A tip from a former lover of a man suspected of buying human body parts online led to the arrest of a Harvard University morgue supervisor and an Arkansas funeral home employee who were accused of stealing human remains for profit .
Jeremy Pauley, 41, was a member of a Facebook group dedicated to buying, selling and trading “curiosities” ranging from antiques and toys to witchcraft items.
An anonymous tip from “someone” has now become known [Pauley] According to Cumberland County District Attorney Sean McCormack, “no longer together” gave investigators the key to the case.
This information helped police arrest Cedric Lodge, 55, chief of the Harvard morgue, and Candace Chapman Scott, 36, an Arkansas funeral director. Both face up to 15 years in prison for their alleged role in the macabre underground network that deals in stolen brains, hearts, skin and fetal remains.
Five other people have been charged in connection with the case.
The tipster told police they found what appeared to be human organs and human skin in 5-gallon buckets in the basement of Pauley’s home. They recovered three of them when they visited his house on the same day.
An anonymous tip from “someone” was revealed [Jeremy Pauley] was no longer together” gave them the key to the case that led to the arrests of a Harvard University morgue manager and an Arkansas funeral home worker accused of stealing human body parts and selling them on the black market
Police also discovered two human brains, two lungs, a heart, two livers and a skull with hair after obtaining a search warrant.
Over a nine-month period, Pauley Scott reportedly paid $10,975 for various body parts – including a heart, a brain, a liver, a kidney, a windpipe, ears, “two false boobies”, a lung, skin, a penis, testicles, a whole head, etc. two fetuses’.
Pauley is accused of reselling the preserved remains to others, including tattoo artist Matthew Lampi.
Lampi, 52, of East Bethel, Minnesota, and Pauley have been buying and selling from each other for an extended period of time, exchanging over $100,000 in online payments.
In a 2008 magazine interview with Big Tattoo Planet, Lampi reveals some details of his collection.
“My mind never relaxes.” I’m always in a state of flux. When I’m not tattooing or designing, I collect objects,” he said.
“My collection consists of several tantric Kampalas, human skulls, a mortician makeup kit (which was of course used in the past) and a client’s toe.”
Lodge is said to have stolen remains from bodies that had been donated to the prestigious Harvard’s Medical School – to which he had access as head of the morgue. He worked there from 1995 until his dismissal on May 6th.
Pauley is accused of reselling the preserved remains to others, including tattoo artist Matthew Lampi
Lampi, 52, of East Bethel, Minnesota, and Pauley have been buying and selling from each other for an extended period of time, exchanging over $100,000 in online payments. In a 2008 Big Tattoo Planet magazine interview, Lampi revealed some details of his collection
Scott has worked at a funeral home in Little Rock, Arkansas, since 2014 that was commissioned to move bodies for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).
Her role required her to transfer the bodies to the UAMS campus and return the cremated remains to the UAMS within 72 hours.
Arkansas federal court documents state that Scott first contacted Pauley in October 2021 with a message that said, “I follow your page and work and LOVE you.” I’m a mortician and work at a morgue.
“We are contracted by the Medical Hospital here in Little Rock to cremate their bodies when the medical students are done with them before disposing of them in a cremation garden.”
“Just out of curiosity, would you know anyone on the market for a fully intact specimen?” [sic]embalmed brain?’
Her indictment states that she did not have an active burial license at the time of the incident and was not authorized to remove organs, tissue or bones or dismember a corpse.
She took pictures of the organs at her home and mailed them to Pauley via the United States Postal Service. At one point, she told him that one of the fetuses was “not in good condition” so he could ask for a lower price, the indictment says.
Scott reportedly texted, “I’ll get some ice packs tomorrow as our Walmart and Dollar store was at my house and hopefully I’ll ship the little one tomorrow.”
Cedric Lodge (pictured), 55, is accused of removing heads, skin, bones and brains from cadavers donated to Harvard Medical School – which he had access to as morgue supervisor
Candace Chapman Scott, 36, (left) reportedly sold $10,975 worth of body parts to Jeremy Pauley, 41, (right) after meeting in a Facebook group dedicated to buying, selling and trading ” Oddities”.
Arkansas federal court documents say Scott first reached out to Pauley (pictured with his girlfriend) in October 2021
Scott did not have an active undertaker’s license at the time of the incident and was not authorized to remove organs, tissue or bones or dismember a corpse
Another message related to a sale said she was planning to flog “7 giant pieces of skin, 2 large pieces of skin with tiddy, 4 brains, one with a skullcap, 1 lung, a penis, 2 testicles and 3 hearts.”
Lodge had worked in the Harvard Medical School morgue since 1995 until his May 6 release
She faces 12 criminal charges: one count each of conspiracy to mail fraud and conspiracy to wire fraud; four counts each of mail fraud and wire fraud; and one count each of conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property and interstate transportation of stolen property.
Court records show that she has been held without bail since April and has been sentenced to a psychiatric evaluation.
Pauley had previously been arrested and charged with abusing a dead body, appropriating stolen property and handling the proceeds of illegal activity.
He also sells bonedust cubes and other macabre items from his collection online.
A separate indictment in Pennsylvania alleges that Pauley also spent $40,049 to purchase body parts from Josh Taylor, who bought them from Cedric Lodge.
Pauley has also made dominoes out of bone fragments and dust, which he sells on his Facebook page
Scott texted Pauley asking if he wanted to buy a fetus and posted pictures of the remains on Facebook
Along with his girlfriend, who has not been charged with any of the charges, Pauley sells bonedust cubes and other macabre items from his collection online
From at least April 2021 to January 2022, Taylor of Pennsylvania reportedly sold human remains he had purchased from Lodge to Pauley for a higher price.
Taylor pleaded not guilty to the charges in Pennsylvania on Wednesday and was also released.
Lodge is accused of removing heads, skin, bones and brains from cadavers donated to Harvard Medical School.
A federal solicitation revealed that he “temporarily” took them to his New Hampshire home and his wife Denise, 63, shipped the illegal goods to others on their network through the USPS.
The couple moved from their $385,000 four-bedroom, three-bathroom mansion in Manchester to a smaller three-bedroom, two-bathroom home in Goffstown in 2020, where they are accused of continuing their sinister plan.
Court documents state that Denise shipped “stolen human remains” from Manchester to Montgomery, Pennsylvania in 2018 and 2019.
From at least April 2021 to January 2022, Taylor of Pennsylvania sold human remains to Pauley that he had purchased from Lodge at a higher price
Pauley (pictured) is accused of reselling the preserved remains to others, including tattoo artist Matthew Lampi
In October 2020, Maclean sold two dissected faces and skin for $600 to Pauley, who was hired to tan the skin and turn it into leather before shipping it back to MacLean
MacLean, 44, (pictured) appeared in federal court in Boston on Wednesday afternoon, where she was charged with transporting stolen goods and released on bail
From September 3, 2018 to July 12, 2021, Taylor sent 39 transactions through PayPal to Denise Lodge totaling $37,355.56, the indictment said.
A $1,000 payment was given for “Head Number 7,” while another was sent in November 2020 for “Braiiiins” — which cost $200.
Lodge and his wife were conditionally released after appearing in federal court in New Hampshire.
Pauley was previously arrested and charged with abusing a dead body, accepting stolen property and trafficking the proceeds of illegal activity
He is also accused of selling the remains to Katrina MacLean, a doll maker from Salem, Massachusetts.
On more than one occasion, Lodge is accused of allowing MacLean and Taylor access to the morgue to choose what else to buy.
MacLean owned and operated a business called Kat’s Creepy Creations in Peabody, Massachusetts, where she stored and sold the remains.
The 44-year-old appeared in federal court in Boston on Wednesday afternoon, where she was charged with transporting stolen goods and released on bail.
She is also accused of selling the remains to buyers in several states, including Pauley.
In October 2020, Maclean reportedly sold two dissected faces and skin for $600 to Pauley, who was hired to tan the skin and turn it into leather before shipping it back to MacLean.
MacLean then reportedly shipped human skin to Pauley in June or July 2021 for Pauley to tan the leather.
It is also alleged that she contacted Lodge to obtain more human skin for Pauley, with the morgue director looking for the organ for her.
Lodge allegedly stole remains from cadavers donated to Harvard Medical School for scientific research and education
Pauley, 41, received the skin in payment for tanning the other skin. MacLean texted him to check that she had arrived because she “wanted to make sure she got to him” and she “didn’t expect agents at the door,” the indictment reads.
In all, he paid her $8,800 for the stolen human remains in October 2021. In total, Pauley paid $59,824 for the body parts from various sources, the documents say.
If convicted of conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen goods, the seven defendants face up to 15 years in prison, according to US Attorneys in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Pauley in May agreed to plead guilty to one count of interstate transportation of stolen property and a second count of conspiracy.
The agreement does not specify what punishment the federal prosecutor will recommend.
Harvard is currently working with federal authorities to determine which donors may be affected and has established a hotline for donor families to seek information and support.
The school insists that no other school staff will be charged or suspected of any wrongdoing.
In a statement, George Q. Daley, the dean of Harvard University Medical School, described Lodge’s behavior as “a heinous treason” and “morally reprehensible.”