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Former Harvard morgue manager pleads guilty to theft of human remains

Harvard Medical School's administrative building
Thomas Steiner, Wikimedia Commons
/
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harvard-medicalschool.jpg
Harvard Medical School's administrative building

The former manager of the Harvard Medical School morgue has pleaded guilty to stealing and selling human remains.

Cedric Lodge, 57, was arrested in 2023 for allegedly taking organs, skin as well as other body parts from donated cadavers. He and his wife, Denise Lodge, then transported the materials back to their home in Goffstown before selling them to individuals in multiple states.

Denise Lodge previously pleaded guilty. Cedric Lodge is facing up to 10 years in prison, and will be sentenced at a later date.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Scranton, Penn., where Lodge’s case is being prosecuted, multiple other defendants have also pleaded guilty to purchasing human remains.

Candace Chapman-Scott, a former employee at an Arkansas crematorium who also sold body parts to the same network of customers, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Lodge worked in the Harvard morgue for decades before his arrest, according to reporting by WBUR. Multiple families of loved ones whose bodies were desecrated by Lodge filed civil lawsuits against Harvard, but those cases were dismissed.

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The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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