Ex- Morgue Harvard Manager Sentenced to 8 Years for Selling Donated Body Parts
A former Harvard Medical School morgue manager has been sentenced to eight years in prison for stealing and selling human remains intended for scientific research, the US Justice Department announced Tuesday.
Cedric Lodge, 58, pleaded guilty in May to trafficking body parts—including brains, internal organs, skin, hands, faces, and dissected heads—between 2018 and March 2020. Harvard fired him in May 2023.
Investigators revealed that Lodge, along with his wife Denise, secretly transported the remains from the Boston-area university to their home in Goffstown, New Hampshire, and other locations in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, before shipping them to buyers across the country. The theft occurred without the knowledge or consent of the university, the donors, or their families.
“Today’s sentencing is another step forward in holding accountable those responsible for this heinous crime,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, FBI special agent in charge of the Philadelphia field office.
The Justice Department also noted that many of the stolen remains were resold for profit. Several buyers have already faced jail time or are awaiting sentencing.
