No One Knows How Many People 'The Good Nurse's Charles Cullen Actually Killed
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Netflix’s The Good Nurse tells the terrifying tale of a nurse named Charles Cullen who murdered dozens of patients over the course of 16 years. Like many of Netflix’s recent eerie true-crime films, this one is based on a true story.
The Good Nurse tells the story of Cullen's crimes from the perspective of his friend and coworker, Amy Loughren.
IRL, after she learned what Cullen was doing, she helped authorities catch him. Thanks to Loughren's help, Cullen was caught and arrested in December of 2003. A decade later, a journalist named Charles Graeber wrote a book on Cullen's crimes called, The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder, and the tale now serves as the basis for the movie.
But who is the real Charles Cullen and where is he now? Here’s what you need to know.
Who is Charles Cullen?
Charles Cullen is a former nurse who murdered nearly 30 people during his career, according to The New York Times. (According to some reports, though, Cullen may have killed up to 400 people in his care.)
Cullen was born in 1960, in West Orange, New Jersey, according to The Independent, and both of his parents died when he was a child. Cullen enlisted in the US Navy but was medically discharged in 1984 after attempting to take his own life.
He went on to become a nurse and worked at a slew of hospitals in New Jersey and Pennsylvania for 16 years (from 1988 to 2003), The Independent says.
How many people did he kill?
It’s hard to say for sure. But Cullen pleaded guilty to killing at least 29 patients, while also previously stating he killed at least 40, the Times says.
He told police that he purposefully injected lethal doses of heart and insulin medications into random IV fluid bags, turned off ventilators, and medicated patients without doctor’s orders, per NJ.com. One of his victims was just 21 years old, per the New York Times.He was also fired or forced out of at least six medical centers, the outlet reported.
Cullen was finally caught after going on a 13-person killing spree at Somerset Medical Center in late 2003, the New York Times reported. All of the deaths occurred in less than a year.
What was he charged with?
Cullen was charged with the murder of 29 patients.
A contemporary report from a 2006 New York Times article reads: "Charles Cullen, a lonely, sneaky nurse who pleaded guilty to killing 29 patients and told authorities he may have killed many more, was sentenced on Thursday to 11 consecutive life terms, with no hope for parole for 397 years."
Where is he now?
Cullen is currently serving 11 consecutive life sentences for 22 of the murders he committed in New Jersey, and he faces another six life sentences for his killings in Pennsylvania, NJ.com reports. He’s currently serving time at New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, and his earliest possible parole date would be June 10, 2388.
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