SCRANTON, P.A. — A Salem woman who owned a Peabody store that was the subject of an FBI raid in March was among six people charged with trafficking in stolen human remains, according to prosecutors.
Katrina MacLean, 44, was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 14 on conspiracy and interstate transport-of-stolen-goods charges for her alleged role in a nationwide network of people who bought and sold human remains stolen from an Arkansas mortuary and Harvard Medical School in Boston.
The announcement of the charges comes more than three months after the raid of MacLean’s Peabody business, Kat’s Creepy Creations, which was located in Mills 58 on Pulaski Street. According to its Instagram page, the store sold “creepy dolls, oddities, [and] bone art.”
The Instagram page describes “creations that shock the mind and shake the soul,” and features numerous images of dolls with disturbing faces painted on them. Several posts on the page reference human remains, including one from February 2020 that depicts a doll sitting behind a “real human skull.”
“If you’re in the market for human bones hit me up!” the post reads.
Another post from December 2019 advertises “cool displays showcasing 11 real human vertebrae in each one.”
Also facing charges are Cedric Lodge, 55, of Goffstown, N.H.; Joshua Taylor, 46, of West Lawn, Pa.; Denise Lodge, 63, of Goffstown, N.H.; Mathew Lampi, 52, of East Bethel, Minn.; Jeremy Pauley, 41, of Bloomsburg, Pa.; and Candace Chapman Scott, of Little Rock, Ark. according to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, who represents the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Cedric Lodge allegedly stole organs and other parts of cadavers given to Harvard Medical School, where he managed the morgue for the school’s Anatomical Gifts program, for research and education before their scheduled cremations. At times, he allegedly transported remains from Boston to his residence in New Hampshire, where the remains were sold to MacLean, Taylor, and others, the statement said.
“Some crimes defy understanding,” Karam said. “The theft and trafficking of human remains strikes at the very essence of what makes us human. It is particularly egregious that so many of the victims here volunteered to allow their remains to be used to educate medical professionals and advance the interests of science and healing. For them and their families to be taken advantage of in the name of profit is appalling. With these charges, we are seeking to secure some measure of justice for all these victims.”
At times, Cedric Lodge allegedly allowed MacLean and Taylor to enter the morgue at Harvard Medical School and examine bodies so they could determine what they wanted to purchase. MacLean allegedly resold the remains for profit, the statement said, including to Pauley.
“The defendants violated the trust of the deceased and their families all in the name of greed,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Jacqueline Maguire. “While today’s charges cannot undo the unfathomable pain this heinous crime has caused, the FBI will continue to work tirelessly to see that justice is served.”
An indictment filed in support of the charges in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania alleges that MacLean and other members of the conspiracy “knowingly, intentionally, and willfully, conspired, combined, confederated with, and agreed… to unlawfully transport… human remains of the value of $5,000 or more [despite] knowing the same to have been stolen, converted and taken by fraud.”
MacLean allegedly stored and sold human remains at her Peabody storefront, according to the indictment.
The indictment alleges that MacLean agreed to purchase two “dissected faces” for $600 from Cedric Lodge in October 2020, completing the purchase at Harvard Medical School. She also allegedly shipped human skin to Pauley in Pennsylvania in summer 2021 and “engaged his services” to tan the skin to create leather, providing him with human skin in lieu of payment after he confirmed he had done the tanning.
MacLean also received $8,800 from Pauley in October 21 via PayPal, allegedly for the human remains.
“Robbing families of the remains of their loved ones is an unconscionable act and confounds our collective sense of decency. Using the United States mail to facilitate the theft and shipment of human remains is a federal crime and the Postal Inspection Service will do everything in its power to stop it,” said Christopher Nielsen, the inspector in charge of the Philadelphia Division of the Postal Inspection Service. “I want to thank our law enforcement partners and the United States Attorney for working with the Postal Inspection Service to stop this group, and I hope our efforts bring a small amount of relief to the victimized families.”
