric Lodge, 57, of Goffstown, New Hampshire, was indicted in June 2023 for allegedly stealing and selling body parts including heads, brains, skin, and bones from cadavers entrusted to Harvard through its Anatomical Gifts Program between 2018 and 2023. Prosecutors described Lodge as part of a “nationwide network” involved in trafficking human remains.


According to federal prosecutors, Lodge, with assistance from his wife Denise Lodge, sold the remains to buyers in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, sometimes shipping them through the U.S. Postal Service. In one instance, human skin was sold for the purpose of being tanned into leather.

Lodge, who had worked at Harvard for approximately 28 years before his termination in May 2023, has agreed to plead guilty to transporting stolen goods across state lines a federal offense that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to a plea agreement filed Wednesday, April 16, in federal court in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. In exchange, charges of conspiracy and additional counts of interstate transport of stolen goods will be dropped.


While a date for his change-of-plea hearing has not yet been scheduled, his trial had been originally slated for May.


The plea agreement comes nearly a year after his wife, Denise Lodge, 64, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the interstate transport of stolen goods in April 2024.


Prosecutors allege that Cedric Lodge not only took human remains home but also allowed prospective buyers inside the Harvard morgue to select specific body parts. The Anatomical Gifts Program, through which these cadavers were donated, is intended solely for educational, teaching, and research purposes.


In addition to the Lodges, four other individuals were indicted by a federal grand jury in Pennsylvania. Among them is Katrina Maclean, 44, of Salem, Massachusetts, who owns Kat’s Creepy Creations, a store in Peabody. According to court filings, Maclean purchased human skin from Lodge and then had it tanned into leather.

Another defendant, Joshua Taylor of West Lawn in Berks County, Pennsylvania, reportedly sent payments to Denise Lodge via PayPal with descriptions such as “head number 7” and “braiiiiiins”, prosecutors said.


The scandal has deeply disturbed families who had selflessly donated loved ones’ bodies for medical advancement.


“We were just disgusted. Sick, like we were going to throw up,” said Paula Peltonovich, whose father's remains were donated to Harvard, in an interview with the Boston Globe in June 2023.


Similarly, Sarah Hill, whose aunt Christine Eppich donated her body through the same program, told Boston 25 News she felt “sick” upon learning of the desecration.