Woman whose father’s remains were trafficked by Harvard morgue staff says she was ‘going to throw up’

The indictment charges the Lodges and three others — Katrina Maclean, 44, of Salem, Massachusetts; Joshua Taylor, 46, of West Lawn, Pennsylvania; and Mathew Lampi, 52, of East Bethel, Minnesota — with conspiracy and interstate transport of stolen goods. It was not known Wednesday if any of the defendants had a lawyer who could comment on their behalf.

According to prosecutors, the defendants were part of a nationwide network of people who bought and sold remains stolen from the school and an Arkansas mortuary. The Lodges allegedly sold remains to Maclean, Taylor, and others in arrangements made through telephone calls and social media websites.

Taylor sometimes transported stolen remains back to Pennsylvania, authorities said, while other times the Lodges would mail remains to him and others. Maclean and Taylor resold the stolen remains for profit, authorities said.

Denise and Cedric Lodge both made their initial court appearances Wednesday in federal court in Concord, New Hampshire, and were each released on personal recognizance bail. They declined to comment as they left the courthouse.

Two other people have been charged in the case.

Jeremy Pauley, age 41, of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, allegedly bought some remains from Candace Chapman Scott, of Little Rock, Arkansas, who allegedly stole them from a mortuary where she worked. Authorities have said Scott stole body parts from cadavers she was supposed to have cremated, noting many of the bodies had been donated to and used for research and educational purposes by a medical school in Arkansas.

Pauley allegedly sold many of the stolen remains to other people, including individuals, including Lampi. Pauley and Lampi bought and sold from each other over an extended period of time and exchanged more than $100,000 in online payments, authorities said.

Scott and Pauley have both pleaded not guilty.

A statement from the Harvard Medical School’s deans on Wednesday, titled “An abhorrent betrayal”, said federal authorities had accused Mr Lodge of “having engaged in activities that are morally reprehensible”.

Katrina Maclean of Salem, who owns a store called Kat’s Creepy Creations, Joshua Taylor of West Lawn, Mathew Lampi of East Bethel, Minnesota and the Lodges were charged with conspiracy and interstate transport of stolen goods.

Jeremy Pauley of Pennsylvania and Candace Chapman Scott of Arkansas were previously indicted.

Ms Scott allegedly stole parts of cadavers from Harvard where she worked and sold the human remains that were supposed to be cremated.

This included the corpses of two stillborn babies supposed to have been cremated and returned to their families, the charging document said.

In 2021, Ms Maclean shipped human skin to Mr Pauley and “engaged his services to tan the skin to create leather”, an indictment said, according to the New York Times. It was reportedly dissected faces she purchased for $600.

Ms Maclean runs a store called Kat’s Creepy Creations which advertises “creepy dolls, oddities” and “bone art” on social media accounts. The accounts reveal she specialises in up-cycling dolls into gothic and horror novelties.

Harvard Medical School deans George Daley and Edward Hundert said they were “appalled” that something so disturbing happened on the campus of 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,” the statement said.

The charging document included a grim reference to a PayPal description of a payment of $1,000 that allegedly read “head number 7”.

The four defendants in the case face a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment on charges of conspiracy and interstate transport of stolen goods.

A niece who handed her aunt’s body to the Harvard Medical School has said that she feels “sick” after federal prosecutors have alleged that morgue staff sold body parts for profit.

Sarah Hill had an easy decision to make after the passing of her aunt Christine Eppich in March 2021 from pancreatic cancer. Ms Eppich had made clear that she wanted her body donated to Harvard for research and education.

“She was my favourite aunt. She worked with special needs children and adults and everyone loved Christine,” Ms Hill told Boston 25 News.

Ms Hill said Ms Eppich had already made arrangements before her passing to have her remains handed over to the Harvard Anatomical programme. The family is now concerned about what could have happened to Ms Eppich’s remains following the allegations that morgue staff was selling body parts.

“It’s been a frantic 24 hours. I received Christine’s remains back this fall after not having them for two years,” Ms Hill told the local TV station. “You know you give your loved one to a program like Harvard and you think that everything will be done properly. And that people would never profit from something like this.”

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The former manager at the medical school’s morgue, Cedric Lodge, 55, his wife Denise Lodge, 63, and Kat’s Creepy Creations owner Katrina Maclean, 44, all face allegations that they sold body parts that were supposed to be used for research by the school. The crimes spanned several states, the allegations claim.

“Christine wanted other people to benefit from her passing so that she could be studied. So that the doctors of the future or tomorrow could study her body and find not only a cure for pancreatic cancer but for some other disease,” Ms Hill told Boston 25 News. “And we as family members gave her body to Harvard thinking that she was in the best hands possible.”

Legal filings state that some of the body parts were sold via Facebook and some transactions were processed through PayPal, with shipments being made by US Postal Service mail.

A woman whose father is alleged to have been affected by the scheme to sell body parts from the Harvard Medical School Morgue has spoken out, saying that her family “were just disgusted” by the news.

Paula Peltonovich’s father Nicholas Pichowicz said in his will that he wanted his remains to be donated to the school. He died in 2019, aged 87.

Ms Peltonovich told The Boston Globe that she reached out to Harvard after she found out about the indictment against morgue staff.

The family felt “Sick, like we were going to throw up,” she added, saying that her father “was a victim” of the trafficking.

“It’s just unthinkable. There’s no words,” she said.

Ms Peltonovich’s mother’s remains were also donated to the school.

“We want her returned, so we can bury her,” she told the paper. “We don’t even want them to cremate her.”

A woman whose father is alleged to have been affected by the scheme to sell body parts from the Harvard Medical School Morgue has spoken out, saying that her family “were just disgusted” by the news.

Paula Peltonovich’s father Nicholas Pichowicz said in his will that he wanted his remains to be donated to the school. He died in 2019, aged 87.

Ms Peltonovich told The Boston Globe that she reached out to Harvard after she found out about the indictment against morgue staff.

The family felt “sick, like we were going to throw up,” she added, saying that her father “was a victim” of the trafficking.

“It’s just unthinkable. There’s no words,” she said.

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Amy Dasch lost her husband Jim to cancer when he was 61 years old. His dying wish was to have his remains donated to Harvard Medical School for research. His ashes were returned to her but now there’s the possibility that parts of his body were sold in the scheme that has led to the indictment of several people.

She called the hotline set up by the university, learning that her husband was a part of the case.

“I started feeling really angry about the people doing this and how horrible and incredible and macabre the situation is,” she told WCVB. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“‘Sorry to tell you … your husband’s name is on our list,’” she recalled being told by the school. “It was like I was hit by a tsunami of emotion.”

But Ms Dasch said she hopes this won’t discourage others from donating their remains after passing.

“I hope this raises awareness about the need for donation, and I hope it completely changes the way Harvard and medical schools deal with donations,” she told the local outlet. “It’s helping me remember what a gift it was to know and honour his wishes.”