Eight years in prison Ex-head of Harvard's morgue traded in body parts
Between 2018 and 2022, he stole hands, heads and brains from the morgue: the former head of the anatomy department at the elite Harvard University and his wife have now been convicted.
17.12.2025, 21:13
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- The former head of the morgue at Harvard's medical institute has been sentenced to eight years in prison for illegally trafficking body parts.
- Between 2018 and 2022, he stole body parts from cadavers donated for research and sold them to collectors and dealers together with his wife.
- The university condemned the actions as "abhorrent".
The former head of the mortuary at the medical institute of the elite US university Harvard has been sentenced to eight years in prison for illegal trading in body parts. As the US Department of Justice announced on Tuesday (local time), the 58-year-old's wife was also sentenced to one year in prison for aiding and abetting.
Until his arrest in May 2023, the convicted man had managed the morgue at Harvard University's medical institute. According to the investigation, between 2018 and 2022 he stole organs and other parts of corpses that had been donated to the institute for medical research. The stolen body parts included hands, heads, faces and brains.
Body parts taken home
Without the knowledge of the relatives of the donors and his employer, he took the body parts home and sold and sent them to interested parties together with his wife. The buyers were collectors or people who subsequently resold or traded the items.
In a statement, Harvard University called the former morgue chief's actions "abhorrent and inconsistent with the standards and values that Harvard, our anatomical donors, and their loved ones expect and deserve."
