A Pennsylvania "oddities collector" has been spared jail time after admitting to buying human remains stolen from Harvard Medical School and another mortuary in Arkansas and selling them on Facebook.
Jeremy Pauley of Thompson, 42, will serve two years of probation on charges of abusing a corpse, Fox 43 reported.
After he pleaded guilty to that charge on Jan. 8, prosecutors dropped additional charges against him, including one count of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities and two counts of receiving stolen property, WGAL reported.
Pauley pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen property in September 2023, the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Middle District of Pennsylvania wrote in a press release.
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In doing so, the office said, Pauley "admitted to his role in a nationwide network of individuals who bought and sold human remains."
Pauley bought body parts from cadavers that were donated for medical research before their scheduled cremations, allegedly from Cedric Lodge, the former manager of Harvard's Medical School Morgue, the U.S. Attorney's Office wrote.
The manager allegedly let his customers come into the morgue and pick out parts they wanted, the office wrote.
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Pauley also allegedly sourced remains from Candace Chapman Scott, an employee at a Little Rock mortuary. Scott allegedly stole pieces of cadavers she was taxed with cremating, the U.S. Attorney's office wrote, and would sell and ship them to Pauley.
At one point, Scott sent Pauley photos of a heart and another organ on Facebook Messenger – Pauley replied that he was interested in the brain and the heart, according to court records.
Pauley was arrested and charged for his role in the group by the East Pennsboro Township police in 2022, Fox 43 reported.
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Police first went to Pauley's Enola home when a tipster reported suspicious activity there, according to court documents. He told responding police that he collected "oddities" and that he had 15 to 20 human skulls he had legally purchased in his possession, the complaint showed.
The next month, police returned to the home when a caller told them there were buckets of "human skin" and "human organs" in Pauley's basement, according to the complaint cited by Fox 43.
Police executed a search warrant, the complaint showed, and found three five-gallon buckets filled with human remains.
District Attorney Sean M. McCormack called the case "one of the most bizarre investigations" he has handled in his 33 years as a prosecutor. "Just when I think I have seen it all, a case like this comes around," McCormack told Fox 43.
The FBI has since arrested three other individuals who allegedly trafficked stolen body parts, including Lodge's wife Denise Lodge, Katrina Maclean of Salem, Massachusetts, and Joshua Taylor of Pennsylvania.
Denise Lodge pleaded guilty to the interstate transport of stolen human remains, WBUR reported. She now faces 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Cedric Lodge has pleaded not guilty to charges against him, the outlet reported. It is unclear whether his wife will testify against him.
Also last month, a judge dismissed a class action lawsuit against Harvard by the family members affected by the trafficking, according to the Harvard Crimson.
In a statement titled "an abhorrent betrayal," Harvard Medical School addressed the incident:
"We are appalled to learn that something so disturbing could happen on our campus – a community dedicated to healing and serving others," the statement read in part.
