Horror at Harvard: Morgue manager sold body parts on black market

A former morgue manager at Harvard Medical School has pleaded guilty to stealing and selling human body parts, including hands, feet, skulls, and dissected faces, in a gruesome black-market scheme.

Cedric Lodge, 57, of Goffstown, New Hampshire, admitted in federal court Wednesday to interstate transport of stolen human remains. The charges, stemming from activities between 2018 and March 2020, could carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Prosecutors say Lodge and his wife, Denise, were part of a larger national network trafficking in illegally obtained body parts. The remains, meant for research and education, were taken without permission from Harvard’s anatomy lab and a mortuary in Arkansas. Denise Lodge and multiple co-defendants have also entered guilty pleas.

According to authorities, the stolen materials included dozens of hands and feet, multiple human spines, dissected faces, and two full heads. These were sold online to buyers across the country. Harvard officials were unaware of the thefts, which violated the agreements made with families of body donors.

Donated cadavers at Harvard are typically used for scientific study before being cremated, with remains returned to families or buried respectfully.