Morgue director admits: Stole body parts from Harvard and sold them
Donated for educational and research purposes – buyers made human leather
The Harvard morgue director stole it with the help of his wife – then everything was sold on the black market.
– We feel extremely betrayed, a relative tells People.
The prestigious Harvard Medical School in Boston is rocked by a major scandal.
Several people are charged with stealing human remains that were donated to the school for educational and research purposes in order to resell them.
Instead of cremating the body parts, buyers were invited to the school morgue. There they could choose which body parts they wanted.
Sold for 400,000 SEK
The then morgue manager Cedric Lodge, 57, has now pleaded guilty to the charges.With the help of his wife Denise, they first took the remains home and then shipped them to buyers in several different states. According to the indictment, between 2018 and 2010, they sold remains for more than 400,000 SEK.
Lodge, who was fired from the school in 2023, faces ten years in prison and a fine of approximately 2.5 million SEK.
Harvard Medical School has called Lodge's actions "morally reprehensible" and described it as "a heinous betrayal".
Daughter's anger: "I wanted to vomit"
Relatives of the donors have also expressed their grief and anger.Darlene Lynch, whose father Nich Pichowicz donated his remains to Harvard, describes the family as feeling “extremely betrayed.”
“I feel sick. When I first found out, I wanted to throw up. It’s sick that people would do this. It’s crazy, completely unthinkable,” she tells People.
Made leather from the skin
Several buyers are also facing charges. One of these is Jeremy Pauley, 43.He and another man bought human skin that they then made leather from.
The same Pauley also bought body parts from a person who stole remains from a funeral chapel in Arkansas.
During a police search, several remains were found in Pauley’s basement and he has pleaded guilty.
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