Ex-Harvard Morgue Manager Gets Eight Years for Selling Donated Body Parts

A former morgue manager at Harvard Medical School has been sentenced to eight years in prison for stealing and selling human body parts donated for scientific research, according to the US Justice Department.

Cedric Lodge, 58, pleaded guilty in May to trafficking stolen human remains between 2018 and at least March 2020. The items sold included internal organs, brains, skin, hands, faces and dissected heads.

Lodge was dismissed from Harvard in May 2023 after the illegal activities came to light, the university said.

Investigators revealed that Lodge, alongside his wife, Denise, removed body parts from the medical school in the Boston area and transported them to their home in Goffstown, New Hampshire, as well as other locations in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Authorities said the remains were taken without the knowledge or consent of Harvard, the donors or their families, before being shipped to buyers across state lines.

Denise Lodge, 65, was sentenced to one year in prison for her role in the scheme.

Reacting to the sentencing, Wayne A. Jacobs, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia field office, described the crime as “heinous,” saying the outcome marked progress in holding those responsible accountable.

The Justice Department said many of the human remains sold by Lodge were later resold for profit. Several buyers connected to the case have already been sentenced, while others are still awaiting sentencing.