A federal judge has sentenced Cedric Lodge, the former manager of the Harvard Medical School morgue, to eight years in prison for his role in a “macabre scheme” involving the theft and sale of human body parts.
Lodge, who is 58, appeared in a Pennsylvania federal court on Tuesday alongside his wife, Denise Lodge, who received a sentence for one year for her assistance in the crime. Prosecutors described how instead of treating the donating cadavers as medical gifts he used them as “baubles to be sold for profit”.
According to court filings Lodge stole heads, brains, skin, and faces from remains intended for research and education. These parts were shipped to buyers. Assistant U.S Attorney Alisan Martin highlighted the “deeply horrifying reality” of the case, noting one instance where human skin was sold to be tanned into leather and bound into a book.
“He caused deep emotional harm to an untold number of family members left to wonder about the mistreatment of their loved ones’ bodies.” prosecutors wrote. Another detail found and noted was that the couple once sold a mans face, “perhaps to be kept on a shelf, perhaps to be used for something even more disturbing”.
While Harvard Medical School typically cremated remains or returned them to their families after use Lodge admitted to intercepting parts before that process occurred. The school has since called his actions “abhorrent and inconsistent with the standards and values” of the institution.
Defense attorney Patrick Casey acknowledged the “egregious” nature of the crimes, stating, “Mr. Lodge acknowledges the seriousness of his conduct and the arm his actions have inflicted on both the deceased persons and their grieving families.”
The investigation has led to guilty pleas from at least six others involved in the trafficking network. Harvard currently faces ongoing legal action from the families of the donors involved.
