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Charles Cullen
Cullen
(Photo:
AP
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Charles Cullen startled authorities in December 2003 when he came forward and said he'd killed between 30 and 40 patients during the 16 years he worked as a nurse at 10 hospitals in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
On April 29, 2004, Cullen pleaded guilty to murdering 13 patients and attempting to kill two others as part of a deal with prosecutors to spare his own life.
Most of the victims' families didn't realize at the time that the deaths weren't from natural causes, because the victims were often seriously ill. Prosecutors have said Cullen claimed he gave the patients lethal drug overdoses to end their suffering.
Cullen was sentenced on March 2, 2006, to 11 consecutive life sentences for 22 murders and the attempted murders of three others in New Jersey. A judge in Pennsylvania added a 12th life prison sentence March 10, 2006.
He will be sentenced at a later date for seven murders and three attempted murders in Pennsylvania.
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