Up to 150 people join suit against Harvard over alleged stolen body parts scheme, law group says

BOSTON — Up to 150 people have joined the lawsuit against Harvard University on behalf of the families affected by the alleged theft and sale of human remains from the medical school’s morgue, the filing law group said Friday.

The lawsuit, filed in Suffolk Superior Court by Keches Law Group, seeks monetary damages for the “severe emotional distress” caused by a group charged with allegedly trafficking body parts.

The suit claims Cedric Lodge, 55, of Goffstown, New Hampshire, stole body parts donated to Harvard Medical School for research and education while serving as the manager of the morgue.

“Harvard and Lodge breached the duty of care and were negligent by failing to take responsible steps to ensure the cadavers were properly handled,” Keches said in the suit.

Earlier this month, federal prosecutors said that Lodge stole dissected portions of cadavers that were donated to the school in a grotesque scheme that stretched from 2018 to early 2023. Cedric’s wife, 63-year-old Denise Lodge, and a Peabody business owner are among several people named in the indictment who are accused in the multi-state scheme, with some of the body parts sold via Facebook and PayPal and shipped through U.S. Postal Service mail.

Lodge is accused of taking the stolen cadaver parts from the university morgue to his home in Goffstown, from where his wife, Denise, then sold the remains to 44-year-old Salem native Katrina Maclean, owner of Kat’s Creepy Creations in Peabody, who then sold the stolen body parts at her business, court documents allege.

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In a message posted on Harvard’s website entitled “An abhorrent betrayal,” deans George Daley and Edward Hundert said, “We are appalled to learn that something so disturbing could happen on our campus — a community dedicated to healing and serving others,” the deans wrote. “The reported incidents are a betrayal of HMS and, most importantly, each of the individuals who altruistically chose to will their bodies to HMS through the Anatomical Gift Program to advance medical education and research.”

Also indicted on the trafficking charges were Joshua Taylor, 46, of West Lawn, Pennsylvania, and Mathew Lampi, 52, of East Bethel, Minnesota.

Additionally, Jeremy Pauley, 41, of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, was charged by criminal information, and Candace Chapman Scott, of Little Rock, Arkansas, was previously indicted in the Eastern District of Arkansas.

Pauley was arrested last year in Pennsylvania for allegedly buying human remains on Facebook.

Harvard is said to be cooperating with the investigation.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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