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In the early 2000s, Nurse Amy Loughren played an integral part in catching Charles Cullen, a colleague and friend who some think may be the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history. Just how close were Cullen and Loughren—and were they in love when Loughren confronted him?
According to Newsweek, authorities believe Charles Cullen began killing patients by injecting their IV bags with fatal doses of insulin and other medications in the late 1980s. After working in the New Jersey and Pennsylvania area for years, Cullen and Loughren met in 2002 at Somerset Medical Center in New Jersey, where Cullen and Loughren were acquainted.
By 2003, investigations were underway at Somerset Medical Center into suspicious patient deaths. Loughren was informed that authorities believed Cullen was responsible, and she was asked to help get him to confess. Per The Independent, Loughren said, “I told him in no uncertain terms, ‘I know you did this, but I’m still here. I know that you harmed people, but I’m still here and I can help you. We can do this together.’”
Did Charles Cullen love Amy Loughren?
Speaking with The Independent, Amy Loughren said she and Charles Cullen were colleagues but never spent time together outside of work, nor was their relationship romantic. But in high-pressure healthcare situations, Loughren said, “You start to understand each other’s body language. You can look across the room at each other and laugh, or make one little movement and they know exactly what you’re saying to them. And I loved that about him. I loved that he was a close colleague.”
Ultimately, with Loughren’s help, Cullen confessed to killing 29 patients while working as a nurse. Some believe he may have killed more. As of this report, Cullen is serving 11 consecutive life sentences in New Jersey. Since his conviction, Cullen has reportedly characterized what he did as mercy killings, which Loughren denies. Per Newsweek, Loughren said, “I think that Charles Cullen was painted out to be a mercy killer, and there was nothing merciful about what he did.
Loughren continued, “When we sterilize a victim and make it that ‘oh, well he just gave them some medicine and then they went to sleep,’ that’s not what happened. So I do want people to know that those families deserve to have their day, to say they mattered. They mattered.”
Cullen and Loughren are portrayed by Eddie Redmayne and Jessica Chastain in the 2022 film, The Good Nurse, based on the book, The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder, by Charles Graeber.