Euthanasia Nurse Killed Nearly 40 People, Gets 11 Life Prison Terms

Bioethics   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Mar 3, 2006   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Euthanasia Nurse Killed Nearly 40 People, Gets 11 Life Prison Terms Email this article
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by Maria Vitale Gallagher
LifeNews.com Staff Writer
March 3, 2006

Trenton, NJ (LifeNews.com) — One of America’s most notorious euthanasia practitioners has received eleven consecutive life terms in prison for killing patients while working as a nurse.

“You betrayed the ancient foundations of the healing professions,” Superior Court Judge Paul Armstrong told defendant Charles Cullen.

Cullen murdered 22 people in New Jersey and tried to kill three others. He will later be sentenced for seven murders and three attempted murders in Pennsylvania. Cullen, 46, claims to have killed up to 40 people during his nursing career.

Victims’ relatives told the court of the tragic losses they suffered at the hands of Cullen. “My heart, it aches for my son. I walk around with a hole in my heart,” said Mary Strenko, whose 21-year-old son was the youngest victim of the killing spree. Some 60 victims’ relatives appeared in court to confront Cullen for his crimes.

Cullen used deadly doses of medication to kill patients. He claimed that the people he killed were “very sick,” but some of his victims were not critically ill. Prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty against Cullen, in exchange for his cooperation in solving the serial murder case.

Cullen attempted to avoid appearing at sentencing for more than a year. But recently he said he wanted a quick sentencing so that he could donate a kidney to an acquaintance.

Because of concerns about his nursing practices, Cullen was fired from five nursing jobs and resigned from two others.

Although the practice is rare, this is not the only case of a nurse being investigated amid allegations that patients were euthanized. For instance, in 2003, nurse Carol Thompson was accused of killing patients in Maryland.

And in Germany, a nurse was linked earlier this year to the euthanasia deaths of at least 29 patients. A report by the Associated Press says the nurse used a mixture of a sedative and a muscle relaxant to kill the patients.

One of America’s most notorious euthanasia practitioners has received eleven consecutive life terms in prison for killing patients while working as a nurse.

“You betrayed the ancient foundations of the healing professions,” Superior Court Judge Paul Armstrong told defendant Charles Cullen. Cullen murdered 22 people in New Jersey and tried to kill three others. He will later be sentenced for seven murders and three attempted murders in Pennsylvania. Cullen, 46, claims to have killed up to 40 people during his nursing career.

Victims’ relatives told the court of the tragic losses they suffered at the hands of Cullen. “My heart, it aches for my son. I walk around with a hole in my heart,” said Mary Strenko, whose 21-year-old son was the youngest victim of the killing spree. Some 60 victims’ relatives appeared in court to confront Cullen for his crimes.

Cullen used deadly doses of medication to kill patients. He claimed that the people he killed were “very sick,” but some of his victims were not critically ill. Prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty against Cullen, in exchange for his cooperation in solving the serial murder case.

Cullen attempted to avoid appearing at sentencing for more than a year. But recently he said he wanted a quick sentencing so that he could donate a kidney to an acquaintance.

Because of concerns about his nursing practices, Cullen was fired from five nursing jobs and resigned from two others.

Although the practice is rare, this is not the only case of a nurse being investigated amid allegations that patients were euthanized. For instance, in 2003, nurse Carol Thompson was accused of killing patients in Maryland.

And in Germany, a nurse was linked earlier this year to the euthanasia deaths of at least 29 patients. A report by the Associated Press says the nurse used a mixture of a sedative and a muscle relaxant to kill the patients.