Insight into Serial Killer Charles Cullen: Background, Profile, and Modus Operandi

Charles Cullen Charles Cullen By: Ji Hwang Pd: 6

Background Background Name: Charles Edmund Cullen Birth: February 22, 1960-present Years killed: 16 Childhood background: - His father (bus driver) died when he was 7 months old - He first attempted suicide when he was nine by drinking chemicals from a chemistry set - Described his childhood as miserable - His mother died in an automobile accident in 1977 - In April 1978, devastated by his mother's death, Cullen dropped out of high school and enlisted in the U.S. Navy

General Serial Killer Profile General Serial Killer Profile Male: Age 20-30: Act in a series of 3 or more murders with a cooling-off period between each murder: Can go for months or years before being caught: Victim is usually chosen from same group: Stick by modus operandi closely, but may change it with experience:

Phases of the Killer Phases of the Killer Trolling/Common Characteristics: - All patients from the hospitals he worked at (65+) Wooing: - Career as a disguise, nurse = no suspicion Capture: - Patients wait to be medicated Murder Phase: - Lethal injection (overdose of insulin and digoxin) Totem: - No souvenirs taken

Death Toll Death Toll Pleaded guilty to murdering 22 people in New Jersey (Murderpedia) As part of his plea agreement, Cullen has been working with law enforcement officials to identify additional victims (Wikipedia, 2014) Originally admitted to killing about 40 patients he could recall during the course of his 16-year nursing career (Wikipedia, 2014)

Transient or Stable? Transient or Stable? Stable All killings occur in New Jersey Seldom travels All bodies left to die in hospital after overdose

Organized or Disorganized? Organized or Disorganized? Mixed Victim count is high Suffers from a mental disorder (depression) Several suicide attempts Did not move bodies, unconcerned with evidence No contact prior to murder No outside tools, mostly all needles

Conviction Conviction Cullen was arrested at a restaurant in 2003 and was charged with one count of murder and one count of attempted murder In April 2004, Cullen pleaded guilty in a New Jersey court to killing 13 patients and attempting to kill two others by lethal injection at Somerset As part of his plea agreement he promised to cooperate with authorities if they did not sentence him to death A month later, he pleaded guilty to the murder of three more patients in NJ In November 2004, Cullen pleaded guilty to killing six patients and trying to kill three others On March 2, 2006, Cullen was sentenced to 11 consecutive life sentences On March 10, 2006, Cullen was brought into the courtroom of Judge Platt for a sentencing hearing. Cullen, who was upset with the judge, kept repeating "Your honor, you need to step down" for 30 minutes until Platt had Cullen gagged with cloth and duct tape. In this hearing, Platt gave him an additional six life sentences (Wikipedia, 2014) Cullen is currently serving 127 years in prison without parole

Interesting Facts Interesting Facts Prompted by this case, PA, NJ, and 35 other states adopted new laws that encourage employers to give honest appraisals of workers' job performance He told detectives in December 2003 that he lived most of his life in a fog and that he had blacked out memories of murdering most of his victims (Wikipedia, 2014) Cullen was only hired time after time because there was a shortage of nurses during this time period

Bibliography Bibliography Blanco, Juan I. "Charles Edmund Cullen." Charles Cullen | Murderpedia, the Encyclopedia of Murderers. Murderpedia, n.d. Web. 04 May 2014. "Charles Cullen." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Feb. 2014. Web. 04 May 2014.