A Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that Harvard University can be sued by families whose deceased relatives’ remains were stolen and sold from the Harvard Medical School morgue, describing the incident as a “macabre scheme spanning several years.”
The decision overturns an earlier lower court ruling that had shielded the Ivy League institution from liability. According to Al Jazeera, the state’s highest court found that both Harvard University and Mark F. Cicchetti, the managing director of the Harvard Medical School Anatomical Gift Programme, could be held legally responsible for negligence.
Delivering the judgment, Chief Justice Scott L. Kafker said the case revealed a disturbing pattern in which former morgue manager Cedric Lodge dissected and sold human remains that had been donated for medical research and education.
“Harvard had a legal obligation to ensure the dignified treatment and disposal of the donated human remains and failed miserably in this regard,” Justice Kafker wrote, noting that the university itself had acknowledged this failure.
Harvard now faces 12 lawsuits filed by 47 families of individuals whose remains were allegedly stolen and trafficked between 2018 and 2023. The plaintiffs accused the university of failing to implement proper security measures and of ignoring safety recommendations issued by the American Association of Anatomy.
The scandal first came to light in 2023, when investigators uncovered that Cedric Lodge, who managed Harvard’s morgue, had smuggled body parts — including heads, brains, skin, and bones — out of the facility.
Prosecutors revealed that Lodge sold the remains across state lines to multiple buyers. One conspirator allegedly purchased two dissected faces for $600, while another sought human skin to be tanned into leather.
Court filings also detailed 39 PayPal transactions totaling $37,000, with memos such as “head number 7” and “braiiiiiins.”
Lodge was terminated by Harvard in 2023 and later pleaded guilty in May to one count of interstate transport of stolen human remains. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The ruling represents a major legal setback for Harvard University, which had argued that it could not be held accountable for the criminal acts of a rogue employee.
The decision now paves the way for the families’ lawsuits to proceed, potentially establishing a precedent for institutional liability in the mishandling of donated human bodies used in scientific research and education.
