A former manager at the prestigious Harvard Medical School morgue has been handed a significant prison sentence for his role in a grisly scheme involving the theft and sale of human body parts.
Eight-Year Sentence for Grisly Crimes
Cedric Lodge, 58, was sentenced to eight years in prison by a US District Judge in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, December 16. Lodge, who managed the morgue for over twenty years before his 2023 arrest, pleaded guilty in May to charges of transporting stolen goods across state lines.
Prosecutors revealed the shocking details of his crimes. From 2018 until at least March 2020, Lodge stole body parts—including heads, brains, faces, skin, and hands—from cadavers that had been donated for medical research and teaching. He then took these remains to his home in Goffstown, New Hampshire, and sold them to buyers in several states, including Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
Breach of Trust and Macabre Details
The case sent shockwaves due to the profound breach of trust involved. In court filings, prosecutors stated that Lodge's actions "caused deep emotional harm to an untold number of family members" and "undermined the confidence that individuals have in choosing to donate their bodies for medical training and scientific research."
One of the most disturbing aspects of the scheme involved a buyer who requested skin. Lodge provided human skin so it could be tanned into leather and used to bind a book. He also sold other stolen property from Harvard Medical School, such as specimen cases bearing the HMS logo.
Prosecutors had sought the maximum sentence of 10 years, arguing the crime's severity was amplified by Lodge's abuse of his position. A Harvard Medical School spokesperson called the crimes "abhorrent" and "inconsistent" with the institution's values.
Co-Defendants and Family Involvement
Lodge was not acting alone. His wife, Denise Lodge, was sentenced to just over one year in prison after pleading guilty in April 2024 to assisting in the sale and transport of the stolen remains. Prosecutors noted in a separate filing that she initially refused her husband's plan but eventually relented while battling Stage IV breast cancer and financial pressures.
Other individuals connected to the buying network have also faced justice. Matthew Lampi and Angelo Pereyra received prison sentences of 15 and 18 months, respectively, in January. Key buyers like Katrina Maclean of Massachusetts and Joshua Taylor of Pennsylvania have pleaded guilty and await sentencing, each facing up to a decade in prison.
The sentencing closes a dark chapter for Harvard Medical School, but the emotional fallout for the families of donors, who gave their bodies for science in good faith, will undoubtedly linger far longer.
