A nurse named Charles Cullen worked in various hospitals for 16 years, where he secretly killed patients by administering lethal doses of medication through their IVs. It is believed that Cullen may have murdered around 400 people, making him one of the most prolific serial killers in recent times.
Cullen had a challenging upbringing, having lost his father as an infant, his mother in a car accident during high school, and two siblings shortly after. After dropping out of high school, he briefly served in the U.S. Navy before pursuing a nursing career. Despite graduating from the Mountainside Hospital School of Nursing in 1987 and starting a family, his personal life began to unravel.
Following his wife’s divorce filing in 1993 due to fears for her safety, Cullen’s behavior turned erratic, with disturbing incidents reported at home. His life further deteriorated with financial struggles, custody battles, and suicide attempts. His downward spiral continued as he moved between hospitals in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, where he continued his deadly actions unnoticed for years due to poor communication among healthcare facilities.
Eventually, suspicions arose at Somerset Medical Center, leading to Cullen’s arrest in 2003 after an internal investigation revealed suspicious patient deaths linked to him. Subsequent police monitoring and a recorded conversation with a colleague provided the evidence needed for his arrest and confession to multiple murders.
Cullen confessed to using various medications to poison his victims, targeting patients with specific conditions to carry out his crimes. He pleaded guilty to numerous murders, receiving multiple life sentences. Despite admitting to 29 murders, he claimed to have killed up to 40 people, with investigators suspecting the actual number could be much higher, possibly even reaching 400.
His actions were partially justified as “mercy killings” to end suffering, a defense commonly used but seen as a self-serving rationalization by experts. Notably, not all of Cullen’s victims were terminally ill, highlighting the indiscriminate nature of his crimes. The daughter of one victim expressed disdain for Cullen’s claims of being an “angel of mercy,” emphasizing the devastation he caused to families.
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