Harvard Avoids Liability Over Remains Stolen From Medical School

Harvard University and its medical school are not liable for the actions of a former morgue manager who stole, sold, and desecrated human remains that were donated for scientific research, a Suffolk Superior Court judge said Monday.

Forty-seven relatives of the victims brought twelve different lawsuits over the federal crimes committed by Cedric Lodge, who was indicted in June 2023 for selling donated body parts.

Superior Court Judge Kenneth Salinger dismissed their claims against Harvard and the employees who ran the medical school’s anatomical gift program, finding the family members failed to suggest that the university didn’