Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - “The Angel of Death” Pt. 2 - Charles Cullen

Episode Date: October 9, 2017

Charles Cullen was one of the deadliest serial killers in American history. As a nurse, he went from hospital to hospital, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. Greg and Vanessa investigate how the New Jersey hospitals that employed the killer nurse ignored evidence of his murders. Yet despite the mounting deaths, the one person capable of bringing Cullen to justice was his only friend.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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listener discretion is advised. This episode includes dramatizations and discussions of murder and assault that some people may find offensive. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. Latrophobia. Fear of doctors. When you're a kid, this fear is usually born out of getting shots. Having razor-thin needles puncture your skin to deliver some sort of dogged concoction, the nurse says it'll help you, make you stronger against diseases and illness. What if that wasn't the case? Charles Edmund Cullen, a critical care nurse working at hospitals up and down New Jersey and Pennsylvania, used the guise of a simple injection to take the lives of some 40-plus victims. But that number may be trivial compared to the real number, one that could actually be in the hundreds.

Cullen was like a ghoul who haunted the halls of critical and intensive care units. From hospitals to rehabilitation centers, Cullen seemingly struck at random, Spurred by twisted moments of passion, he slipped into victim's rooms, targeting patients desperately trying to heal. With a hypodermic needle filled with a potent overdose of medication, he spiked their IV bags. Hours later, the victim would perish. No one was the wiser. For 16 years, Cullen murdered indiscriminately. Few hospitals caught on and fewer took action.

If Cullen was caught or suspected of malpractice, he was simply fired. Seven hospitals later, Cullen had left a trail of bodies to fill a morgue four times over. He was Satan's son, the angel of death. Hi, I'm Greg Poulson, and this is serial killers. Today we're going to continue our deep dive into the abhorrent and secret kills of Charles Edmund Cullen, more morbidly known as the Angel of Death. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson. Vanessa's not a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, but she's done a lot of research

for this show. Hi, everyone. We'd like to ask a quick favor. Would you leave a five-star review of serial killers on your favorite podcast directory? It seems so simple, but it really helps us out. And don't forget to subscribe while you're there, because a new episode comes out every Monday. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram at Parcast, and on Twitter at Parcast Network. A quick note. In this week's episode, all quotes from Charles Cullen will be performed by an actor. However, these lines are quoted from primary research sources and presented exactly as Cullen stated them. Now let's get back to the twisted psyche of Charles Edmund Cullen. Charles Edmund Cullen, a quiet boy born in West Orange, New Jersey to a working class family.

What went wrong? Well, a life of depression and isolation, nurtured by a victim mentality, turned meek little Charlie Cullen into a death dealer. Like other serial killers, he desired. power, but while some sought power via sexual violence and torture, Charles found respite in clandestine lethal injections. Through this act, Charles could have control over the one thing that eluded him all his life, death. Charles attempted suicide many times, starting at the tender age of nine. But with failed attempt after failed attempt, Charles Cullen grew more and more restless with his miserable existence. While he couldn't take his own life, he could take

the lives of others. It began with spiking drinks with poison in high school, then torturing his wife's pet terriers. Then on June 11, 1988, Charles took his first life. Charles was working at St. Barnabas Hospital in New Jersey when he killed Judge John Yango. Yango was a patient brought into St. Barnabas for a severe sunburn. With a simple overdose of insulin, Charles secretly killed Yango. Through this atrocious act, Cullen found an outlet for his existential misery. This suicide by proxy, or killing in order to satisfy a suicidal fantasy, was masked by an idea that Charles was reducing patients suffering, saving them from being coded as victims in the medical system. Really, though, it was to satisfy his own dark self-loathing. By 1988, Cullen had been removed from five hospitals and had

killed over 20 victims, yet hospitals who caught on merely fired him. Nurses knew something was off and reported him to the authorities, yet nothing was done. For 16 years, Cullen was able to kill Carte Blanche with a total of 40 victims between 1988 and 2003. Charles Cullen is a fascinating and terrifying case study, not just for the death and despair he induced, but his ability to carry out his cruelty with near impunity and invisibility. Why is that, Vanessa? Well, there are multiple factors at play here, Greg. One, there was a major nursing shortage from the late 90s into the early 2000s. Hospitals needed nurses, regardless of their backgrounds, so a minimum effort was put into thorough background checks. More importantly,

hospitals were worried about one thing, lawsuits. If the hospital gave bad references, or recommendations with no direct evidence to back up their claim, they could be sued for libel or even slander. This also meant that if hospitals made any claims of murder or foul play regarding a nurse, yet had no direct evidence, they could be held accountable for damage of character. To make matters worse, hospitals had little means of defense if something went wrong, i.e. a doctor botches a surgery, or a nurse kills his or her patients. Even if the hospital wasn't in the wrong, they were still still liable. So it was best to resolve the matter rather quietly, to sweep it all under the rug. This is how Charles Edmund Cullen was able to get away with murder.

I guess when all else fails, it always goes back to the money. In this case, I'm afraid so. Let's get back to Charles Cullen, though. When we last left off, he had been removed from his fifth hospital. He's already been under investigation at three of the five hospitals he worked at. now he was on his way to being hired at another. Following being fired from his position at Liberty Nursing and Rehabilitation for violating nursing protocol in October of 1998, it took Charles less than a week to find a new job.

By November of 98, Cullen started working part-time as a nurse in the intensive care unit of Easton Hospital in Pennsylvania. A month later, he'd take his second part-time job at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township in New Jersey. On December 31, 1998, Cullen took his first and only victim at Easton Hospital. The victim was Ottermar Schramm, a 78-year-old brought in for a seizure two days earlier. On the night of December 30, 1998, Mr. Schramm was talking to his daughter, Christina Toth, when Colin entered the room. Cullen had his usual instrument of death, a needle full of de Jaxon.

Christina was confused. She didn't understand why the nurse. came in so late and with an injection. When she questioned this, Cullen replied, It'll help his heart. Don't worry. Everything will be fine. Cullen silently killed Shramm with an overdose of de Jaxon. He quietly left and waited. The next morning, Shram died of heart failure.

Christina was devastated. Nurses were perplexed. What happened? Christina thought back to the nurse the night before. She saw him inject her dad with so. something. She complained to the hospital, which conducted an immediate investigation. The hospital put Zachary Lysak, a coroner, to the task of investigating. To Lysk's surprise, he found lethal levels of de Jaxon in Schramm's body. He took his findings to the hospital. The nurses were undoubtedly surprised. Looking over Schramm's chart, Lysak saw the patient should never have been giving any heart medication so potent, not to mention that strong a dosage. Whoever had done this did a

liberally. Once again, Cullen was the prime suspect. Cullen knew that the hospital would be investigating him soon, and he departed Easton of his own accord in March of 1999. The hospital dropped the investigation, and no criminal charges or investigation ensued. By now we're seeing a clear pattern to what Cullen is doing, going from hospital to hospital, killing as many as he can, then moving on. Do you think he had a set plan, or was he only acting on? necessity to escape. An excellent question, Greg. I think I would lean more towards the latter.

Really? What makes us say that? Do you remember Collins' quote from last week about spending his life in a fog? My whole life I felt like I was going through a fog. That fog only intensified once I decided to take someone's life. It was always spur of the moment. Cullen's kills were on a spontaneous whim. Unlike other serial killers who looked to cover their tracks, Cullen put in a minimum effort to conceal himself.

But again, that might be because he was getting away with murder so easily. An interesting point. Regardless, Cullen was hired full-time at Lehigh Valley Hospital in March of 1999. There he continued to work in the hospital's burn unit. Six months later, Cullen took the life of one of his youngest victims. Matthew Matter, was 22 years old, and brought into Lehigh Valley for severe burns from a car accident. Cullen was his nurse and saw to it he'd never felt pain again. Cullen stopped the young man's heart with Dejoxone.

Later, Cullen would argue that out of all of his killings, Matthew's death was one of mercy. I wanted to end his suffering. Cullen escaped Scott Free once again, but a solitary home life was starting to weigh heavily on him. Karen Zemba moved right above Cullen's basement apartment. She had become quite familiar with Mr. Charles Cullen, and the rumor, surrounding him. The tales of his chasing alley cats and dogs late at night, making weird faces at fellow tenants when he thought they weren't looking, and of course his suicide attempts. One day, Karen was resting quietly in her apartment when she noticed a strange smell. It seemed to

come out of nowhere, untraceable. She got down on all fours to track the omnipresent odor until it took her to the vents in the floor. It was coming from Cullen's apartment below. Karen was confused. What could he be doing? Then the smell's identity hit her. It was carbon monoxide. She panicked and hurried to her phone. She dialed 911 to report the smell. She feared Charles Cullen was going to kill himself and take the whole building with him. Emergency vehicles quickly arrived on the scene. Firefighters broke into Cullen's apartment. The place was filled with thick black smoke. They called out to Cullen until he called back from behind his bathroom door. They found him. him soaking in his bathtub. He had placed a large grill next to the tub and started a fire with a pile of charcoal. Cullen claimed he had gotten cold and was using the grill to help warm up the bathtub. Yet authorities had found that Cullen had removed the batteries from all of his carbon monoxide detectors and clogged his vents with insulation. With the grill put out and his apartment cleared of smoke, Cullen was taken to a crisis center in Phillipsburg. He was treated for depression by Dr. Howard

Swidler. Dr. Swidler wanted to send Cullen to Greystone Psychiatric Hospital for further treatment, but Cullen refused. Despite only being at the Crisis Center for a day, Cullen was released and resumed work at Lehigh Valley Hospital the following week. The hospital didn't take note of his attempted suicide. Cullen attempted one more murder at Lehigh Valley. His chosen victim's name was Stella Daniellechick.

And, of course, he tried to poison her with DeJoxin. Thankfully, she was resuscitated by nurses working nearby. This again prompted an investigation, but Cullen, once again, left voluntarily in April of 2000. Nothing was filed with the police. By June of 2000, Cullen was hired at St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. This time, he worked as a cardiac nurse. Between 2001 and 2002, Cullen took five lives, all senior citizens between the ages of 70 and 80. But unlike the hospitals before it, St. Luke's took a much harder stance.

With the death of Cullen's latest victim, Edward O'Toole, on June 2nd in 2002, St. Luke's employees began getting suspicious. Not long after, a nurse found a stash of unused medications in a trash bin, carefully concealed under rubbish. The nurse reported the find. Soon, further stashes were discovered throughout the hospital, all either concealed in trash bins or tucked away in strange corners. Cullen was named the prime suspect for stealing these medications. Five days later, Cullen resigned from St. Luke's, yet the investigation continued. Seven nurses met with the Lehigh County District Attorney to voice their concerns.

In their findings, they noted that Cullen had been present for two-thirds of the overdoses, and the stashes of drugs found, all included de Jocxon. This couldn't all be a coincidence. The district attorney agreed to open a case. State police hired pathologist Dr. Mihalikas to exhum the bodies. Dr. Mahalikas had previously worked on another case related to Cullen, that of Helen Dean, a woman Cullen killed a few years earlier at Warren Hospital in Phillipsburg. But Dr. Mihalikas found no evidence of de Jaxon.

Unlike his last investigation, this time Dr. Mihalikas found evidence of de Jaxon in the victim's bodies. What he couldn't find, however, was a clear pattern or motive. To add insult to injury, the police couldn't connect any evidence to Cullen directly. The case had to be dropped. Meanwhile, Cullen was hired at Sacred Heart Hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania on July 7, 2002. He was fired 16 days later for not getting along with the nurses. On September 9, 2002, St. Luke's reported probable unprofessional conduct to the Pennsylvania State Nursing Board. The Nursing Board formally launched an investigation on September 22nd, 2002.

The law was starting to catch up with Cullen after 14 years. But Cullen still had one more hospital to go to, Somerset Medical Center in New Jersey. We'll return to our story in just a moment. Exema is unpredictable. But you can flare less with ebbglis. A once-monthly treatment for moderate-tissaphyr eczema. After an initial four-month or longer dosing phase, about four and seven people taking ebbglis, achieved itch relief and clear or almost clear skin at 16 weeks.

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Way better. in points. Never fly during a Scorpio full moon. Just tell the manager you'll sue. Instant room upgrade. Stop taking bad travel advice. Start comparing hundreds of sites with kayak and get your trip right. Kayak, got that right. And now, back to serial killers. After leaving St. Luke's hospital, an ongoing inquiry continued into Collins' illicit activities. Not only had St. Luke's open a criminal investigation, but the Nursing Board of Pennsylvania was also now looking into Colin's behavior as well. Despite these inquiries, though, Cullen continued to go from hospital to hospital with unbelievable impunity.

Why do you think he continued to act upon this dark impulse? Did he not think it was wrong? No, he knew it was wrong. Cullen himself had stated, I knew what I did was wrong, but I don't think I would have been able to stop. Why couldn't he stop? Another million dollar question.

Why couldn't any of these killers stop? Was it that feeling of power it gave them? Were they addicted to the habit? Was it pleasure, pain, both? More than anything, I think Cullen did it because he had little else in his life. It was the only thing that defined him, separated him from the masses,

made him feel in control of death, something he had struggled with all his life. Such a miserable experience. Before this, Cullen did little to cover his tracks. Do you think on some level he wanted to be caught or he was simply overconfident that the hospitals wouldn't do anything? Well, perhaps many serial killers lash out for some form of attention, desiring to be caught or at least recognized for their work, a sort of extreme sadistic narcissism, if you will.

I wouldn't rule out that Cullen wanted attention and he'd gotten some of it. What's more is that hospitals knew something was up, yet did little about it. This was a confidence booster for Cullen, as we mentioned in our last episode. Ultimately, while he wanted attention, I don't think he wanted to get into trouble. Well, he certainly hadn't faced any consequences, but that was soon going to change. Cullen began working at Somerset Medical Center in September of 2002, his eighth and final hospital. Over the next year, Cullen killed 13 patients, averaging two victims a month from January to September of 2003. Once again, nursing staff grew concerned.

It was impossible to not notice the spike in dejoxin overdoses. But who could it be? Suspicion fell upon Cullen. He became the prime suspect on June 13, 2003, after attempting to poison Jin Kyeong-Han. Ms. Hahn was a cancer patient who was on the road to recovery when Cullen injected her with de Jaxon. Her heart went into cardiac arrest,

and nurses struggled to save her. They were successful, but Ms. Hahn died three months later from complications. Cullen had already poisoned seven other patients. Staff knew he'd been in the room with Jin Kiang Han. Yet Dr. William Coors, director of Somerset, didn't see a clear pattern linking the overdoses to malpractice or deliberate action. Dr. Coors simply wrote it off as nurse incompetence. Evidence also pointed toward Ms. Hahn's tea, which supposedly had trace amounts of dejoxin. Nurses ran tests to see if this was conclusive.

The results came back negative. still nothing to connect Colin directly. However, the turning point for Colin's medical rampage came with his next victim, Reverend Florian Gal. Gal had been brought in for numerous problems, including heart disease and pneumonia. Despite his numerous maladies, Gal was on the mend when Colin decided to take his life.

Gal was killed June 28, 2003. Cullen's 33rd victim. Lucille, Gal's sister, couldn't understand what went wrong. The hospital simply said that gal had suffered from heart failure. They didn't mention the dejoxin overdose until after Cullen was apprehended much later. If only the hospital had taken the time to really look into Cullen's activity sooner and disclose the information Gow's sister had a right to know, maybe more lives could have been saved. It definitely doesn't make hospitals look good

in hindsight. Such negligence in following through or even warning other hospitals. But with the attempt on Ms. Hahn's life and the death of Reverend Gal, a light was about to be shined on what Cullen was up to. Dr. Stephen Marcus, the director of the poison control center in New Jersey, was called by a pharmacist at Somerset about the overdoses. The pharmacist, like many of the other nurses, was concerned with the growing number of fatalities. Dr. Marcus agreed something was wrong. He looked into the cases, especially the more recent one with Reverend Gal, and saw a clear pattern of intentional malpractice. He called Dr. William Coors, demanding to know why the hospital hadn't notified the police yet.

Dr. Coors said he didn't see a reason yet to bring in the authorities until they had finished their own investigation. Dr. Marcus didn't feel convinced by Dr. Cor's rhetoric. He went ahead and notified the authorities. He wrote a letter to the state explaining his growing concerns. Quote, they told me they were not planning on reporting these incidents to any. not the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services or the police until they mounted a thorough investigation." Yet by September of 2003, Somerset still hadn't notified anyone of the mounting casualties. It wasn't until September 25th that the Department of Health penalized Somerset for not reporting the incident. In fact, Somerset didn't notify the authorities of the growing casualties until that October.

Cullen killed five more patients in that time. Something had to be done and fast. By October of 2003, Somerset Hospital finally contacted the district attorney's office with regards to the mysterious deaths. They only reported that they were observing abnormal lab values of dejoxin in patients' bodies. Despite the selective disinformation, two detectives were assigned to the case. Homicide detectives Tim Braun and Daniel Baldwin were assigned to. to the case from Somerset County precinct. Combined, they had more than 30 years in the force

and had cleared most of their cases. They immediately set to work to try and understand what was going on. To their shock and disconcertion, the hospital remained tight-lipped. It soon became a battle to gather any and all evidence the hospital had. Detective Braun later lamented, saying, They were very helpful in answering court-ordered subpoenas. That was the extent of their cooperation.

Every time the detectives needed clearance to review victims' charts, nurse backgrounds, or even talk to staff, they had to leap over hurdles. Do you think the hospital was trying to cover it up, Vanessa? Well, not necessarily. I think they simply wanted to make sure that the blame wouldn't fall upon them for whatever damages, if any, were brought on by their suspected killer nurse. After a week of roadblocks, the detectives were finally able to get some answers. They began with looking over the cases of Florian Gal and Jin Kyeong-Han, and then on to other events. victims. Like Dr. Marcus at the poison center, the detectives knew something was very, very wrong. What they saw was a clear case of homicide. They began to narrow down a list of suspects. They went

from nurse to nurse, scrutinizing backgrounds. Things got a little more interesting when they happened upon the records of Charles Edmund Cullen. They saw how Cullen had been removed from some six hospitals, had been arrested for stalking fellow nurse Michelle Tomlson at Warren Hospital, Anne had been under investigation multiple times for malpractice and was even fired for violating medication protocol. Not to mention, tampering with IV bags at St. Barnabas Hospital. The detectives continued to dig and checked all Cullen's past hospitals for strange deaths. You can only imagine what they found. Sixty-seven percent of overdoses were at care units Cullen worked in. Braun and Baldwin couldn't believe it. How could someone with such a background still have

nursing license, let alone be hired at eight different hospitals. They pressed Somerset for answers, but once again, received the runaround. I can't say I blame the detectives for their shock. This man had eluded justice by staying in plain sight, the epitome of a wolf in sheep's clothing. But now the proverbial wolf was out in the open. The detectives had their primary suspect. So while they had victims and a suspect, they were still missing a means and motive. The detectives turned to Somerset nurses for more information. Most admitted to Cullen's eccentricities, but others noted he was a fine nurse who did his duty. Cullen even received praise for his work as a caregiver. It was clear Cullen was covering his tracks. What they needed was a man on the inside,

someone who knew Cullen. That man, or should I say woman, turned out to be nurse Amy Ridgeway. Amy was Cullen's closest friend. The two had bonded on their shifts together. She was his confidant. He told her about his marital and relationship woes, life in the Navy, you name it. She confided in him, too. It was nice, simple, nothing complicated, until the two detectives came calling. Detective Braun and Detective Baldwin approached Amy in secret. They told her they were investigating Cullen in connection to the recent rising deaths at Somerset.

Amy couldn't believe it. She fancied herself a strong judge of character, a spiritual traveler with a world-weary sense of right and wrong. Then the detectives showed her what they had gathered regarding Cullen's background. Amy felt like she'd been gut-checked. Despite everything, she felt a growing knot in her gut tell her that Cullen was guilty. She agreed to help. The detectives asked Amy if she could help them gather evidence about when and how drugs were used to poison patients.

They also had some pressing questions about the two medical systems used to maintain inventory and records at the hospital. The drug dispensary machine picks us and record. keeping program CERNERN. The PIXIS Med Station was an automated drug-keeping drawer. With it, doctors would simply type in the drugs they needed, then the machine's drawer would pop open and doctors could take what they wanted. The machine efficiently tracked a nurse's drug withdrawals, linking each with the account of a particular patient and nurse to create a record.

Hospital administrators relied on PIXS to simplify billing while allowing the pharmacy to know exactly when any given drug was running low. CERner was an archive system that kept track of patients, what they were allergic to, health concerns, what nurses attended them, what drugs have administered, etc. It was an easy and efficient way for hospitals to keep track of what was going on with their patients. Through these two systems, detectives Braun and Baldwin believed that Cullen was playing the system for a fool. They had requested to see Pixis records, but Somerset had told them that records were deleted after 30 days. However, after contacting the manufacturing of the system, the detectives learned this was not the case. Pixus could store most of his records indefinitely.

The detectives were thrilled. Unbelievable, now the hospital was lying to the detectives. It definitely seems that fear got the better of them. But at the cost of human life over litigation, if they only had seriously delved into the matter and provided more assistance. Regardless, detectives Braun and Baldwin were able to gather records for the past. summer months leading up to the investigation. They handed them to Amy and hoped she could make sense of them. If there was anything suspicious, she'd find it. Sure enough, she noticed several anomalies. Amy was horrified. She was able to pull up some records stored on the system from months back.

Someone had been filling requests for Tylenol constantly, then canceling them. As an experiment, Amy made an order and canceled it. To her shock, the system's auto drawer still opened. This meant that you could still have access to drugs without filling out an official order. This was bad. She started to pull up old records of pharmacist orders from the machine. Cullen had made several large requests for restocking the machine. As a care nurse, he'd be the first to receive and review the shipment. On paper, it looked like Cullen was simply making sure the system was well stocked.

Really, he disguised the drugs he needed by placing a large order for multiple drugs. then when he was ready to kill, Cullen would lie to the machine saying he'd need one medication when really he took poison. Next, she checked the CERner monitoring system. She logged in to see what Cullen had been doing, starting with his charts. They were messy, disorganized, filled with misspellings and hurried answers. Whatever Cullen was doing on here, it wasn't to update his own records. Amy moved on.

She scanned through the records of all the victims. Interestingly enough, it read that. that Cullen had logged on multiple times to check on patients he wasn't assigned to. Amy looked at Florian's chart. The morning of Florian's death, Cullen logged in multiple times at mere minutes apart. He was checking on Florian's status periodically, manically. But why? Amy knew. She just didn't want to say.

She began to go back farther to all the most recent deaths. Cullen's timestamp for viewing was on all of them. She printed what she could and fled. The next day she presented what she had found to detectives Braun and Baldwin. They didn't understand. Why was he logging on to Cerner to look over these patients? Was he studying them? Amy explained her theory. Cullen would go to the Pixus machine and essentially lie to it,

asking for Tylenol, canceling the order, but still being able to obtain whatever drugs he needed. In most cases, de Joxin. From there, he'd inject the victim and monitor them from Cernor, logging in periodically to check on their condition. Braun and Baldwin were impressed, yet this was all circumstantial at best. Without actually proving Cullen was in the rooms where the murders happened, they were up a creek. But they had one option. Get a confession. But let's take a step back really quick. Vanessa, why would Cullen watch his victim's charts via computer rather than be in the room when they died? Dissociation,

perhaps. Cullen was not a graphic killer, nor was he a man who reveled in grotesque or gratuitous bloodshed. He desired to work from the shadows, where his voyeurism was far removed from the actual pain and suffering. With the system at Somerset, he could keep track of his victim's status without ever having to return to the scene of the crime. He probably thought it was foolproof, but instead it only stacked the odds further against him. Meanwhile, Colin took his last life on October 23, 2003. The victim was Edward Zizek. He was 73 years old. Again, de Jaxson overdose was the cause. This would be Cullen's 13th kill at Somerset. His total body count now was 40. Tragic. I'm still horrified by the fact that the hospital didn't put him on leave or simply

fire him outright. Through the detective's background check, Somerset learned that Cullen had lied on his application to work there. He said he hadn't committed any felonies. Rather than a quick termination, Cullen was allowed to work one more shift before leaving. At this point, the hospital also knew that Cullen was under investigation for killing patients. Unbelievable. Cullen was officially let go on October 31, 2003. He returned to his basement apartment and began to look for work again. Meanwhile, the detectives began gathering all the evidence they had from the past few months. All they needed was a confession. For this, they turned again to Amy Ridgeway. As Cullen's best friend, she was in the perfect position to get a confession out of him.

Detectives Braun and Baldwin asked Amy to wear wire for the lunch date with Cullen. By doing so, they hoped they could get the confession they needed to arrest and prosecute him. Amy agreed. The next couple of months were turbulent for Cullen. Word began to spread about the investigation into a killer nurse at Somerset. Soon the whole county was a buzz. A local newspaper even ran an article describing Cullen as a suspect. On December 12, 2003, the same day as the article's publication,

Cullen met with Amy at the restaurant, The Office. It was a quiet and awkward conversation at first, the two making minor remarks about what the other had been up to. Then Amy brought up Somerset. Cullen knew something was wrong. I knew Amy had helped the police during the investigation. I suspected she was wearing a wire. Yet that didn't stop Cullen from continuing the conversation.

Amy told Cullen she knew about the deaths. She knew about what had been going on, not just at Somerset, but the other hospitals, too. She implored him to turn himself in. She even volunteered to go with him. Cullen remained unmoved. He looked his friend in the eye and said, I want to go down fighting. The two finished their meal and left the restaurant.

Unbeknownst to Cullen, detectives Braun and Baldwin, along with several other officers, were waiting for him outside. Cullen was immediately arrested on charges of murder and attempted murder. Though the police hadn't got an official confession, there was still enough circumstantial evidence to bring him in. We'll return to our story in just a moment from the Pardcast Network. This is Euphoria Calvin Klein, the new elixir collection, featuring three perfume intense scents, inspired by a unique orchid accord paired with vanilla, each with its own distinct attitude, each with its own universe, Bold elixir. Sensual. Woody. Addictive. Magnetic elixir. Sweet and romantic, like a lingering touch. Solar elixir, a radiant expression of joy. Ultra concentrated for amplified impact and lasting power.

Find your euphoria. Discover the euphoria elixir collection by Calvin Klein. Now the story continues. Charles Cullen had eluded the law for 16 years while he murdered at will. Suspicion had been cast on him numerous times by co-workers. and hospitals alike, yet no one had taken the initiative to dive into his background until now. On December 14, 2003, Cullen was taken into interrogation. The police had everything they needed, except a confession. For hours, Baldwin and Braun tore at Cullen. They went into his history, named victims, everything they had they threw at him. But Cullen was silent. Without the

confession, their case was circumstantial at best. Yet everyone knew he was guilty. The detectives needed help, so once again, they turned to Amy. The detectives asked Amy to go in and talk to Cullen, to try and convince him to confess or slip up in some way. Amy was reluctant, but agreed. She entered the dark mesh gray room and sat across from her former colleague. Few words were spoken at first.

Amy wasn't sure what to do. Then she hatched an idea. Amy told Cullen that the police were now investigating, her, trying to tie Amy as an accomplice to Cullen's misdeeds. She appealed to Cullen to help vindicate her. Cullen sulked. From across the way behind the glass of the observation room, the detective sat in suspense.

Amy then asked another question. Amy asked Charles who his first victim was. How long it had been since his first kill? Was it recent? Like a thumb unplugging the hole of a dam, Cullen's confession flowed. For seven hours, Cullen confessed to killing some 40 patients and drugging countless others. He had no real recollection how many total he had killed, only that he had killed and would have continued to kill had he not been arrested.

Following Cullen's seven-hour confession, he was formally charged the following day, December 15, 2003. Cullen was transferred to Trenton State's psychiatric hospital while further charges were filed. The state wanted the death penalty. Cullen's attorney worked out a deal, though. Cullen would instead serve 11 life sentences provided he helped identify the remainder of his victims. Cullen was then transferred back to Somerset Jail

on January 1, 2004. Cullen had his first hearing on April 29, 2004. There, he pleaded guilty to the murder of 13 patients and two attempted murders at Somerset Hospital. The following months proved a long, sickening reveal of Cullen's malevolence. Cullen would return to all the former counties he had worked in and faced judgment. Cullen quickly got national attention, along with the hospitals that avoided reporting him. In March 2005, the federal government began an investigation into all the hospitals Cullen worked at.

Their goal was to understand why they failed to act on Cullen and to see if the hospitals had done anything illegal to cover up Cullen's activity. families of the victims filed for millions of dollars in damages. Hospitals up and down Pennsylvania and New Jersey were scrambling. If they were afraid to pay for Cullen's crimes, you can only imagine what the world thought of them now. Meanwhile, Cullen received an unexpected message from an ex-girlfriend, Michelle Peckman. Michelle said her brother Ernie was in desperate need of a kidney transplant, and Cullen was the ideal donor. Cullen agreed. He wanted to help.

Why do you think Cullen agreed so quickly? Perhaps in his mind this was sort of a vindication or redemption for all that he had done. He had been caught naked in all his malice and was trying to save face. Cullen approached his attorney Jonathan Mask to help. Masked checked into the legal ramifications of whether or not Cullen could donate his kidney. There was some resistance as to how Cullen could, if at all, do it. This angered Cullen, who refused to help investigators or go to his final sentencing hearing if he wasn't allowed to help.

This led to a massive public outcry, mostly from the families of Cullen's victims. Over the course of the year, they had been notified about Cullen's activities. Some had no idea. Others felt vindicated in their own suspicions. Either way, justice was demanded. Finally, Judge William Armstrong

agreed that Cullen could have the operation, provided the location was approved by the Attorney General's office or the Department of Correction. Cullen also had to come to a sentencing hearing, something he was not looking forward to. But on March 2nd, 2006, Cullen appeared at a sentencing hearing, along with the families of most of the victims. One by one, mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, sisters, and brothers. I'll step forth to confront Cullen.

Charles Cullen, you are a coward. I am very brave for standing here today, but you yet cannot even look me in it. not even look me in the eye and face me. When I look at you, Mr. Cullen, I don't see somebody's son or somebody's father. I see evil and I see death and I am so glad I got that opportunity to tell you this. I hope a day comes that Charles Cullen finds himself in our situation and finds out how it feels to lose what is nearest to him and with a little luck on our side, I hope it happens soon. Let us know how you manage to do what you did.

I think our medical care system has a disease. You're part of that disease. Can't cure you, but maybe you could help cure this disease that our system has. Cullen sat there, forced to deal with the consequences of his actions, the faces of those he'd hurt, that he'd so desperately tried to avoid. He kept his eyes down, refusing to look up or even speak for some time. As more and more family members stepped forth, Cullen began to chant,

Judge, you need to step down. For 30 minutes he ranted like that. Finally, Cullen was forced to sit down and eventually gagged with a rag. The rest of the sentencing proceeded. Cullen received 12 life sentences without parole. Following the sentence, Cullen was able to donate the kidney, then was taken to New Jersey State Penitentiary. To this day, he remains there, serving out the remainder of his days in solitude.

The Angel of Death had finally been stopped. Because of the investigation into the hospitals and their lack of initiative, in dealing with Cullen, there was a major overhaul of hospital litigation and liability. In 2005, the Healthcare Professionals' Responsibility and Reporting Enhancement Act became law. This required health care professionals and bodies to notify the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs if they have information about incompetence, impairment, or negligence of a health care worker. The Act also means criminal background checks of a health care worker seeking a license is mandatory. While some argued the law was too restrictive in dealing with doctors and nurses, there are those who

would argue, look at what the alternative got us. Charles Edmund Cullen. Thanks for joining us on our look at the angel of death, Charles Cullen. He wasn't just an angel of death. He was a man who so desired death for himself that he made it his mission to claim the lives of so many others, and therein lies a truly great tragedy. Maybe the perfect form of justice. Charles Cohen is still alive, rotting in a jail cell.

His wish for his own death still eludes him. Thanks again for tuning in to serial killers. If you want to listen to any previous episodes of serial killers, you can find them on iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Spotify, or on our website, paracast.com, spelled P-A-R-C-C-A-S-T-com. If you like what you hear, please leave a five-star review or tell us what you think on social media. We're on Facebook and Instagram as at Parcast and Twitter at Parcast Network.

It seems simple, but it really helps our show. Join us next Monday as we delve into the twisted psyche of Bible John. Have a killer week. Serial Killers was created by Max Cutler and developed by Ron Cutler. It is a production of Cutler media and is part of the Parcast Network. It is produced by Max and Ron Cutler, sound design by Ron Shapiro, with production assistance by Joel Stein, Carly Madden, and Maggie Admeyer. Serial Killers is written by Michael Pendis and stars Greg Poulson and Vanessa Richardson.

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