Harvard Medical School morgue manager accused of selling body parts as part of "stolen human remains" criminal network

Harvard Medical School's morgue manager has been accused of selling body parts as part of a "stolen human remains" criminal network, according to a federal complaint unsealed Wednesday.

Morgue manager Cedric Lodge, his wife Denise and two others — Katrina MacLean and Joshua Taylor — allegedly conspired with Jeremy Pauley to sell human remains for a profit, the documents from the Middle District of Pennsylvania state. 

Pauley, who was charged in August 2022 with multiple counts related to the alleged purchase and sale of corpses, allegedly bought body parts from MacLean, court documents said. Investigators then found that, since about 2018, MacLean and Taylor had been selling human parts and remains that they had purchased from the Lodges. 

Lodge on several occasions allegedly let Maclean and Taylor examine cadavers at the Harvard Medical School morgue so that they could pick which ones they wanted to buy, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said in a statement. Lodge also allegedly shipped human remains to Taylor and others who were not in Pennsylvania, the statement said.  

Harvard Medical School fired Lodge on May 6, the school's dean said in a statement. "Investigators believe that Lodge acted without the knowledge or cooperation of anyone else at HMS or Harvard," the statement said.    

NEW: Cedric Lodge said nothing to reporters as he walked out of federal court in NH after his initial appearance. He is accused of stealing body parts from the morgue at Harvard Medical School and selling them. He has to appear next in Pennsylvania — date TBD. #WBZ pic.twitter.com/FUreUicgS1

— Kristina Rex (@KristinaRex) June 14, 2023

An estimated 20,000 people donate their bodies to science for the purpose of medical research and education every year. But unlike organ donation, these body parts and remains can be bought and sold for profit — in a market with very few federal regulations.  

Court documents allege that MacLean and Taylor sold human body parts to numerous buyers and that MacLean also stored and sold remains in Kat's Creepy Creations, her store in Salem, Massachusetts. The store's Instagram page says it specializes in "creepy dolls, oddities, and bone art," and one post was captioned, "If you're in the market for human bones hit me up," CBS Boston reported.

In June or July of 2021, MacLean sent Pauley human skin and asked him to tan the skin to create leather, the court documents allege. MacLean then allegedly contacted Lodge at Harvard Medical School and asked him to help her locate skin for "the dude I sent the chest piece to tan."

Pauley was arrested in Pennsylvania on July 22, 2022 by East Pennsboro Township Police for abusing a corpse, receiving stolen property and other charges. Described as a "collector of oddities," Pauley posted pictures of body parts and other items on his Facebook page, Instagram account and his website, which has since been made private.

The pages advertised his collection and an event in 2022 that ended up being canceled that had offered access to unique oddities at a hotel outside of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Pauley told police he obtained all of the items legally, but court documents and investigators paint a different picture. 

In May, police returned to Pauley's home after a federal indictment in Arkansas alleged he purchased nearly $11,000 of body parts from Candace Chapman Scott, a 36-year-old former mortuary worker at Arkansas Central Mortuary Services.

That indictment didn't name Pauley directly as the buyer, but police located three 5-gallon buckets containing various human remains in his basement. 

According to court records, Pauley is next expected to appear before a Pennsylvania Magisterial District judge for a preliminary hearing on July 5. A request for comment from Pauley's attorney wasn't immediately returned.

The Lodges appeared in court in New Hampshire on Wednesday afternoon. They will next have to appear in a Pennsylvania court, CBS Boston's Kristina Rex reported.

MacLean is due in federal court in Boston.

— Justin Sherman contributed reporting

In:
• Pennsylvania
• United States Department of Justice
• Arkansas
• Harvard Medical School

Cara Tabachnick

Cara Tabachnick is a news editor for CBSNews.com. Contact her at [email protected]