Former Harvard Morgue Manager and Wife Receive Prison Sentences for Trafficking Stolen Human Remains

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania has announced the sentencing of Cedric Lodge, 58, and Denise Lodge, 65, both of Goffstown, New Hampshire. The couple was sentenced on December 16, 2025, by Chief United States District Judge Matthew W. Brann for their involvement in the interstate transport of stolen human remains. Cedric Lodge was sentenced to 96 months in prison, while Denise Lodge received a sentence of 12 months and a day.

According to court documents, between 2018 and at least March 2020, Cedric Lodge, who was employed as the manager of the Harvard Medical School morgue in Boston, Massachusetts, illicitly removed human remains. These remains, including organs, brains, and other body parts from cadavers donated for research and teaching, were taken before they could be disposed of according to the terms of the anatomical gift agreements. Lodge transported these stolen remains to his New Hampshire residence. The couple then proceeded to sell the remains to various buyers, facilitating interstate transport or allowing buyers to collect the remains directly. The illicit trade involved the movement of these stolen human remains from the morgue in Boston to locations including Salem, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania.

Court filings indicate that Cedric Lodge sold remains to individuals such as Joshua Taylor and Andrew Ensanian. Many of these purchased remains were then resold for profit. One notable buyer was Jeremy Pauley, who has previously entered a guilty plea to charges of conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen human remains and is scheduled for sentencing on December 22, 2025.

The investigation into this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the East Pennsboro Township Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alisan Martin is prosecuting the case.

Several other defendants have also pleaded guilty in connection with this scheme. These include Joshua Taylor, Andrew Ensanian, Matthew Lampi, Katrina Maclean, and Angelo Pereyra. Lampi was sentenced to 15 months in prison, and Pereyra received a sentence of 18 months. Joshua Taylor is currently awaiting sentencing. In a separate but related case, Candace Chapman-Scott, who stole remains from a crematorium in Arkansas where she was employed and sold them to Pauley in Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after entering a guilty plea in Arkansas federal court.

Article by Mel Anara, based upon information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Pennsylvania

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