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What family members are saying after their loved ones’ body parts were possibly stolen from Harvard and sold
"Who could do something like that? What kind of person? No respect at all for the family."
Several families were left devastated and searching for answers Wednesday after learning that their loved ones’ body parts may have been stolen from Harvard Medical School’s morgue and sold on the black market.
Six people — including a New Hampshire couple and a Salem woman — have been charged with allegedly trafficking in human remains stolen from Harvard Medical School and an Arkansas mortuary. Prosecutors say Cedric Lodge, a former HMS morgue manager, stole and then sold dissected body parts from cadavers donated for educational or research purposes.
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Sisters Paula Peltonovich and Darlene Lynch, whose parents both donated their bodies to Harvard, said in an interview with WBZ that they learned Wednesday night that pieces of their father’s body were likely sold on the black market.
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Their father, New Hampshire resident Nick Pichowicz, donated his body to Harvard for education and research upon his death in 2019. Joan Pichowicz died in March of this year, after prosecutors say the alleged human remains scheme ceased operations.
“They trusted them to do good science work with their bodies. And then you hear this,” Peltonovich told WBZ.
“I literally wanted to throw up,” Lynch said.
Speaking to WCVB, Peltonovich said the family wants Joan Pichowicz’s body returned. She also demanded consequences for those allegedly responsible.
“Who could do something like that? What kind of person? No respect at all for the family,” she said. “They need to pay.”
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Harvard Medical School launched a webpage with resources for donors’ families in the wake of Wednesday’s indictments, as well as a 24/7 hotline at 1-888-268-1129. The school has also sent letters to donors’ documented next of kin.
Norwood’s Sarah Hill told Boston 25 News that she called the hotline Wednesday night and was told her aunt’s name was on the list of those who were potentially affected by the theft.
Her aunt, Christine Eppich, died in 2021.
“It’s been a frantic 24 hours. I received Christine’s remains back this fall after not having them for two years,” Hill told Boston 25. “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.”
According to The Boston Globe, Cedric and Denise Lodge appeared in federal court in New Hampshire Wednesday and were released on personal recognizance, with orders to appear in federal court in Pennsylvania, where the case is being prosecuted. Both declined to comment as they left the courthouse, the Associated Press reported.
Also charged Wednesday was Katrina MacLean, a Salem woman who allegedly bought two dissected faces from Cedric Lodge for $600 in 2020 and shipped human skin to another one of the individuals facing charges, Pennsylvania’s Jeremy Pauley.
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MacLean appeared in federal court in Boston and was also released with orders to report to court in Pennsylvania, WBZ reported.
“She’s never been in trouble before, and obviously this is very distressful,” defense attorney Gordon Spencer said outside court, according to WBZ. “She just wants to be home with her family.”
Anyone who believes a family member may have been affected by the alleged conduct can contact investigators at [email protected] or 717-614-4249.
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