A class-action lawsuit has been filed over the alleged sale of human body parts from the morgue at Harvard Medical School.
The revelation that a morgue manager who worked with bodies that were donated to science allegedly stole and sold off body parts on the black market rocked the renowned school this week. The class-action suit, filed in Massachusetts' Suffolk Superior Court Friday, seeks "monetary damages for the severe emotional distress caused."
Harvard has been reaching out by mail to families of the people whose bodies may have been mistreated. Six people face federal charges over the allegations, including the now-former morgue manager, Cedric Lodge, and his wife, and a woman who's run a horror-themed oddities shop in Peabody, Massachusetts, called Kat's Creepy Creations.
"The law recognizes that human beings are entitled to be treated with decency and dignity after death including by not having their bodies mishandled, viewed, dismembered, and/or sold by those entrusted with them," the lawsuit says.
The lawyers who filed the class-action suit against the president and fellows of Harvard College as well Lodge, spoke about it Friday afternoon.
"As this grotesque story of mishandling of bodies at Harvard Medical School came to light on Wednesday, we started hearing from affected families," said Jonathan Sweet of Keches Law Group. "We started hearing from the families of loved ones who selflessly donated their bodies to science before they died."
Sweet said between 350 and 400 cadavers are believed to have been impacted.
"This case is about getting to the truth of what happened there, how it could happen for such a long time, how it could happen with apparent minimal oversight, and how the manager of the morgue had apparent free reign to operate without oversight," Sweet said. "We hope to bring to these families by filing this lawsuit a second closure."
"These families have already been traumatized once," added Jeff Catalano, another attorney with Keches Law Group. "To have this happen is retraumatizing. And the calls we're getting are heartbreaking."
Catalano added that it is also traumatizing for families to have to wait to find out whether their loved ones may have been impacted.
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In a statement to NBC10 Boston Friday, Harvard Medical School said it does not comment on pending litigation.
Morbid charges outlined by feds
Seven people in total have been indicted in what investigators have said is a nationwide network of people involved in the stealing, selling and purchasing of human remains, some of which came from Harvard Medical School.
Out of the seven accused, three are from New England, including the Lodges. Prosecutors allege that Cedric Lodge stole human organs and bones from cadavers donated for medical research, that were supposed to be cremated.
The couple's home had been raided back in March, but they weren't arrested until Wednesday — leaving their neighbors in shock.
"It's creepy that number one it's two doors down, number two what kind of sick people do we have in this world who would even buy these," a neighbor named Roxanne Ryder said.
Among the alleged buyers is Katrina Maclean, who was reportedly allowed by Cedric to enter the morgue to choose the parts she and a Pennsylvania man wanted to purchase — including skin, brains and bones. Court documents said that in 2020, Maclean bought two dissected faces for $600 and shipped human skin to Pennsylvania, while running the Kat's Creepy Creations store in Peabody that sells creepy dolls, bone art and other oddities.
She did not speak to news outlets while leaving federal court on Wednesday, but her lawyer did speak on her behalf.
"She's never been in trouble before and obviously this was very distressful," her attorney Gordon Spencer said. "She just wants to be home with her family."
Reaction from family impacted
"It's like a dream, you know what I mean? It's like not real, but it is real," Paula Peltonovich said.
Peltonovich, and her sister, Darlene Lynch, said that their parents were both police officers and wanted to donate their bodies to science. They want their mother's body back, now.
"My concern is getting my mom back," said Peltonovich. "I don't want them to touch my mom. I mean, can you blame me? I mean, seriously, it's just the whole thing's wrong."
Harvard Medical School said Wednesday it was "deeply sorry for the pain and uncertainty caused by this troubling news." It set up a page of resources for family members of people who have donated their bodies to the Anatomical Gift Program.
Among those resources is a toll-free information and support center that can be reached 24 hours a day at 1-888-268-1129, the school said.
'An abhorrent betrayal'
In addition to the family of one man's remains who were said to be impacted, law enforcement officials and leaders at Harvard Medical School have issued statements in the wake of the news.
"Some crimes defy understanding," said U.S. Attorney Gerard Karam in a statement. "The theft and trafficking of human remains strikes at the very essence of what makes us human. It is particularly egregious that so many of the victims here volunteered to allow their remains to be used to educate medical professionals and advance the interests of science and healing. For them and their families to be taken advantage of in the name of profit is appalling."
Karam characterized Harvard Medical School as another victim of the scheme and appreciated their cooperation with the federal investigation.
Deans of the Harvard Medical School wrote a letter to the community on Wednesday addressing the situation, saying that Cedric Lodge was fired on May 6. The letter was titled "An abhorrent betrayal."
"We are appalled to learn that something so disturbing could happen on our campus — a community dedicated to healing and serving others. The reported incidents are a betrayal of HMS and, most importantly, each of the individuals who altruistically chose to will their bodies to HMS through the Anatomical Gift Program to advance medical education and research," said the statement from George Daley, the dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Harvard University and Edward Hundert, the dean for Medical Education at Harvard Medical School.
They offered an apology to the families and loved ones and donors, offering them resources including a 24/7 counseling hotline — anyone who thinks they may have been affected by the scheme can also reach out to federal investigators at usapam-victim.information@usdoj.gov or 717-614-4249.
