Harvard to Pay $53 Million After Morgue Manager Sold Body Parts

Harvard University has agreed to pay $53 million to settle claims stemming from a scheme in which its former morgue manager stole and sold body parts donated for scientific research, with a court giving preliminary approval to the plan on Tuesday, the Harvard Crimson reported.

Cedric Lodge, who managed the morgue at Harvard Medical School before being fired in 2023, was sentenced to eight years in prison in December after pleading guilty to trafficking stolen remains. Investigators said Lodge and his wife, Denise, took body parts from the school "without the knowledge or permission of his employer, the donor, or the donor's family" and shipped them to buyers in other states beginning around 2018.

Denise Lodge was sentenced to one year in prison. Six other co-conspirators who bought remains from the Lodges have also pleaded guilty and been sentenced.

Court documents allege that Cedric and Denise Lodge, along with Katrina MacLean and Joshua Taylor, conspired in the scheme. MacLean allegedly sold body parts to Jeremy Pauley, who was charged in August 2022 with multiple counts tied to the purchase and sale of corpses. Investigators found that MacLean and Taylor had been selling human remains purchased from the Lodges since about 2018, including through Kat's Creepy Creations, MacLean's store in Salem, Massachusetts, which describes itself on Instagram as specializing in "creepy dolls, oddities, and bone art." One post was captioned, "If you're in the market for human bones hit me up," CBS News Boston reported.

Harvard said in a letter Monday, co-signed by Medical School Dean George Daley and Bernard Chang, dean for medical education, that it will seek court permission to set up "two class action settlement funds totaling $53 million."

"We are grateful to be working together with the plaintiffs to move forward in a way that prioritizes support for families and the [organ donation program] and avoids prolonged litigation," the letter said, calling Lodge's actions "despicable, abhorrent, and a flagrant betrayal of our values as a medical community."

Harvard said distributing the settlement funds is expected to take several months. The school also plans to establish an annual scholarship starting in the 2027-28 academic year in honor of its anatomical donors, and to provide claimant families with a statement condemning Lodge's conduct and detailing improvements to the donation program.