WASHINGTON (TND) — Human remains -- including the bodies of two stillborn infants at an Arkansas mortuary and body parts from a Harvard Medical School morgue -- were stolen before being sold, according to the States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Six people have been charged in connection to the case, U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam noted in a news release.
Karam said the following individuals were indicted by a federal grand jury on conspiracy charges and the transportation of stolen goods:
- Cedric Lodge, 55, of Goffstown, New Hampshire
- Katrina Maclean, 44, of Salem, Massachusetts
- Joshua Taylor, 46, of West Lawn, Pennsylvania
- Denise Lodge, 63, of Goffstown, New Hampshire
- Mathew Lampi, 52, of East Bethel, Minnesota
Karam also noted that Candace Chapman Scott, of Little Rock, Arkansas, was previously indicted in the Eastern District of Arkansas, while 41-year-old Jeremy Pauley, of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, was charged by "criminal information."
The charges allege that 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," the release noted.Lodge allegedly transported stolen remains from Boston to his home in New Hampshire, where he and his wife, Denise, sold the remains to Maclean, Taylor, and others, making arrangements on his cell phone 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," the release noted. "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."Karam said Maclean and Taylor then resold the stolen remains for profit.
The release noted Pauley bought human remains from Chapman Scott, who stole remains from a Little Rock mortuary and crematorium where she worked.
Chapman Scott also allegedly 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 then sold the remains to Pauley and shipped them to him in Pennsylvania, with Pauley allegedly reselling many of the stolen remains to other people, including Lampi.
Lampi and Pauley bought and sold from each other over an extended period of time and exchanged over $100,000 in online payments," according to the release.Some crimes defy understanding,” said 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.FBI Special Agent in Charge Jacqueline Maguire shared similar sentiments.
The release noted the United States Attorney’s Office "has and will continue to attempt to identify and contact as many of the victims and victims’ families affected by this case as possible."
The maximum penalty under federal law for the offense is 15 years of imprisonment, with a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: WHP contributed to this report.
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