According to a grand jury indictment, thieves made off with body parts from Harvard Medical School’s morgue in Boston from 2018 to 2023 according to NBC 10. Another person accused in the case, Katrina Maclean, owns a brick-and-mortar storefront called Kat’s Creepy Creations. She also sells her crafts on social media.
The description on her Facebook page says, “She is an artist of horror, macabre, oddities, and everything creepy. I love creating things that shock the mind and shake the soul.” There is no evidence that suggest her creations contain human tissue.
The man behind this macabre story is Cedric Lodge, 55, the morgue’s manager. Reports say that he allowed buyers to come into the morgue and shop for every type of part you could imagine including full heads, brains, skin, and bones.
Lodge’s wife, Denise, 63, and four others have also been charged with transporting stolen goods across state lines. If convicted the defendants could face up to 15 years in prison.
The University Responds
“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.”
Lodge was fired from the university on May 6. School officials have been helping the FBI with the case. “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 school deans in a statement.
The Customers
The Lodge’s were apparently the go-to couple for body parts; well-known among black market shoppers.
Maclean who owns Kat’s Creepy Creations allegedly bought over $600 worth of “faces” she got from the academic morgue. She in turn sent human skin to Jeremy Pauley from Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania.
In a horrendous act, Pauley is accused of buying stillborn babies who were supposed to be cremated. Their Instagram often advertised brains, teeth, and bones for sale.
Another buyer Joshua Taylor once sent Mrs. Lodge $200 with a note that simply read “‘braiiiiiins.” Taylor allegedly ended up spending over $37,000 for the Lodge’s services.
Importance of Body Donations
This is a gruesome story that not only violates the law but the dignity of the deceased and their families. Volunteering one’s body to science is crucial to medical science. These cadavers offer undergraduates and researchers access to human beings which in turn can lead to cures and other treatments.
Javier Font, Physician Assistant Program alumnus at the University of Wisconsin says, “It’s a privilege to continue to learn from this individual who has passed but had the foresight to say, ‘My body can be used in the progress of medical education.’”
