Charles Cullen Nurse Killer
Charles Cullen
Nurse Killer
The case I have researched concerns Charles Cullen. I had never heard of him until I saw his name on the list of suggested cases. It was Charles Cullen’s nickname, the Nurse Killer, which caught my attention. I had already started forming questions about the case. Questions like, “Why was he called the Nurse Killer?” “Did he murder nurses at a hospital?” “When did all this happen?” I wanted to answer these questions and was able to do so with my research. An additional reason why I chose this case is because, along with unsolved mystery cases, I enjoy learning about murder cases. I find them exciting and interesting to hear about. In this research paper I will tell you about Charles Cullen’s murders, what …show more content…
happened at the courts and why this case is famous.
Charles Cullen, a now 50 year old man, was a former nurse with 16 years of experience. No one would have suspected him to be a murderer, but that just made it easier for him. Charles committed his first murder on June 11, 1988. He was working at St. Barnabas Medical Center during that time. The way he killed the patient was by giving an overdose of intravenous medication (IV). Cullen later noted he killed 11 patients at the medical center. However, he had quit his job in January 1992 because authorities were beginning to investigate. In February of 1992 to March 1993, Cullen had been through a lot. During that time, he killed three elderly women at his new job at Warren Hospital in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, divorced his wife and tried to commit suicide multiple times.
In December of 1993, Cullen left Warren Hospital and began a new job in Raritan Township, New Jersey at Hunterdon Medical Center. During the five years he worked there, Cullen murdered five people by giving them overdoses of digoxin. In November 1998, Cullen decided to try a job in Easton, Pennsylvania at Easton Hospital. He murdered yet another patient by using digoxin. Cullen only worked there until March 1999. Lehigh Valley Hospital was his next target. He murdered one person and attempted to kill another. He later resigned and worked at St. Luke’s Hospital in Pennsylvania. Over the course of three years, Cullen murder five people and attempted two others. On January 11, 2000, he tried to commit suicide again. He was admitted to a psychiatric facility, but was let out the next day. Cullen was not suspected at St Luke’s Hospital, until a co worker found vials of unused medicine in a bin. Cullen was fired in June 2001 because the hospital had proven he used the drugs.
Cullen got a new job in Somerville, New Jersey at Somerset Medical Center. September 2002 to June 18, 2003, Cullen’s killings became worse. He murdered eight patients and attempted another. He killed them by giving overdoses of digoxin and epinephrine. It wasn’t until July 2003, that the executive director of New Jersey Poison Information and Education System cautioned the center by telling them there was a possibility that one of the workers could be the killer. The hospital waited till October to inform the police. However, it gave plenty of time for Cullen to kill five more patients. After looking into Cullen’s prior jobs, it showed that Cullen was suspicious of murdering patients in the past. Somerset Medical Center finally fired him on October 31, 2003. On December 14, 2003, Charles Cullen was arrested. His charges were one count of murder and one account of attempted murder.
At his arraignment, Cullen pled guilty; he did not want to fight. However, the judge did not want a plea at that time. Cullen then said he did not want an attorney. The judge set his bail at $1 million and he was sent to Somerset County. Cullen told detectives he had possibly killed 40 patients and that he had intended their deaths. He thought he was going to get the death penalty, so he obtained a defender named Jonny Mask, to put the death penalty out of the question. Pennsylvania and New Jersey agreed to the terms. Cullen said he had killed the patients to end their suffering. He was backed up with this statement because he attacked patients in critical care units. Yet, there were also a number of patients who were not suffering that he killed. He also noted that he wanted to quit, but he needed to pay the bills and child support from his divorce.
In April 2004, Cullen pleaded guilty to murdering 13 patients in New Jersey, one in Pennsylvania and attempting to kill two others.
After prosecutors from the seven counties Cullen worked at figured out a plea deal, they declared that Cullen could not be entitled for parole for 127 years. In June 2005, Cullen decided to offer advice to healthcare institutions. He recommended surveillance cameras, swipe cards, a daily count of medications and a national database of updating employment history. In response, New Jersey passed the Safe Health Care Reporting Act. Unfortunately, it was not over yet; Cullen admitted to 29 murders and six attempted ones. He didn’t want a sentencing hearing, but in order for him to donate a kidney to a friend, he had to attend the hearing. On March 2, 2006, in Somerville, New Jersey he went to court and got 11 life sentences. On March 10, Cullen went to a court in Allentown, Pennsylvania. During the hearing, he was muzzled because he kept repeating, “Your honor, you need to step down”, even after the judge told him to stop. Cullen was given seven more life sentences. Cullen was then sent to jail at Somerset County Jail but he was moved to New Jersey State Prison in Trenton because security was
tighter.
I believe that the case of Charles Cullen is famous because he was able to murder patients for years. What made the case even more appealing was that it was targeted against a certain group of people. It is also known that the public loves to hear about serial killers because they find it fascinating. In addition, it is scary since Cullen was a nurse. You never know when either a loved one, or you, could be murdered by a nurse or doctor. All in all, the fact that Charles Cullen killed 40 or more patients in New Jersey and Pennsylvania makes this whole ordeal terrifying.
Nurse Killer
The case I have researched concerns Charles Cullen. I had never heard of him until I saw his name on the list of suggested cases. It was Charles Cullen’s nickname, the Nurse Killer, which caught my attention. I had already started forming questions about the case. Questions like, “Why was he called the Nurse Killer?” “Did he murder nurses at a hospital?” “When did all this happen?” I wanted to answer these questions and was able to do so with my research. An additional reason why I chose this case is because, along with unsolved mystery cases, I enjoy learning about murder cases. I find them exciting and interesting to hear about. In this research paper I will tell you about Charles Cullen’s murders, what …show more content…
happened at the courts and why this case is famous.
Charles Cullen, a now 50 year old man, was a former nurse with 16 years of experience. No one would have suspected him to be a murderer, but that just made it easier for him. Charles committed his first murder on June 11, 1988. He was working at St. Barnabas Medical Center during that time. The way he killed the patient was by giving an overdose of intravenous medication (IV). Cullen later noted he killed 11 patients at the medical center. However, he had quit his job in January 1992 because authorities were beginning to investigate. In February of 1992 to March 1993, Cullen had been through a lot. During that time, he killed three elderly women at his new job at Warren Hospital in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, divorced his wife and tried to commit suicide multiple times.
In December of 1993, Cullen left Warren Hospital and began a new job in Raritan Township, New Jersey at Hunterdon Medical Center. During the five years he worked there, Cullen murdered five people by giving them overdoses of digoxin. In November 1998, Cullen decided to try a job in Easton, Pennsylvania at Easton Hospital. He murdered yet another patient by using digoxin. Cullen only worked there until March 1999. Lehigh Valley Hospital was his next target. He murdered one person and attempted to kill another. He later resigned and worked at St. Luke’s Hospital in Pennsylvania. Over the course of three years, Cullen murder five people and attempted two others. On January 11, 2000, he tried to commit suicide again. He was admitted to a psychiatric facility, but was let out the next day. Cullen was not suspected at St Luke’s Hospital, until a co worker found vials of unused medicine in a bin. Cullen was fired in June 2001 because the hospital had proven he used the drugs.
Cullen got a new job in Somerville, New Jersey at Somerset Medical Center. September 2002 to June 18, 2003, Cullen’s killings became worse. He murdered eight patients and attempted another. He killed them by giving overdoses of digoxin and epinephrine. It wasn’t until July 2003, that the executive director of New Jersey Poison Information and Education System cautioned the center by telling them there was a possibility that one of the workers could be the killer. The hospital waited till October to inform the police. However, it gave plenty of time for Cullen to kill five more patients. After looking into Cullen’s prior jobs, it showed that Cullen was suspicious of murdering patients in the past. Somerset Medical Center finally fired him on October 31, 2003. On December 14, 2003, Charles Cullen was arrested. His charges were one count of murder and one account of attempted murder.
At his arraignment, Cullen pled guilty; he did not want to fight. However, the judge did not want a plea at that time. Cullen then said he did not want an attorney. The judge set his bail at $1 million and he was sent to Somerset County. Cullen told detectives he had possibly killed 40 patients and that he had intended their deaths. He thought he was going to get the death penalty, so he obtained a defender named Jonny Mask, to put the death penalty out of the question. Pennsylvania and New Jersey agreed to the terms. Cullen said he had killed the patients to end their suffering. He was backed up with this statement because he attacked patients in critical care units. Yet, there were also a number of patients who were not suffering that he killed. He also noted that he wanted to quit, but he needed to pay the bills and child support from his divorce.
In April 2004, Cullen pleaded guilty to murdering 13 patients in New Jersey, one in Pennsylvania and attempting to kill two others.
After prosecutors from the seven counties Cullen worked at figured out a plea deal, they declared that Cullen could not be entitled for parole for 127 years. In June 2005, Cullen decided to offer advice to healthcare institutions. He recommended surveillance cameras, swipe cards, a daily count of medications and a national database of updating employment history. In response, New Jersey passed the Safe Health Care Reporting Act. Unfortunately, it was not over yet; Cullen admitted to 29 murders and six attempted ones. He didn’t want a sentencing hearing, but in order for him to donate a kidney to a friend, he had to attend the hearing. On March 2, 2006, in Somerville, New Jersey he went to court and got 11 life sentences. On March 10, Cullen went to a court in Allentown, Pennsylvania. During the hearing, he was muzzled because he kept repeating, “Your honor, you need to step down”, even after the judge told him to stop. Cullen was given seven more life sentences. Cullen was then sent to jail at Somerset County Jail but he was moved to New Jersey State Prison in Trenton because security was
tighter.
I believe that the case of Charles Cullen is famous because he was able to murder patients for years. What made the case even more appealing was that it was targeted against a certain group of people. It is also known that the public loves to hear about serial killers because they find it fascinating. In addition, it is scary since Cullen was a nurse. You never know when either a loved one, or you, could be murdered by a nurse or doctor. All in all, the fact that Charles Cullen killed 40 or more patients in New Jersey and Pennsylvania makes this whole ordeal terrifying.