An alleged scheme involving the exchange of human remains stolen from Harvard Medical School's morgue for money was made public on Wednesday, as unsealed federal charging documents depicted an apparently lucrative black market for body parts.
Several people are being charged in this investigation, including the former manager of the morgue, Cedric Lodge, who has been accused of having people choose body parts they want to buy at the morgue, then stealing parts of donated cadavers like brains, skin and bones, before allegedly taking them to his New Hampshire home and sending them from there.
Among the list of defendants are his wife, Denise Lodge, and a woman named Katrina Maclean, who runs a store called Kat's Creepy Creations in Peabody, Massachusetts.
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
Morbid charges outlined by feds
Seven people in total have been indicted in what investigators have said is a nationwide network of people involved in the stealing, selling and purchasing of human remans, some of which came from Harvard Medical School.
Out of the seven accused, three are from New England, including the Lodges. Prosecutors allege that Cedric Lodge stole human organs and bones from cadavers donated for medical research, that were supposed to be cremated.
U.S. & World
The couple's home had been raided back in March, but they weren't arrested until Wednesday — leaving their neighbors in shock.
"It's creepy that number one it's two doors down, number two what kind of sick people do we have in this world who would even buy these," a neighbor named Roxanne Ryder said.
Among the alleged buyers is Katrina Maclean, who was reportedly allowed by Cedric to enter the morgue to choose the parts she and a Pennsylvania man wanted to purchase — including skin, brains and bones. Court documents said that in 2020, Maclean bought two dissected faces for $600 and shipped human skin to Pennsylvania, while running the Kat's Creepy Creations store in Peabody that sells creepy dolls, bone art and other oddities.
She did not speak to news outlets while leaving federal court on Wednesday, but her lawyer did speak on her behalf.
"She's never been in trouble before and obviously this was very distressful," her attorney Gordon Spencer said. "She just wants to be home with her family."
Reaction from family impacted
"It's like a dream, you know what I mean? It's like not real, but it is real," Paula Peltonovich said.
Peltonovich, and her sister, Darlene Lynch, said that their parents were both police officers and wanted to donate their bodies to science. They want their mother's body back, now.
"My concern is getting my mom back," said Peltonovich. "I don't want them to touch my mom. I mean, can you blame me? I mean, seriously, it's just the whole thing's wrong."
Harvard Medical School said Wednesday it was "deeply sorry for the pain and uncertainty caused by this troubling news." It set up a page of resources for family members of people who have donated their bodies to the Anatomical Gift Program.
Among those resources is a toll-free information and support center that can be reached 24 hours a day at 1-888-268-1129, the school said.
'An abhorrent betrayal'
In addition to the family of one man's remains who were said to be impacted, law enforcement officials and leaders at Harvard Medical School have issued statements in the wake of the news.
"Some crimes defy understanding," said U.S. Attorney Gerard Karam in a statement. "The theft and trafficking of human remains strikes at the very essence of what makes us human. It is particularly egregious that so many of the victims here volunteered to allow their remains to be used to educate medical professionals and advance the interests of science and healing. For them and their families to be taken advantage of in the name of profit is appalling."
Karam characterized Harvard Medical School as another victim of the scheme and appreciated their cooperation with the federal investigation.
Deans of the Harvard Medical School wrote a letter to the community on Wednesday addressing the situation, saying that Cedric Lodge was fired on May 6. The letter was titled "An abhorrent betrayal."
"We are appalled to learn that something so disturbing could happen on our campus — a community dedicated to healing and serving others. 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," said the statement from George Daley, the dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Harvard University and Edward Hundert, the dean for Medical Education at Harvard Medical School.
They offered an apology to the families and loved ones and donors, offering them resources including a 24/7 counseling hotline — anyone who thinks they may have been affected by the scheme can also reach out to federal investigators at usapam-victim.information@usdoj.gov or 717-614-4249.
