True Story of Charles Cullen – Where is the “Killer Nurse” Now?

Charles Cullen used his career as a nurse to kill at least 40 people at different health centers within New Jersey and Pennsylvania in the 16 years of his practice from 1988 to 2003. His heinous crimes turned him into one of America’s most prolific serial killers and he became widely known as the Killer Nurse or The Good Nurse.

Cullen confessed to killing 40 people but authorities believe he killed hundreds. Regardless, he got 18 consecutive life sentences in 2006 and the same year, he was allowed to donate a kidney to a friend’s relative. There is more about his life and where he is today.

He was born into a Catholic Family

The Killer Nurse was born Charles Edmund Cullen on February 22, 1960, in West Orange, New Jersey. He was born into a Catholic family as the last of the 8 children of Edmund and Florence Cullen.

His father, Edmund was a bus driver who died in 1960 when Charles was 7 months old. His mother Florence, was killed in a car accident in 1977 when the Killer Nurse was 17 years old. His mother’s demise broke him but he was angrier at the hospital for not informing him about his mother’s death earlier and also for cremating her.

He Had a Tough Childhood and Attempted Suicide for The First Time When He was 9

Cullen had a tough childhood. He was constantly bullied in school and even by his sibling’s friends. By the time he was 9, Cullen attempted to take his life by drinking chemicals from a chemistry set.

This would become the first of many to come. In his later life and while working with the Navy, he attempted another suicide and was committed to the Navy psychiatric ward. He thought he was maltreated while at the Navy and the bullying he had endured since childhood continued.

He suffered several other breakdowns from depression and also attempted suicide a few other times even when he was still carrying out his numerous murders.

Charles Cullen Became a Nurse and Killed in at Least 10 Health Facilities

After Cullen was dismissed from the Navy in 1984, he went to Mountainside Hospital’s nursing school in Montclair, New Jersey. He graduated in 1987 and in 1988, he committed his first murder while working at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey.

He swiftly did his killings so much so that he only left in 1992 when an investigation was launched due to contaminated IV bags.

Subsequently, he worked in several other hospitals such as Warren Hospital in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, Hunterdon Medical Center, Flemington, New Jersey; Morristown Memorial Hospital; Liberty Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Allentown, Pennsylvania; Easton Hospital; Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest; St. Luke’s Hospital, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; and Somerset Medical Center in Somerville, New Jersey.

In all of these health facilities, Cullen killed numerous patients with lethal injection, killing about 40 people (based on his confession). He is widely known as one of the world’s most prolific serial killers.

Why Charles Cullen Killed

Cullen is mostly known as a mercy killer who killed his victims because he thought they were suffering enough. At least, that is what he made many to believe. However, reports have it that not all his victims were terminally ill, and killing them couldn’t have been mercy if we would go by that word.

Anyway, journalist and author Charles Graeber who wrote, The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder revealed that speaking to Cullen revealed many layers to the “mercy killing” narrative. Some of his killings had no reason while others depended on what he was facing at the time in his life. His struggles with his marriage, battle of child custody, and numerous others fuelled his decision to kill.

Whatever his reason could have been, the murders pointed out the hypocrisy, says Graeber. The hypocrisy is on the part of the hospitals where he carried out his acts.

He claimed that some of the hospitals didn’t want the liability that came with Cullen’s murders and as such, they dismissed him. Whether this is true or not, there cannot be any good justification.

See Also: Amy Fisher: Her True Story and Movies About Her Life

He was arrested in 2003 and Received His 18 Consecutive Life Sentences in 2006

Charles Cullen killed his last known victim in October 2003 and it was at this point that the hospital, Somerset Medical Center involved the police. Also, a nurse at the hospital and Cullen’s friend, Amy Loughren reported the serial killer when she realized he had access to drugs and his links to patient deaths.

It was not until December 2003 that the Killer Nurse was arrested. Although only 29 confirmations were made, Cullen confessed to killing 40 people. Authorities and psychologists believe that he may have killed hundreds.

He pleaded guilty in 2004 and for him to be spared from the death penalty, he plea to agreed to cooperate with the authorities.

On March 2, 2006, Cullen received 18 consecutive life sentences and will only be eligible for parole in 2403.

Where is Charles Cullen Now?

The serial is serving his term at New Jersey State Prison, Trenton, New Jersey. Still, in 2006, he was granted the request to donate his kidney to a relative. Nonetheless, there were conditions.

Some of the conditions include the expenses for the surgery be paid by the recipient’s insurer and it must be done in a New Jersey certified by the state Department of Corrections in New Jersey.

There is nothing known about his relationship with his family.

He was previously married to Adrianne Baum and had two children. They married in 1987 and divorced in 1993.

There are Films, Shows, and Books About His Life

Ever since the prolific and most notorious New Jersey serial killer’s infamous murders came to light, he gained the media’s attention.

He has also been the subject of many arts such as films, TV series, and books.

His archive footage has been shown in an episode of Evil, I (2012) and Becoming Evil: Serial Killers (2019). He featured in 3 episodes of 60 Minutes (2004-2013). His story is also captured loosely in The Killer Nurse (2022), which is based on Charles Graeber’s non-fiction book The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder.