Review of Harvard University morgue released after manager charged with stealing, selling body parts

Frank O'Laughlin
·2 min read
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The findings of a university-ordered review of the Harvard Medical School Anatomical Gift Program have been made public months after the morgue manager was indicted on charges of stealing body parts and selling them across the United States.

Morgue manager Cedric Lodge, and his wife, Denise Lodge, both of Goffstown, New Hampshire, were among those indicted in June by a federal grand jury on conspiracy and interstate transport of stolen goods charges.

Cedric Lodge, 55, of Goffstown, New Hampshire, a former morgue manager at Harvard Medical School, is surrounded by reporters while leaving a New Hampshire court on Wednesday, June 14, 2023 to face charges in connection with trafficking body parts stolen from the school's morgue. His wife, Denise, is also accused in the trafficking scheme, prosecutors say.

While managing the morgue for the Anatomical Gifts Program at Harvard Medical School, prosecutors allege that Cedric Lodge allowed people to visit to “examine cadavers to choose what to purchase” and that he stole organs and other parts of cadavers donated for medical research and education before their scheduled cremation from 2018 through 2022.

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

The Lodge’s also sold remains to Katrina Maclean, owner of Kat’s Creepy Creations in Peabody, who then sold the stolen body parts at her business, court documents allege. Maclean is also charged in the case.

After the indictments, Harvard University appointed a panel of three outside experts to evaluate the workings of the medical school’s gift program. Several recommendations were released on Thursday.

The panel recommended, at the minimum, that the medical school update its health and safety procedures, keep better records of donations and inventory, and implement an oversight system.

“An operational committee should be created and should be responsible for ensuring regulatory compliance and adherence to best practices in body donation on a day-to-day basis,” the report stated. “The operational committee should include supervisors who have directly relevant knowledge and are capable of providing supervision for the facilities, labs, and the morgue where Anatomical Gift Program activities occur.”

Harvard Morgue Recommendation Report by Boston 25 Desk on Scribd

Hundreds of people have since joined a lawsuit against Harvard University on behalf of the families affected by the alleged theft and sale of human remains.

George Daley, Dean of Faculty of Medicine at Harvard University, and Edward Hundert, Dean for Medical Education at Harvard Medical School, decried the alleged crimes on campus.

“We are appalled to learn that something so disturbing could happen on our campus — a community dedicated to healing and serving others,” Daley and Hundert said over the summer.

Anyone who believes they or a family member may have been affected by this case is urged to call the Victim and Witness Unit at 717-614-4249 or email usapam-victim.information@usdoj.gov.

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