A man has pleaded guilty to selling human remains online that were stolen from Harvard Medical School and other facilities including two stillborn babies who should have been cremated and returned to their families.
Jeremy Pauley, 41, of Thompson, in the US state of Pennsylvania, now faces up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty on Thursday, 7th September, to conspiracy and to transporting stolen property across state borders.
Pauley, pictured in a mugshot obtained from the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office, can be seen sporting face tattoos, including on his right eye, and piercings, and he sold the remains after they were stolen by a woman named by authorities as Candace Chapman Scott, from Arkansas.
The human body part trafficking network is said to have been vast, with the US Department of Justice saying in a statement that “Pauley admitted to his role in a nationwide network of individuals who bought and sold human remains stolen from Harvard Medical School and an Arkansas mortuary.”
It added: “In pleading guilty to a felony Information, Pauley admitted that he purchased human remains from multiple individuals knowing that those remains were stolen. Pauley also admitted to selling many of the stolen remains to others, at least one of whom also knew they had been stolen.”
The statement continued: “The indictments allege that from 2018 through 2022, Cedric Lodge, who managed the morgue for the Anatomical Gifts Program at Harvard Medical School, located in Boston, Massachusetts, stole organs and other parts of cadavers donated for medical research and education before their scheduled cremations.
“Lodge at times allegedly transported stolen remains from Boston to his residence in Goffstown, New Hampshire, where he and his wife, Denise Lodge, sold the remains to Katrina Maclean, Joshua Taylor, and others, making arrangements via cellular telephone and social media websites.
“At times, Cedric Lodge allegedly allowed Maclean and Taylor to enter the morgue at Harvard Medical School and examine cadavers to choose what to purchase.
“On some occasions, Taylor transported stolen remains back to Pennsylvania. On other occasions, the Lodges shipped stolen remains to Taylor and others out of state.”
The authorities said that many of the corpses were supposed to have been cremated but they were in fact sold, with the statement saying: “Maclean and Taylor allegedly sold the stolen remains for profit, including to Jeremy Pauley in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Jeremy Pauley also allegedly purchased stolen human remains from Candace Chapman Scott, who stole remains from her employer, a Little Rock, Arkansas mortuary and crematorium.
“Scott allegedly stole parts of cadavers she was supposed to have cremated, many of which had been donated to and used for research and educational purposes by an area medical school, as well as the corpses of two stillborn babies who were supposed to be cremated and returned as cremains to their families. Scott allegedly sold the stolen remains to Pauley and shipped them to Pauley in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
“Pauley sold many of the stolen remains he purchased to other individuals, allegedly including Matthew Lampi. Lampi and Pauley bought and sold from each other over an extended period and exchanged over USD 100,000 [GBP 80,000] in online payments.”
The authorities named the other individuals charged alongside Pauley as: “Cedric Lodge, age 55, of Goffstown, New Hampshire; Katrina Maclean, age 44, of Salem, Massachusetts; Joshua Taylor, age 46, of West Lawn, Pennsylvania; Denise Lodge, age 63, of Goffstown, New Hampshire; and Mathew Lampi, age 52, of East Bethel, Minnesota.”
Lodge was the manager of the morgue for the Harvard Medical School’s Anatomical Gifts Program in Boston, Massachusetts, at the time.
Lodge also had the help of his wife Denise, 63, according to local media.
The authorities said: “Lodge at times allegedly transported stolen remains from Boston to his residence in Goffstown, New Hampshire, where he and his wife, Denise Lodge, sold the remains to Katrina Maclean, Joshua Taylor, and others, making arrangements via cellular telephone and social media websites.”
They also said: “At times, Cedric Lodge allegedly allowed Maclean and Taylor to enter the morgue at Harvard Medical School and examine cadavers to choose what to purchase.
“On some occasions, Taylor transported stolen remains back to Pennsylvania. On other occasions, the Lodges shipped stolen remains to Taylor and others out of state.”
Pauley has yet to be sentenced over his role in the network, which is said to have spanned the country.
