‘Reprehensible’: Victim’s family files suit against Harvard over alleged theft, sale of body parts

A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Harvard University on behalf of all families affected by the alleged theft and sale of human remains from the medical school’s morgue, lawyers announced Friday.

‘A betrayal’: Several charged with trafficking body parts stolen from Harvard Medical School morgue

The lawsuit, filed in Suffolk Superior Court by Keches Law Group, comes just two days after an indictment charging a group with trafficking body parts and it seeks monetary damages for the “severe emotional distress” caused by the actions of the morgue’s former manager, Cedric Lodge, 55, of Goffstown, New Hampshire, court documents indicate.

“Harvard and Lodge breached the duty of care and were negligent by failing to take responsible steps to ensure the cadavers were properly handled,” Keches said in the suit.

John Bozek, of Tewksbury, is taking action against the school on behalf of himself and “all other similarly situated individuals whose deceased family members’ bodies were placed into the custody of Harvard Medical School for the furtherance of medical and scientific study, and which bodies were then unlawfully disturbed, viewed, dissected, or sold to third parties by the now former manager of the Harvard Medical School morgue Cedric Lodge,” the documents showed.

Bozek, of Tewksbury, is the son of Adele Mazzone, who passed away in February 2019. Before her death, Mazzone arranged with Harvard Medical School to temporarily donate her body to further the study of science and medicine.

“Upon information and belief, the body of Adele Mazzone was one of the many donated cadavers mishandled at the HMS morgue by Defendant Cedric Lodge,” the lawsuit alleged.

The purported ashes of Mazzone were delivered to her next of kin and surviving family in or around April 2021.

“The actions of the Harvard Medical School morgue manager in mishandling and selling the body parts of cadavers donated to the school was a reprehensible tragedy that should have never happened,” the lawsuit states.

Family of those who donated remains to Harvard Medical School want answers

Harvard Morgue Class Action by Fox Boston Staff on Scribd

Earlier this week, federal prosecutors said that Lodge stole dissected portions of cadavers that were donated to the school in a grotesque scheme that stretched from 2018 to early 2023.

The body parts were taken without the school’s knowledge or permission, authorities alleged.

Cedric’s wife, 63-year-old Denise Lodge, and a Peabody business owner are among several people named in the indictment who are accused in the multi-state scheme, with some of the body parts sold via Facebook and PayPal and shipped through U.S. Postal Service mail.

Lodge, while managing the morgue for the Anatomical Gifts Program at Harvard Medical School, stole organs and other parts of cadavers donated for medical research and education before their scheduled cremations, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Lodge is accused of taking the stolen cadaver parts from the university morgue to his home in Goffstown, from where his wife, Denise, then sold the remains to 44-year-old Salem native Katrina Maclean, owner of Kat’s Creepy Creations in Peabody, who then sold the stolen body parts at her business, court documents allege.

In a message posted on Harvard’s website entitled “An abhorrent betrayal,” deans George Daley and Edward Hundert said, “We are appalled to learn that something so disturbing could happen on our campus — a community dedicated to healing and serving others,” the deans wrote. “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.”

Also indicted on the trafficking charges were Joshua Taylor, 46, of West Lawn, Pennsylvania, and Mathew Lampi, 52, of East Bethel, Minnesota.

Additionally, Jeremy Pauley, 41, of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, was charged by criminal information, and Candace Chapman Scott, of Little Rock, Arkansas, was previously indicted in the Eastern District of Arkansas.

Pauley was arrested last year in Pennsylvania for allegedly buying human remains on Facebook.

Paperwork details 2022 arrest of alleged Harvard Med body parts buyer Jeremy Pauley

The Lodges, Maclean, and Taylor all conspired with Pauley and others to transport the stolen body parts from Boston to New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. At times, they allegedly used the U.S. Postal Service to ship the remains.

Maclean is accused of selling the stolen remains “to buyers in multiple states” including Pauley in Pennsylvania, and she also “stored and sold stolen remains at Kat’s Creepy Creations,” the indictment states.

“At times, Cedric Lodge allowed Maclean and Taylor to enter the morgue at Harvard Medical School and examine cadavers to choose what to purchase,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. “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.”

Harvard is said to be cooperating with the investigation.

Norwood family donated aunt’s remains to Harvard, ‘thinking that she was in the best hands possible’

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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