Amy Loughren, who helped catch the serial killer, spoke about what it was like to relive this true drama of her life. Imagine the situation: you were admitted to the hospital to treat a simple infection, but there you found a serial killer nurse, who kills her victims with medicines. This terrifying premise sounds like something out of a horror story, […]
Amy Loughren, who helped catch the serial killer, spoke about what it was like to relive this real drama from her life
Imagine the situation: you admitted yourself to the hospital to treat a simple infection, but there you found a serial killer nurse, who kills her victims with medicines. This terrifying premise seems to come from a horror story, but it is a true story, which inspired the dark setting of the film “The Night Nurse”, a hit Netflix production in 2022, based on the book by investigative journalist Charles Graeber ( 2014).
The film shows Charles Cullen (Eddie Redmayne), a nurse in the United States who was silently killing patients in hospitals using drugs, who is eventually caught by the police with the help of another nurse, Amy Loughren, played by Jessica Chastain.
A random nurse and a shocking discovery
Police estimate Cullen killed at least 40 people. However, because many hospitals where he worked did not notice his crimes, it was only possible to identify 29 patients he killed.
The film also showed Charles’ “gentle” side, and his friendship with Amy Loughren, who at the time split her time between solo motherhood and work at a hospital in Somerset, New Jersey, and ended up getting close emotionally to the killer. However, when suspicions arose, she was responsible for helping the police gather evidence against Cullen.
In an interview with People magazine, the professional said: “I struggled with the guilt of missing her [Cullen]. I struggled with the guilt of not seeing that this friend also had a dark, monstrous side. And I didn’t want to see… I wanted to believe that he killed out of mercy, so I could still worry about him. But he wasn’t a killer who killed out of mercy. He was a cold-blooded killer. And I really blamed myself for not seeing it,” he lamented.
Nurse also praised Jessica Chastain’s performance and revealed that the film helped her recast her role in this sinister true story. “I literally risked everything to make sure he was arrested. And I tried hard every day, no matter how sick I was. Seeing her [Jessica, no filme]I could be proud of this character. It opened up the possibility for me to say, “I did the right thing.”
Who is Charles Cullen, the “night nurse”?
Born in 1960, Charles Cullen is a former nurse and the most notorious serial killer in New Jersey history, the youngest son of a deeply Catholic family. His father was a bus driver and his mother was a housewife. He attempted suicide for the first time at the age of nine and had around 20 attempts over the course of his life.
After his mother’s death when Cullen was 17, he dropped out of high school and enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1978, until he was discharged in 1984. He then took a nursing course and got a job at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey.
The first nurse murder occurred on June 11, 1988. Judge John W. Yengo was admitted to St. Barnabas due to an allergic reaction to a blood-thinning drug. Cullen administered a lethal dose of the drug intravenously. He admitted killing 11 patients at St. Barnabas, including an HIV patient who died after receiving an insulin overdose.
In 2006, the court convicted Charles Cullen of killing 29 people while working as a nurse in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He is believed to be one of America’s most prolific serial killers. Today, at age 64, he is serving 18 life sentences in New Jersey State Prison.
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
