How he was finally caught
One of Cullen’s colleagues, nurse
Amy Ridgway (then known as Amy Loughren) agreed to work with police to help catch the killer.
‘As the days passed, I became terrified that he’d find out what I was doing,’ she explained. After Amy confronted Cullen while wearing a wire, police had enough evidence to arrest the killer nurse.
Amy said, ‘After he was arrested, police called asking me to go to the station to try to convince Charles to confess. “You have to tell them the truth,” I told him.’
On 12 December 2003, Cullen was charged with one count of first-degree murder and one of attempted murder.
‘Looking back, it’s hard to believe I befriended a serial killer,’ says Amy. ‘But I’ve since found out that if I hadn’t got him to confess that night, the police could have only held him for two more hours. He’d have been free to kill again.’
Cullen told investigators he estimated he had killed between 30 and 40 patients during his career. He told them he thought he was saving them from pain.
On 2 March 2006, Cullen was sentenced to 11 consecutive life sentences.
Some estimate he killed as many as 400 patients, which would make him America’s most prolific serial killer.