Son of woman whose body was donated to Harvard files class-action against the school after morgue manager is arrested for selling remains
- John Bozek is suing Harvard Medical School after coming to believe his mother’s remains may have been stolen by the school’s morgue manager
- He is launching the class-action lawsuit for all families potentially affected, and said up to 400 others could join his suit
- READ MORE: Inside house of horrors where couple allegedly stored and sold human remains from Harvard Medical School morgue
The son of a woman whose body was donated to Harvard Medical School has launched a class-action lawsuit on behalf of families whose loved ones’ remains may have been mishandled by the school’s former morgue manager.
It comes after Cedric Lodge, who worked at the esteemed college from 1995 until May this year, was indicted Wednesday after allegedly selling heads, brains, skin and other body parts stolen from the morgue.
John Bozek filed the lawsuit Friday in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston, and claims families from up to 400 donated cadavers could join his class-action.
The lawsuit states his mother, Adele Mazzone, arranged to donate her body to the medical school for research before her death in February 2019. Although her ashes were returned in April 2021, Bozek, of Tewksbury, Massachusetts, thinks that his mother’s body was one of those desecrated at the morgue.
His suit alleges negligence, breach of duty and infliction of emotional distress.
Cedric Lodge (pictured) is said to have stolen the remains from cadavers donated to the prestigious university for scientific research and education.
The new lawsuit filed against Harvard Medical School (pictured) alleges negligence, breach of duty and infliction of emotional distress
Bozek’s lawsuit comes after several families have expressed concerns in recent days their loved ones’ body parts may have been sold on the black market.
The filing states that he is launching the class-action suit for people ‘whose family members donated and entrusted their deceased bodies into Harvard’s custody for medical research and academic study.’
The lawsuit is seeking damages for those whose ‘cadavers were then mishandled, dissected, and/or sold by the HMS morgue manager,’ the suit says.
A Harvard spokesperson said via email that the university had no comment on the lawsuit.
When someone loses a loved one, ‘sometimes the only thing they can latch onto, is that their loved ones’ remains are going to be used for an important scientific purpose,’ Jeff Catalano, a partner at Keches Law Group, which is representing Bozek, said in a statement.
He added that Harvard owed a duty of care to the families who entrusted the school with custody of their loved ones’ donated bodies.
‘Medical schools like Harvard have a duty to ensure donated remains are handled properly and with decency and to ensure they are used for their intended purpose of scientific study,’ he added.
Among those who fear their relatives may have been victims of the depraved scheme was Sarah Hill, who said she felt ‘sick’ at the thought of her beloved aunt Christine Eppich’s remains being stolen from the research center.
‘You know you give your loved one to a program like Harvard and you think that everything will be done properly, and that people would never profit from something like this,’ she told Boston25.
‘We as family members gave her body to Harvard thinking that she was in the best hands possible.’
Sarah Hill (right) said her aunt Christine Eppich (left) may have been a victim of the depraved scheme, which she said made her feel ‘sick’
Denise Lodge, left, covers her face with a printout of the indictment against her as she walks from the federal courthouse, Wednesday, June 14, 2023
News of the black market scheme has shocked the nation following Wednesday’s indictment, with Harvard deans George Daley and Edward Hundert condemning the incident on the school’s website as ‘morally reprehensible.’
‘We are appalled to learn that something so disturbing could happen on our campus – a community dedicated to healing and serving others,’ the deans wrote.
‘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.’
The former morgue manager, 55-year-old Cedric Lodge, his wife and three other people are facing federal criminal charges. Harvard said Lodge was fired May 6.
According to prosecutors, the defendants were part of a nationwide network of people who bought and sold remains stolen from Harvard Medical School and an Arkansas mortuary.
Lodge sometimes took the body parts – which included heads, brains, skin and bones – back to his Goffstown, New Hampshire, home.
Some of the remains were allegedly even shipped through the United States Postal Service and were paid for on platforms including PayPal.
Lodge also allegedly allowed buyers to come to the morgue to pick which remains they wanted to buy, authorities said.
Several buyers have also been named in the indictment including Jeremy Pauley (pictured)
Pauley, 40, had previously been arrested and charged for abuse of a corpse, receiving stolen property and dealing in the proceeds of unlawful activities
Alleged buyer Katrina MacLean, of Salem, Massachusetts, who owned and operated a business called Kat’s Creepy Creations in Peabody, Massachusetts (pictured)
Maclean is also accused of selling on the remains he obtained to other buyers in multiple states including to Jeremy Pauley
Also included in the disturbing indictment was Katrina Maclean, 44, who ran ominous small business Kat’s Creepy Creations in Peabody, Massachusetts.
Maclean is also accused of selling the remains to other buyers in multiple states, including to Jeremy Pauley of Enola and Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania.
Pauley, 40, had previously been arrested and charged for abuse of a corpse, receiving stolen property and dealing in the proceeds of unlawful activities last summer.
In October 2020 Maclean sold two dissected faces and skin to Pauley for $600, who was hired to tan the skin and make it into leather before shipping it back to Maclean.
The indictment states that Pauley transferred $8,800 to MacLean and 25 payments totaling $40,049.04 to Taylor via PayPal.
Pauley also purchased body parts that were stolen from a crematorium in Little Rock, Arkansas, by Candace Chapman Scott, according to a statement from the Department for Justice.
‘Some crimes defy understanding,’ United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam said in a statement about the indictments.
‘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. With these charges, we are seeking to secure some measure of justice for all these victims.’
In a statement George Q. Daley, the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Harvard described Lodge’s behavior as ‘an abhorrent betrayal’ and ‘morally reprehensible.’
‘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.
‘We are so very sorry for the pain this news will cause for our anatomical donors’ families and loved ones, and HMS pledges to engage with them during this deeply distressing time.’
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