Former Harvard Medical School Employee Sold Skin, Faces, and Organs for Profit in Shocking Crime

Harvard Medical School Morgue Employee Sentenced to 8 Years
Sold Skin for Book Covers and Faces for Display
Prosecutors Call Crimes "Deeply Shocking"... Admitted Guilt in Court

A former manager at the Harvard Medical School morgue in the United States was found to have sold parts of donated bodies to outsiders, treating them as jewelry-like items.

Stock photo unrelated to the article. Pexels

According to the Associated Press on December 18 (local time), Cedric Lodge committed the bizarre crime of shipping body parts such as brains, skin, hands, and faces from bodies donated to Harvard-after they were no longer needed for research-to buyers in places including Pennsylvania. He was sentenced to eight years in prison. His wife, Denise Lodge, received a little over one year in prison for assisting in the crimes.

Cedric Lodge provided skin to one buyer, which was tanned into leather and then bound as a book cover. U.S. Assistant Attorney Allison Martin described this in court filings as "deeply shocking."

Prosecutor Martin cited another case, stating, "Cedric and Denise Lodge sold a man's face," adding, "It may have been intended for display in a cabinet, or potentially for an even more horrific purpose."

From 2018 to March 2020, Lodge reportedly made thousands of dollars by "treating parts of beloved humans' bodies as jewelry for profit."

Harvard typically returns donated bodies to the families or cremates them after they are used for research or education. Lodge admitted to removing body parts before cremation.

Lodge, who had worked as a morgue manager for 28 years, expressed remorse in court. His attorney acknowledged that his actions constituted "an extremely serious crime."

In court documents, the attorney stated, "Mr. Lodge fully recognizes the gravity of his actions and the profound pain he has inflicted on the deceased and their families, whose loved ones were so brutally violated."

In 2023, when the indictment was filed, Harvard suspended its body donation program for five months.

Prosecutors said that in connection with this investigation into the illegal trafficking of body parts, at least six additional people-including an employee at a crematorium in Arkansas-have also pleaded guilty.