Four people who allegedly stole and sold off human remains from Harvard Medical School's morgue have been charged - including the boss and wife, according to police.
Prosecutors alleged the horrific body-part scheme started in 2018 until early 2023 after Cedric Lodge, the morgue manager, allegedly let buyers come into the morgue to pick what remains they wanted to purchase, before stealing parts of donated cadavers such as human brains, skin and bones.
According to local media reports, Mr Lodge is accused of taking the body parts to his home in New Hampshire and then shipping them to customers through the post.
Prosecutors say Cedric Lodge stole "heads, brains, skin, bones, and other human remains, without the knowledge or permission of HMS, and removed those remains from the morgue in Massachusetts and transported them to his residence in New Hampshire."
According to the complaint, the object of the project was "to profit from the interstate shipment, purchase, and sale of stolen human remains."
Mr Lodge is accused of stealing body parts to sell to buyers in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, one of whom “agreed to purchase two dissected faces for $600.”
The complaint was filed in federal court in Pennsylvania, US, where one of the defendant lives. One of the other defendant runs a store in Peabody, Massachusetts called Kat's Creepy Creations.
Denise Lodge, Cedric Lodge's wife, and Katrina Maclean and Joshua Taylor are named as defendants.
Mr Lodge and his wife are accused of selling the stolen body parts to Katrina and Joshua and others and "sometimes shipped those remains through the United States Postal Service to Pennsylvania and elsewhere."
Investigators claim Katrina shipped human skin to a man in Pennsylvania in mid-2021 and "engaged his services to tan the skin to create leather."
According to local media reports, Joshua allegedly spent over $37,000 to Denise Lodge to pay for body parts stolen from her husband.
Police alleged Joshua sent Denise $200 with a memo asking for the parts. "On November 20, 2020, Taylor sent Denise Lodge $200 with a memo than read, "braiiiiiins", the complaint says.
The morgue manager is accused of letting Katrina, Joshua and other others into the building to choose what body parts to buy, according to prosecutors.
Katrina is accused of selling the human remains and stashing them away at her Peabody shop, which was searched by the FBI back in March.
Mr Lodge's named was no longer listed on Harvard Medical School's website as of Wednesday but, according to an archived version of his biography page, he had worked with the school's Anatomical Gift Program since 1995.
His page stated he was responsible for "maintaining the anatomical morgue and teaching labs while working closely with HMS faculty and students."
The four suspects are expected to appear in court on Wednesday afternoon, according to local media.
