Harvard University has agreed to pay $53 million in compensation to families whose relatives donated their bodies to the medical school, settling a series of lawsuits linked to the human remains scandal. The proposed settlement was filed in a state court, and its implementation is still subject to final judicial approval. The legal proceedings could span several months.
At the centre of this case is Cedric Lodge, the former head of the medical school’s morgue. From 2018 to 2022, Lodge systematically stole body parts intended for medical research and education, before they were to be cremated. Among the stolen remains were organs, brains, skin, hands, faces, and even parts of heads.
Lodge transported some of these remains to his home in New Hampshire, where he and his wife, Denise, sold human remains to black market buyers. According to prosecutors, Lodge in some cases allowed customers to enter the Harvard morgue and inspect the bodies themselves to choose what they wanted to buy. Katrina Maclean, a person involved in the resale network, was sentenced to two years in prison for purchasing these remains.
Harvard maintains that all these actions took place without the knowledge or consent of the medical school, describing Lodge’s conduct as completely contrary to the institution’s values. While awaiting approval of the settlement, the justice system has already handed down sentences to the main actors. Cedric Lodge was sentenced to eight years in prison in December last year, his wife Denise to one year and one day, while Maclean also ended up behind bars.
