Former HMS Morgue Manager Pleads Guilty to Selling Human Remains

Cedric Lodge, the former morgue manager at Harvard Medical School who was indicted in 2023 for stealing and selling human remains, filed a guilty plea on Wednesday.

Lodge pled guilty to illegally transporting human remains gifted to the morgue at the HMS Anatomical Gift Program from 2018 to 2022. He was fired by HMS in 2023 and was accused of stealing “dissected portions and donated cadavers, including, for example, heads, brains, skin, bones, and other human remains, without the knowledge and permission of HMS.”

Under the plea deal, Lodge will no longer face a conspiracy charge, and prosecutors recommended that he receive less than the maximum sentence. A sentencing hearing for Lodge has not been scheduled.

The maximum penalty for the offense includes imprisonment for 10 years, a fine of $250,000 and costs of prosecution, imprisonment, probation, and supervised release.

Lodge initially pled not guilty to conspiring to transfer the stolen goods and to selling them to his co-defendants.

He also asked a judge to dismiss his charges in a filing on March 3, arguing that human remains are not classified as “goods, wares, merchandise, securities, or money” and thus liable for violations of the United States Code against the Interstate Transport of Stolen Goods — under which Lodge has now pled guilty.

Denise Lodge, Lodge’s wife who was also indicted in 2023, pled guilty to the same crime last year, but has yet to be sentenced. Joshua Taylor, who was also indicted, entered a guilty plea a day prior to Lodge, and Katrina MacLean, who similarly contested her indictment on the same standards as Lodge, has yet to enter a plea.

Lodge’s case was previously set to go to trial on May 5.

A group of 47 plaintiffs — relatives of people whose donated remains were stolen by Lodge — filed a class action lawsuit against Harvard in 2023, alleging that the University mishandled the donated remains and held legal responsibility for Lodge’s actions. The claims against Harvard were dismissed by a Suffolk County Superior Court judge in February 2024.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is currently weighing whether to overturn the Suffolk County Court decision, and is due to issue a ruling by June 20.

Jeffrey Catalano, a lawyer for the affected families, wrote in a statement that “as we await the SJC’s decision as to whether the families can proceed to hold Harvard accountable for Mr. Lodge’s conduct, the families can take some solace that partial justice has been obtained.

“However, many questions and concerns remain, which they hope to have the opportunity to discover and address,” he added.

Harvard officials reviewed the Anatomical Gift Program in 2023 and concluded that HMS lacked specific policies that addressed human remains acquired for education or research. It also recommended that Harvard update its morgue security, track cadaver retention, and establish a governing board for the morgue.

HMS Dean George Q. Daley wrote in a statement that “Cedric Lodge’s criminal actions were morally reprehensible and a disgraceful betrayal of the individuals who altruistically chose to will their bodies to Harvard Medical School’s Anatomical Gift Program to advance medical education and research.”

“While Lodge has agreed to plead guilty and taken responsibility for his crimes, this likely provides little consolation to the families impacted,” he added. “We continue to express our deep compassion to all those affected.”

Lawyers for Lodge did not respond to a request for comment.

—Staff writer Kaitlyn Y. Choi can be reached at kaitlyn.choi@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Sohum M. Sukhatankar can be reached at sohum.sukhatankar@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @ssukhatankar06.