Harvard University, arguably the most prestigious one in the world, has one of its former employees involved in a federal crime. It has come to light that 55-year-old man, Cedric Lodge, who worked at the medical school’s morgue in Boston, trafficked human remains. The indictment says that the man, along with his wife and two other individuals, stole and sold different human body parts. The US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania filed the accusation on Tuesday, June 13. It reads:
Lodge stole dissected portions of donated cadavers, including…heads, brains, skin, bones, and other human remains, without the knowledge or permission of (the school) and removed those remains from the morgue in Massachusetts and transported them to his residence in New Hampshire.
Allegedly, the former manager committed the crimes with his 63-year-old wife, Denise. The pair sold human remains to a number of people, including 44-year-old Katrina Maclean, and 46-year-old Joshua Taylor, the Pennsylvania district says. They are all charged with the conspiracy and interstate transport of stolen good indictment.
Harvard addressed the issue in a recent statement. The university expressed their horror over such a tragic situation occurring in their campus. They also remarked that, in spite of the event, they are in favor of the community and work for healing and serving others. In addition, the medical school and the Court District will work to find out the identity of the body’s that were impacted, and will later contact their families. Their official statement reads:
We are so very sorry for the pain this news will cause for our anatomical donors’ families and loved ones, and HMS pledges to engage with them during this deeply distressing time.
Human remains are typically donated to the university’s medical school for educational purposes. When the studies are done, and the medical school has finished their use, the bodies are either cremated and returned to the donor’s family or buried in Tewksbury, Massachusetts.