Snapped: Women Who Murder - Notorious: Charles Cullen

Episode Date: November 29, 2020

Nurse Charles Cullen is one of America’s most prolific serial killers. Police say he may have murdered up to 400 victims, Cullen claimed he acted mercifully.Season 23, Episode 16Originally ...aired: May 12, 2018See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondries Podcast American Scandal. Our newest series looks at the story of OxyContin, a popular painkiller that helps spur an epidemic of addiction and drug abuse, in which prompted a broad campaign to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable. Listen to American Scandal on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. They are the very places in which so many put their trust and lives. Hospital. The idea of having a serial killer in the healthcare industry. It's tragic.
Starting point is 00:00:47 All have to deal with hospitals. Everyone, some point in time in their life, puts their life in the hands of others. We are not looking for predators among this population. We know that nurses are supposed to be healing patients. And dead. Some use their power to kill them. The nurse was like a shadow in a corner.
Starting point is 00:01:09 The Angel of Death, Charles Cullen, killed dozens and dozens of sick patients. Very few healthcare serial killers actually have mercy as their motive. This was a man who had a lot of loss in his life. He felt as if he had been betrayed by the hospital system. Charles Cullen exploited the trust that is part of many health care industries in order to carry out his crimes. Charles Cullen, you stole the last years of my father's life.
Starting point is 00:02:03 This individual has escaped the thories for 17 years. Charles Cohen is probably one of the most prolific serial killers the world has ever known. But when you start looking at why he did this, that's when the case gets really perplexed. It's a dirty dark secret. Okay. Hey, Jersey Ports and Patrol Center can help you. Yeah, I am going from Somerset Medical Center. We're trying to investigate a dig-talk facility
Starting point is 00:02:46 that occurred in a patient, our critical care unit. This person went into dig-talk facility and actually expired to dig-talk from 1.33 to 9.61 in a day, which is kind of unusual. This is a police matter. You have reported to the police. This is a police matter. You have to report it to the police. This is a huge issue. Then 2003, I was contacted by the Somerset Medical Center.
Starting point is 00:03:14 My name is Tim Braun. I was one of the lead detectives in the Charles Cohen investigation. Somerset asked me to investigate the death of a patient that did occur in their facility. In June of 2003, Florian Gaul went to the Somerset Medical Center, a critical care unit. He was a Catholic church official who was in his 70s. My name is Jeff Malvehill, and I was one of the lead reporters covering the Charles
Starting point is 00:03:45 Collin case with the Associated Press. Florian's on a breathing machine to help treat his pneumonia. He was on the road to recovery and discharge after his terrible illness. But on June 28, 2003, Reverend Gaul suddenly went to cardiac arrest. It entied. Because he did not have any type of heart issues, it was unusual, which rose suspicion within the hospital administration to look into these matters. An autopsy was conducted.
Starting point is 00:04:25 It turned out his de-Jackson levels were off the chart. The Jackson is a drug that can either save your life or end it. My name is Dr. Harry Millman, and I'm a toxicologist. The Jackson sees primarily patients who suffer from congestive heart failure. When you give too much of the Jackson, the heart will be in doing a lot of extra work. And as a result, he's going to have a heart attack. Gull's death was a big problem for Somerset Medical Center.
Starting point is 00:05:03 This was not the first the Jackson overdose. The Gull's death was a big problem for Somerset Medical Center. This was not the first de-Jaxson overdose. Somerset Medical Center had been conducting an internal investigation for several months. They were in particular looking into five suspicious occurrences. Three of the patients had abnormal levels of insulin in their system. And in two other cases, there were invocation of extreme high levels of the Johnson. After five suspicious deaths, Somerset Medical Officials fear a dark pattern is emerging. And so, they call in the police department to investigate. Our investigative team were summoned to a meeting that took place in a conference room at Somerset Medical Center.
Starting point is 00:05:51 At that early stage, we weren't quite sure if this was an intentional act by an individual or some sort of a medical mystery type of case. We did investigate nursing staff on the critical care unit where all these events were occurring. We recognized that a nurse named Charles Cohen was not at any one hospital for any long period of time. Charles Cohen worked as a nurse for 16 years at eight different hospitals between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. And that alone raised suspicions.
Starting point is 00:06:35 I'm Dr. Casey Jordan, a criminologist who specializes in the study of violent crime, including healthcare serial killers. So we began to focus on Colin, actually quite early, but when mentioning Charles Colin's name, the hospital did emphasize that he did not appear to have any type of direct involvement with the case. They said he was a hard worker.
Starting point is 00:07:04 Colin related well to people he worked with, although he served seem like an underdog to even the people who liked him. Charles Cullen was born and raised in West Orange, New Jersey, which was economically challenged. I'm Dr. Catherine Ramseland. I'm an expert Catherine Ramseland. I'm an expert on serial murder.
Starting point is 00:07:27 And I wrote a book about healthcare serial killers. Colin was a late life child in an Irish Catholic family with eight brothers and sisters. When Charles was only seven months old, his father died and his mother had to raise him on her own. His mother had a few part-time sewing jobs, and so he came essentially from a real disadvantaged place. Colin described his childhood as miserable,
Starting point is 00:07:58 as a family without a lot of money. His siblings were much older. They weren't a huge part of his life all of the time. In to this house came all kinds of people visiting his brothers and sisters, men in and out who were strangers, who were potentially dangerous. There was an abusive boyfriend of one of his sisters, and he put lighter fluid into that guy's drink, because he didn't like him. So we already know that as a kid,
Starting point is 00:08:26 he doesn't have any hesitation going over the line, morally, to hurt somebody. Calling the attempted suicide several times, including once when he was just nine years old, when he drank chemicals from a chemistry set. He was obviously a very troubled child, but the worst thing to ever happen to him occurred when he was a teenager. -♪ -♪
Starting point is 00:08:52 When Charles was in high school, his mother was in an accident. -♪ -♪ And died. -♪ -♪ He was devastated. But also angry because when he got the call from the hospital, they at first didn't tell him that his mother was dead, giving him some hope that she was going to recover, and then he finds out not only that she died, but her bodies already been taken
Starting point is 00:09:23 away. So he felt as if he had been betrayed by the hospital's system. This was a turning point for Charles. He became very angry and lost. His father had died before he ever even had a memory of him. His mother dies in this horrific car accident.
Starting point is 00:09:43 This would leave anyone angry, but for Charles, he was very angry at God. Why was he suffering so much loss? After his mother died, he dropped out of high school. Colin didn't really know what he was going to do with his life, because of all the loss he had experienced. He felt out of control of helpless and disempowered. He wanted to re-exert power.
Starting point is 00:10:12 So he went into a nursing school. Coming up, Charles Paul murdered my mother. You've bloodied and stained the medical profession. The victim's families come face to face with the killer himself. I want you to die tomorrow because you know what? There ain't no doors out of hell, babe. In October 2003, Somerset Medical Center is the last stop on Nurse Charles Cullen's killing spree.
Starting point is 00:10:43 And the first time investigators finally get involved in the case. But with no real evidence against him, detectives dig deeper into his personal life. They see his father had died before he ever even had a memory of him. His mother dies in this horrific car accident. Because of all the loss he had experienced,
Starting point is 00:11:03 Colin felt out of control, helpless, and disempowered. He wanted to re-exert power. So he went into a nursing school. While Colin was in nursing school, he worked several jobs. One at a restaurant. The only thing he liked about the job was his boss there, Adrian. Colin and Adrian had a fast courtship they were engaged after only about six months. They were married shortly after he finished nursing school in 1987.
Starting point is 00:11:40 And 1988. Colin's first daughter was born. This had to add all kinds of life-changing stress that he just wasn't prepared for. He developed a serious problem with alcoholism. He became a secret alcoholic just to endure the life that he had chosen, that he hated. He would tell his wife he wasn't drinking when he was.
Starting point is 00:12:08 At the same time, Colin starts his first nursing job at the St. Barnabas Hospital. A few months after Colin's first child, 72-year-old John Yango, was admitted to St. Barnabas Medical Center. John Yango is a father of four in a retired municipal court judge. He enters the hospital after some medication triggers an allergic reaction. He had a healthy heart.
Starting point is 00:12:41 Charles Cullen was on duty. And Yango was expected to make a full recovery. But instead, he died. In 1988, this was the first suspicious death under Cullen's care. At first, the hospital just assumed that Yango died of an allergic reaction. But after the toxicology report came back, they found that he had an unusually high level of insulin in his blood. We found out at the time, Colin was working there, same part of his medical center had quite an extensive internal investigation.
Starting point is 00:13:23 that had quite an extensive internal investigation. Looking into several suspicious overdoses and deaths that did occur in their facility. And further, Laura Cullen was the primary target of their internal investigation. Every time there was a suspicious death, it turned out C how long it was working. We found that information to be quite valuable. It rose further suspicion. The hospital would let him go without proper notification to law enforcement and other agencies. Now hot on Collins Trail, investigators questioned the person closest to him during his five years at St. Barnabas.
Starting point is 00:14:12 During the course of arm investigation, I actually spoke to his wife. It did not appear as though she was, I actually spoke to his wife. It did not appear as though she was surprised by our looking into his suspicious activity. She was aware of the internal investigation at St. Barnabas. And she did express that the marital relationship was quite strange.
Starting point is 00:14:41 She did provide us a broader picture of the person we were looking at. He was not really cut out to be a husband or father. He was neglectful of the children leaving them alone when they were very young. And then his wife began to get nervous when the neighbor's dog wandered into their property. And the dog ended up getting poisoned. And she was afraid it was her husband who had done it. And if he could poison a dog, could he do that to them?
Starting point is 00:15:14 The things that are risky in Colin's life are the depression, the substance abuse, the manipulations, the lives, the secretiveness. They don't necessarily say he's going to commit a crime, let alone become a killer. But these are all warning signs of somebody who's at risk for becoming a psychopath. And that's exactly what's happened. Terrified of her husband, Adrian DeVorse's Charles Cullen
Starting point is 00:15:43 in 1992, and at the same time, he starts a new job at Warren Hospital in New Jersey. Warren Hospital is the second hospital that Cohen is employed by. Because his record doesn't reflect any wrong doings, administrators are none the wiser about his brutal past. At this juncture, investigators are once again stunned at what they discover. They realize that after his wife filed divorce papers, two elderly women's suspiciously die
Starting point is 00:16:13 of hijacks and overdoses at Warren Hospital. Detectives are now beginning to see a pattern between negative events and Collins' personal life and suspicious deaths that have occurred. and Collins' personal life and suspicious deaths that have occurred. In 1993, 91-year-old Helen Dean is recovering well following breast cancer surgery. Her son was by her side throughout her treatment. One day, Cohen asked the son Dean, to leave the room. He did. When he returned, his mother said that the nurse had stuck her.
Starting point is 00:16:50 A day later, she was dead. Larry Dean was convinced that Colin had murdered his mother. Anyone who's been a patient in a large hospital knows that people come in and out constantly. A healthcare serial killer will take advantage of that because they can easily enter a room and do whatever they want. Usually, patients just passively take the care they're given.
Starting point is 00:17:13 The hospital authorities suspected the drug overdose and so they tested her biological fluids for a hundred different drugs. But with the toxicology exam, they did not specifically look for the Jackson, which ultimately was his drug of choice for misdeing. But Charles Cullen is once again the main focus of the investigation.
Starting point is 00:17:37 Warren Hospital questioned Cullen about Dean's death. He denied that he'd done anything. They even gave him polygraph tests, which he passed. And that actually is not uncommon with serial killers. They have this Paul of denial in the interest of self-preservation. It weren't able to pin him with any deaths, so they allowed him to resign and move on. When he gets away with it, now he will develop this sense of narcissistic immunity that,
Starting point is 00:18:14 wow, I can do this, I have the power to do this, and they can't touch me. Charles Collin is probably one of the most prolific serial killers the world is ever known but when you start looking at why he did this that's when the case gets really perplexed. Summer is finally here which means the great outdoors are hotter, more humid and filled with bugs. Actually come to think of it there's no better way to spend the summer than an air-conditioned comfort while listening to your favorite podcasts. Discover the summer of podcast with two months free of Wondery Plus. With Wondery Plus, you get early and ad free access to your favorite podcasts.
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Starting point is 00:19:31 By 2003, Charles Cullen is a person of interest for mysterious deaths across eight different hospitals. Police still have no evidence to connect him with the murders. But after investigating his background, they've uncovered an unlikely pattern that pushes their suspicions over the edge. The police found such a high correlation between when his life went downhill and he was depressed and somebody dying.
Starting point is 00:20:01 When his family life crumbled, Colin didn't know how to cope. So any time there was something going wrong and Charles Colin's life, a patient died. This pattern becomes more and more evident. The more the investigators are going from hospital to hospital, tracking all of these mysterious deaths. After Charles Colin left Warren hospital, he moved on to Hunterden Hospital in Fleming
Starting point is 00:20:28 to New Jersey. Detective Seifat, now that he is divorced from his wife, he started dating a nurse in his new workplace, and there he had everybody fooled, including his girlfriend. They thought he was highly competent, extremely hard worker, and as far as we know, during that time frame, there were no suspicious deaths. A little over a year later, that all changes when his life goes into a pevel. In early 1996, Cohen's relationship with the Earth
Starting point is 00:20:58 was on the rocks. He is a controlling person. And now he's feeling helpless, so he's looking for ways to restore his sense of power and control over his life. That's when he started killing again at 110 Medical Center. By July, there were five unexplained that Jackson overdoses at 100th and Medical Center.
Starting point is 00:21:22 He was allowed to move on to another facility. Callin' you, but he could beat the system. He would leave a job when somebody was on to him. And he was always allowed to find another job. The more these hospitals dig, the more that they can stitch together, the discrepancy of the work of one of their employees. in order to arrest him. They follow Colin's trail to the fifth medical facility he moves to, Easton Hospital in Pennsylvania.
Starting point is 00:22:11 The 1998 after Colin had started working at Easton Hospital, he apparently had run into financial troubles. Because that was the year he filed for bankruptcy. And all of a sudden, patients start mysteriously dying at Eastern Hospital. When we look at Colin's timeline, you can actually see when something bad happens within a week or two, somebody dies.
Starting point is 00:22:37 It's pretty clear that when things are failing in his life, when he's feeling disempowered, killing patients becomes much more the place of solace of releasing the feelings of stress and also empowering himself. So it becomes more frequent the more his life fails. My father was a wonderful guy.
Starting point is 00:23:02 We had lots of happy memories growing up in my house. My sister and I and my father played in the Trombone Choir in church. My father loved the church and he taught us to love each other and treat each other with respect. I'm Christina Toaths and my father was Audemars Ram, the patient at Easton Hospital. My father was transported to Easton Hospital on December 29, 1998, because he was having seizures.
Starting point is 00:23:29 In the emergency room, the nurse was kind of like a shadow in the corner. He just was standing there with his syringe and just watching us. At that point, asked him what that was for. And he said it was in case my father's heart stopped. But I didn't think anything about it, because I just wouldn't assume that anyone
Starting point is 00:23:52 would want to hurt my dad. We expected my father's five for sure, but he didn't seem to be recovering quickly enough. And then somebody ordered a blood test, and he had been given an overdose of de-Jawkson, which was a medication he should not have been given. My father was given four times the legal amount. I actually got a phone call from my father's doctor,
Starting point is 00:24:18 and he said, Chris, nobody would give him this drug here. He is not prescribed. He said, I don't know who gave him this drug. And then my dad passed away within another day. He never really came out of it. That's a night I'll never forget. I just miss being with him. I miss all the time we had.
Starting point is 00:24:45 I feel like there's a part of my life that we didn't have. I've never will have. So... The the the the the the the the the the the
Starting point is 00:25:14 the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the
Starting point is 00:25:18 the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the In 2001, Collins' brother died of brain cancer in the year that followed a lot more patients died at his hand. That's when we were all finally caught up with him.
Starting point is 00:25:32 As we are gathering all the various information from different healthcare facilities, personal background, it became obviously clear that we were looking at a serial killer. Authorities realized that he could have been responsible for up to 400 deaths. We knew that we had to stop him before he could burn or any other victims. In 2003, investigators are determined to apprehend Charles Collin, but they still don't have a concrete connection to the deaths. They take a new approach and turn to the one person close enough to him for help. Fellow critical caraners, Amy Loughran. Ame is a nurse who is a very good friend of Charles Cohen, and often works on the same shift.
Starting point is 00:26:27 She gave him high accolades for his abilities. So, in police approach her and said, we think he could be responsible for these deaths. She did not want to believe it. We presented Ame with a sheet which happened to be Collins-Pixis prunup. Pixis is a medication dispensing unit and has to be activated by a nurse with an ID, along with the drug that is being requested.
Starting point is 00:27:04 The computer has a log of every time it's in use, so the detectives were able to access Colin's activity. What they found was a lot of the Jackson being dispensed. The police then showed Amy Charles Pixas' activity. Amy took one look at that printout, and she knew. He would put in an order for Dijoxin, and then cancel it, and then claim that it was just a mistake. But there were so many mistakes.
Starting point is 00:27:31 He also requested drugs that shared the same drawer with Dijoxin. The inventory was never getting counted, and the machine just kept getting refilled. Amy instantly saw a pattern. She said, he's killing people. This wasn't just a coincidence or a few mistakes. This was murder.
Starting point is 00:27:53 At that point, Amy agreed to help further our investigation by offering her assistance. What we came up with was a plan to lure Colin to going to dinner with Amy. And at the same time, we're a body wire. Amy Loughran agrees to help detectives get a confession out of Colin. After ordering, she looks him in the eye and she says, I know you killed those people. But he says, I'm not going down without a fight.
Starting point is 00:28:28 It's not really a mission of guilt or a confession, but it was enough that the police could arrest and start the interrogation so they could get a full confession. Moments after... Cullen was brought back to homicide. We're at the Baldwin and I, we're awaiting his arrival. We just did not have the evidence
Starting point is 00:28:54 to put Cullen and jail for the rest of his life. The evidence we needed was a confession. My name's Detective Sergeant Tim Braun. With me is Detective Dan Baldwin. We're both from the Somerset County Major Crime Shooter. And we are here today for the purpose of obtaining a voluntary take statement from Mr. Cullen, pertaining to the death of Reverend Florian Gal.
Starting point is 00:29:24 We are also here to speak to Mr. Colin and reference to several other deaths that occurred at Summer Set Medical Center and other medical and healthcare facilities. He was marandized and weaved his rights and agreed to speak to us. They were hoping for a full confession, but they weren't really sure what they would get out of him.
Starting point is 00:29:48 10 plus 2 decreased suffering. People. After 16 years of murdering patients across eight hospitals, and staying out of the reach of law enforcement, Charles Cullen has finally been apprehended. However, detectives still need a confession in order to charge him with murder and seek a conviction. Mr. Cullen, I'm trying to get some detail here to help us as we progress with this investigation.
Starting point is 00:30:21 You never tried, but I attempted to kill anyone. Not even. Okay. When we asked about the murders. to be impressed with this investigation. You never tried. Well, I attempted to kill anyone. Not even. OK. When we asked about the murderers, he did not admit his acts against his victims. Charles, could you explain what Pixas is? There's a computerized medication,
Starting point is 00:30:40 a dispensing machine. Right. I'm going to call him. Do any I'm not the column. Do any to the PIXS system. Please move to Jackson. I can't give any specifics about that. This is your name? Correct.
Starting point is 00:30:54 Yes, sir. Okay. Or this be? Um, that's kind of the patient's name. Where can I call? In the activity column, there's a counselor the patience in me. Let me go. In the activity column, there's a council removed. Yes. Does this at all help you have a recollection of this event?
Starting point is 00:31:14 At that point, I think it was clear to him that we had enough evidence, and that he was not going home. He was going to jail. He just, kind of, in a sense, broke down. Um. You have to show it in here. Thank you. It's OK, but it's fine, so I don't feel like you have to hold back.
Starting point is 00:31:37 He said, I'm ready to talk. Mr. Colum, how'd it bring your intention to cause the death of the various patients? Yes, he was. Okay. Colin did make his confession to detect the Baldwin and I, and he took us on a seven-hour journey through his career. How many patients have you held to their death?
Starting point is 00:32:12 Possibly 30 to 40 patients. Wow. 30 to 40 deaths. On that day, he said he killed up to 40 people over 16 years. But it's our strong belief that those numbers were much higher. In fact, in conjunction with the medical records, legal experts, later on in the investigation, confirm that the numbers may be well into the hundreds. I just couldn't stop.
Starting point is 00:32:51 I couldn't stop. The question that arises out of all of this, Charles, is the why. the why. My intent was to decrease suffering. People, I saw throughout my career, I didn't intend for these patients, these people to suffer. Patients these people to suffer and I kept on going back to that behavior. I thought I could change. But I don't think I was capable of doing that.
Starting point is 00:33:35 I couldn't seem to stop trying to do this. It was a dirty, dark secret. I know I have caused suffering for the family members. That led through it. We'll never be certain of how many victims are actually were. Colin made a deal with New Jersey prosecutors to spare him the death penalty. He initially said he believed he killed around 40 people. He pleaded guilty to 29 murders.
Starting point is 00:34:13 Let's talk about the matter pertaining to Florian Gell. Are you responsible for his death? Yes, I am. And why is that, Charlie? Because I injected him with a medication, medication called the Jackson. He agreed to cooperate and identify his victims. Any time, was misdeed in your patient?
Starting point is 00:34:38 No, she was in the room of my patient. Was it your intent when you injected her? was in the room of my patient. Was it your intent when you injected her? Yes, that's it was. Any particular reason why you picked that individual knowing that she was on a way home? It was actually going good. Well, if I remember her general status
Starting point is 00:35:09 that she wasn't doing well. He claimed that he was doing it to relieve people of their suffering. But as it turned out, in many cases, many of his victims were in nowhere near its critical condition as he claimed they were. In fact, several patients were preparing for discharge and he just decided to take it upon himself to end their lives. Very few healthcare serial killers actually have mercy as they're motive. It's my belief that Collins's motivation behind his killings is his desire, his will, to
Starting point is 00:35:49 exercise power and control in a godly manner almost. This was a man who had a lot of loss in his life. From the time he was a baby, losing his father, losing his mother, losing his wife. He felt the sense of loss, of power and control in his life constantly, and didn't have the coping mechanisms to deal with it. All of his murders were simply the act of him playing God.
Starting point is 00:36:21 It restored, to him, a sense that he could control at least his most immediate environment. What more power can someone have than over life and death? Murder generally falls under state law, so Colin was charged in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania. A former nurse who claims he killed as many as 40, quote, very sick patients in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, was charged today with murder. He said he did it to ease their pain and suffering.
Starting point is 00:36:58 Following Colin's guilty plea, the sentencing phase of his multiple murder case begins the courtroom was filled with victims, victims, families, and onlookers. This was a hot ticket. I'm Gary Ashtake, attorney in Eastern Pennsylvania. I was local counsel for the public defender who was representing Charlie Cullen to him him, he thought he was providing them
Starting point is 00:37:28 with a merciful death and peace, at least from his side. Can't be judgmental about that, or can you? All of the families knew that Charles Cullen is no angel of mercy. I filed a motion requesting that he be excused from sentencing. I already pled guilty. He already admitted to what he did.
Starting point is 00:37:52 We know what the result was going to be. We are here today to sentence the defendant, Mr. Charles Cullen. Mr. Cullen, are you ready to address society as a whole? I said to say, I'm whole? I said just say it. I'm sorry? Nothing to say. Why is that? Mr. Cullen, I asked you a question.
Starting point is 00:38:17 Why is it that you have chosen not to address the court? All of the victims' families have been told that they were going to be given an opportunity to provide victim-impact statements. The families of victims have been waiting, in some cases, many years to face the killer of their loved one. He did not want to have to listen to what the victims had to say, but the judge had another agenda. Before the judge decides Charles Collins' fate, the victim's families are allowed to make impact statements.
Starting point is 00:38:52 The families of victims have been waiting in some cases many years to be able to face the killer of their loved one. I filed a motion requesting that he be excused from sentencing. He already pled guilty. He already admitted to what he did. We knew what the result was going to be. He did not want to have to listen to what the victims had to say, but the judge had another agenda.
Starting point is 00:39:17 Why don't you look at me? I don't care if you're somebody's little boy toy in prison. That would be too good for you. I want you to die tomorrow because you know what? There ain't no doors out of hell, babe. The judge thought victims have a right to be heard. The families need and deserve. And have a right to confront this man that took away their loved ones. Serial killer Charles Cohen murdered my mother.
Starting point is 00:39:46 You're ruined the lives of your family, your children, and many people in this courtroom. You've bloodied and stained the medical profession. As a nurse, I am ashamed of you. In your sick mind, you broke the trust that patients place in us. This was not a merciful act. He was a devoted, funny, good, and decent man whom you robbed of a quiet and dignified death to which he was entitled.
Starting point is 00:40:11 There is a part of me that would appreciate the irony of your dying by lethal injection. I was convinced he was a mercy killer until I found out about those who were not terminally ill, whom he murdered. You are not just a murderer, you are a thief. You stole the last years of my father's life. Colin didn't react to his stone face. He didn't look at them. That was very, very frustrating for the families.
Starting point is 00:40:34 Charles, why don't you look up at us? I like to show you what you did to our children. This is their dad and his coffin. How do you like that? Would you like your children to have something like this happen to them? As these family members are speaking, Charles Colin just sat there with his eyes closed,
Starting point is 00:40:52 completely checked out. It was really just a coping mechanism of him reverting or regressing into his own little world so that he didn't have to deal with what was happening in front of him. I miss my son so much. I didn't have to deal with what was happening in front of him. I miss my son so much. I have always been so very proud of Mike. And the man he had become.
Starting point is 00:41:14 It was very dramatic. They fought on. They said what they had to say. They were not going to be deterred. Originally, Colin did not want to appear in court today for sentencing because he would feel uncomfortable. When the victims read their victim impact statements to the court, Charles, Colin, you are a coward. I'm very brave for standing here today,
Starting point is 00:41:37 but you yet cannot even look me in the eye and face me. Between the two states, Colin was sentenced to 18 life terms for the murder of 29 people and the attempted murder of three more. The defendant is sentenced to life in New Jersey State Prison. Charles Cohen was able to tell the difference between right and wrong. We had him evaluated by one of the top forensic psychologists in America. He did not meet the definition of insane. Usually, health care Syriacos aren't psychotic. They wouldn't even get in those positions if they were
Starting point is 00:42:18 psychotic. They wouldn't be able to function. They wouldn't get through school. Charles Cullen passed himself up as a successful, competent health care worker and nurse. At the same time, he was a predator in the hospital system, killing people. People hear the story and they cannot understand
Starting point is 00:42:39 how this individual kept being hired, time and time again. What happened? It's a national problem. This individual has escaped authorities for 17 years. We did a complete criminal background check on this individual and a complete reference check on this individual. And everybody said the following, he left in good standing and his license was intact. And that's the outrageous part of this.
Starting point is 00:42:58 It's time we protect patients' rights and patient safety. It is my belief that the biggest injustice involved with this case is not only the fact that Charles Cohen did what he did, his actions. But it's the fact that this monster was able to go on for so many years to kill patients. The Charles Cohen investigation uncovered the flaws in the medical system, where hospitals monitor themselves without sharing information, where medical practitioners have access to
Starting point is 00:43:36 medications that can be poisonous to their patients with little administrative regard to what they do. Today, hospitals have far greater security in no small part in reaction to the murders of Charles Cohen. Now, nurses and healthcare practitioners can report suspicious activity. It's always confidential. Every duck has a review. And cameras are everywhere. But you have to ask, is it ever really enough? For more information on notorious, go to oxygen.com. you

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