Ex-morgue manager’s wife pleads guilty in body parts scheme
The wife of the former manager of the Harvard Medical School morgue accused of running a nationwide scheme to sell body parts taken from cadavers that were supposed to be cremated changed her plea to guilty Friday in federal court in Pennsylvania for her role in the operation, according to court records.
Denise Lodge, of Goffstown, N.H., agreed to plead guilty to a charge of interstate transportation of stolen goods as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, who will drop a conspiracy charge against her, according to the records.
Her husband, Cedric Lodge, managed the school’s morgue for more than two decades before they were both indicted last June on allegations that they spent years diverting organs and cadaver parts that had been donated to the medical school’s Anatomical Gift Program. Five others were also indicted for allegedly participating in the operation.
Harvard Medical School’s Anatomical Gift Program accepts human remains willed to the school for training and research purposes.
Authorities allege that between 2018 and early 2023, Cedric Lodge stole portions of the cadavers — including heads, brains, skin, and bones — and brought them back to his home in New Hampshire or sold them on an illicit market. Cedric Lodge is also accused of allowing buyers into the morgue to pick out their purchases.
Cedric Lodge, along with two alleged buyers — Katrina Maclean of Salem and Joshua Taylor of Pennsylvania — have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.
According to court records, Taylor made 39 online payments to an account controlled by Denise Lodge, totaling more than $37,000. Taylor sometimes typed a memo with the payments, such as $1,000 for “head number 7 and $200 for “braiiiiiins,” according to previous Globe reports.
The plea agreement in Denise Lodge’s case says she could face a maximum of 10 years in prison with up to three years of supervised release, plus a fine of $250,000, according to court documents. Her attorney did not return messages seeking comment Friday.
Two others indicted in the scheme, Jeremy Pauley and Mathew Lampi of Minnesota, have also pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing, according to court records.
Candace Chapman Scott, a former mortuary worker in Arkansas who is accused of selling body parts to Pauley, was indicted in April 2023 and pleaded not guilty, but court records show a change of plea hearing is scheduled in her case later this month. Her attorney, George Morledge, declined to comment when reached Friday, citing attorney-client confidentiality.