The Good Nurse: The true story of killer Charles Cullen and the colleague who brought him to justice
After the sudden deaths of two patients at a hospital in New Jersey, nobody could have guessed the crimes that were about to be uncovered.
And a key player in the investigation was Amy Loughren – the subject of the new Netflix film The Good Nurse – who would play a vital role in revealing the shocking truth about Charles Cullen, a colleague she called a friend.
Born in New Jersey in 1960, Cullen was the youngest of eight siblings.
His father was a bus driver who died before Cullen turned a year old, and his mother, a homemaker, died in a car accident when he was a teenager.
His first murders
After what has widely been reported as a miserable childhood, a brief stint in the Navy and numerous alleged suicide attempts, Cullen eventually became a nurse, graduating from nursing school in 1987 before getting married.
Cullen and his wife had two daughters before getting a divorce in 1993.
During that time, Cullen is believed to have killed his first victims.
Cullen would go on to work in several hospitals and nursing homes. Some jobs he quit after being investigated over allegations of misconduct – on one occasion because an elderly woman complained he kept coming into her room and giving her injections when he wasn’t the nurse assigned to her.
He was fired from one hospital for hiding heart medicine in a bin meant for disposing of needles.
He would bounce from different medical centres in New Jersey, and even worked for a time in Pennsylvania after getting a licence to practice there.
His weapon of choice: Digoxin
Between 1998 and 2002, he did some agency work and had some full-time jobs.
In this time, he is believed to have killed even more people.
His weapon of choice was a drug called digoxin – a medication routinely used to treat people with an irregular heartbeat or heart failure – but is lethal in large doses.
Cullen would also inject patients’ saline pouches with lethal doses of insulin and other drugs.
His crimes were committed over a period of 16 years – but it was in 2003 while he was working at Somerset Medical Centre in Somerville, New Jersey, that it would all finally unravel.
Florian Gall was a reverend being treated at the hospital.
After showing signs of improvement during his stay, Gall had a massive heart attack and died.
It was later determined that he had a lethal level of digoxin, and his death was caused by an unauthorised dose of the drug.
Cullen was finally arrested in December in 2003.
He told investigators that he administered the drug overdoses to put “very sick” patients out of their misery.
He admitted to 30-40 murders, but the true number is thought to be closer to 400 – which would make him the most prolific serial killer in US history.
The friendship that would ultimately bring him down
While working at what would become his last hospital, Cullen met a nurse – Loughren – and they formed a friendship.
She saw in him a kind man, someone she wanted to spend time with and be friends with.
But it was Loughren – described as “courageous” and “incredible” – who helped detectives build the case against him.
The single mother and cardiomyopathy sufferer was coping with night shifts in a New Jersey hospital in order to qualify for health insurance when the apparently highly-qualified Cullen was hired to help manage the workload.
The two quickly formed a close bond – Cullen even helping Loughren to cover up her illness and care for her two young daughters.
But following the sudden death of two patients, detectives became suspicious of Cullen.
When they gave her documents that showed the drugs Cullen was ordering, she “knew he was murdering people”, she previously said.
“There were so many withdrawals of lethal medications” that you wouldn’t order unless you wanted to kill someone,” she had told CBS at the time.
She began collecting evidence at the hospital and wore a wire at a meeting with him. She also admits to manipulating him to try to get him to confess.
In The Good Nurse, Loughren is played by Jessica Chastain, while Eddie Redmayne picks up the role of Cullen.
Read more:
Jessica Chastain on playing the nurse who helped catch her serial killer colleague
The former nurse has now spoken to Sky News.
She says she was “proud” to see the film come together, although it acted as a “trigger” for so much of the time she spent with Cullen.
Loughren said: “I was pretty terrified every day and I held that together.
“The things that they don’t show in the film was that I was actually much more sick – and I was truly terrified of leaving my two girls behind.
“Watching Jessica play me – I allowed myself to feel proud of myself.”
‘My guilt about missing my friendship – because he’s a monster’
“It was triggering watching Charlie (played by Redmayne) because Eddie truly embodies who my friend Charlie was.
“The way that he moves, the way that he speaks, the interactions that we have, are so real. That part of it was extremely triggering.
“And allowing myself to understand that I missed him for a while – and my guilt about actually missing my friendship, because he’s a monster.
“But I didn’t know the murderer. I only met the murderer a couple of times and he played this part of my friend.
“I missed that friendship, so it was very triggering. And then it was like, ‘let’s get him’.”
Amy Loughren, left, and Jessica Chastain at the Toronto International Film Festival. Pic: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Making a film ‘was laughable at first’
Film producers found the relationship between the single mother and Cullen as the most “compelling” part of the narrative.
Loughren, who retired 18 months ago, added: “It was laughable at first because I’m thinking how would anybody really want to see a film? And truly, (the investigation) was such a small part.
“Darren Aronofsky was the one who initially picked it up and decided to make it into a movie.
“He said the most compelling part of Charles Graeber’s absolutely brilliant book was the friendship and that it was compelling to him.
“Something that I had actually been embarrassed about and felt so much guilt about was all of a sudden going to be up on a big screen.
“I didn’t really know how to feel. I didn’t want anyone to know who I was 20 years ago.
Eddie Redmayne and Jessica Chastain in The Good Nurse. Pic: JoJo Whilden/Netflix
“I didn’t want anyone to be judging me from the 20 years ago that I was.
“It was scary. I didn’t want my name on it at first. Then I realised it’s going to happen with or without me – I might as well give myself a voice.”
Chastain, who met Loughren for the first time during a Zoom call, highlighted learning how complicated life was for the former nurse.
‘What she stumbles into is quite shocking’
Chastain told Sky News: “To be able to talk to Amy and understand what her life was like and what she had at stake, it really helped me to realise how courageous she was and what an incredible person she is.
“All the things that she was juggling at the time. Being a single mother, two girls, not having health insurance, working on a night shift so you’re not really getting proper sleep.
“And also, at the same time, needing a heart transplant. That’s what we walk in with at the beginning of this film.
“What she then stumbles into is quite shocking.”
Director Tobias Lindholm said what he “loved” about the story was how it focused on “a hardworking woman whose superpower was her humanity”.
He added: “I remember coming across the script a few years ago and it mirrored Charles Graeber’s book a bit more closely in that it focused on the killer, but it was Amy Loughren’s role in this story that I found to be most interesting.”
The Good Nurse is in UK cinemas and on Netflix.
Entertainment
Glastonbury performers criticise political interference in the festival after Kneecap controversy
Glastonbury 2025 is in full swing, with artists including Charli XCX, The 1975, Olivia Rodrigo, Neil Young, Rod Stewart, and Alanis Morissette among the stars set to entertain the masses this year.
But politicians who won’t even be setting foot on Worthy Farm in Somerset have been making their thoughts known about this year’s line-up – in particular the Irish-language rappers Kneecap, who are on the bill on Saturday.
The trio made a huge Glastonbury debut last year – impressing the likes of Noel Gallagher, who turned out for a set. But the path to a bigger stage this time round has made headlines for different reasons.
Kneecap at the premiere of their self-titled film in London. Pic: PA
Outspoken on the war in Gaza, Liam O’Hanna, or Liam Og O hAnnaidh, appeared in court earlier this month charged with a terror offence, for allegedly displaying a flag in support of the proscribed group Hezbollah at a Kneecap gig in London last November.
He is due back in court in August. On social media, he denied support for Hezbollah after the charge was announced, but the trio have held firm on their support for Palestinians.
Removed from the bills of some festivals in the run-up to Glastonbury, there were calls from some for them to be taken off here, too – including from the prime minister.
When asked by The Sun, Sir Keir Starmer said it was not “appropriate”, and he did not think they should play.
Kneecap’s Liam Og O hAnnaidh leaves Westminster Magistrates’ Court. Pic: PA
Protesters gather in support of Kneecap outside court in London. Pic PA
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In an interview with The Guardian as the festival got under way, O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was asked if he regretted what was depicted in a video of the alleged offence that circulated on social media.
“It’s a joke,” he replied. “I’m a character. Shit is thrown on stage all the time. If I’m supposed to know every f****** thing that’s thrown on stage, I’d be in Mensa.”
He told the newspaper he did not know every proscribed organisation, saying he had enough to think about when he is on stage.
“I’m thinking about my next lyric, my next joke, the next drop of a beat.”
Glastonbury gets under way at Worthy Farm in Somerset
Dilemma for the BBC
For the BBC, which broadcasts a lot of the main sets live, it poses a dilemma.
When asked if it would be showing Kneecap’s set live, a spokesperson said artists were booked by festival organisers and their own plans would ensure editorial guidelines are met.
“Whilst the BBC doesn’t ban artists, our plans will ensure that our programming will meet our editorial guidelines,” they said. “Decisions about our output will be made in the lead up to the festival.”
Which means it’s unlikely they’ll be streaming Kneecap live – but some of their set at least may be made available later.
To those who object to them being allowed a stage here at all, it’s still allowing the band a very prominent platform.
But Glastonbury has always leaned left, featuring acts unafraid to share their political views – and hosting former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on stage in 2017.
Festival founder Michael Eavis told the Glastonbury Free Press that people have always come to the festival for these reasons – and made his views clear: “People that don’t agree with the politics of the event can go somewhere else.”
Glastonbury co-founder Sir Michael Eavis and his daughter Emily as the festival opens for 2025. Pic: PA
Singer and activist Billy Bragg, who organises the Left Field stage each year, said Glastonbury has always been political.
“When I first came here in 1984, it was a CND (Campaign For Nuclear Disarmament) festival, and everybody was in opposition, or every young person, was opposed to Margaret Thatcher’s policies. And whatever issues – CND, the miners, gay rights, they came, it’s always been that.
“So I don’t know why everyone’s saying this year it’s a bit political. It’s always been political. I suppose the prime minister saying who can and who can’t play might have something to do with it.”
Bragg said he was “proud” of Glastonbury organisers for “standing up to it” and ignoring the noise.
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Glastonbury Festival 2025 has started – here’s what you need to know
Accusations of ‘corporate control’
Politics and pop have always been intertwined for older acts such as Neil Young, who headlines the Pyramid Stage on Saturday – and we know the BBC won’t be showing this one live, but perhaps for different reasons.
Before his headline slot was confirmed, Young, who began his career in the 1960s with the band Buffalo Springfield, said he had initially turned down the offer to perform, saying the festival was “under corporate control” of the broadcaster.
Earlier this week, the corporation confirmed it would not show the set live “at the artist’s request”.
Neil Young won’t have his set televised by the BBC. Pic: Getty
Singer-songwriter John Fogerty, one of the founders of US blues rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, is also on the bill this year – and said songwriters should talk about what’s going on in the world around them, “certainly if they have a point of view and they’d like to share it”.
There’s a balance, he added. “I was happy to write Proud Mary, which is sort of Americana, you know, sort of love song to America, really.
“But I wrote Fortunate Son right in the middle of the Vietnam War in the late 1960s. And that has a place too. People need to feel free to write more music like that.”
John Fogerty is on the bill this year. Pic: Getty
With Donald Trump back in power, the US is in “political turmoil”, Fogerty said. “It’s almost, you know, I should go sit down somewhere and write a song about this – and then you go, oh my goodness, I already did.”
For fans at Glastonbury, music as ever is the focus here – and the feeling from most is that politicians should stay out of it.
“The prime minister and pop music don’t really go together,” said Bragg. “I don’t think anybody, leader of the opposition either, should say who can and who can’t play at a festival.”
Entertainment
Jeff Bezos’s Venice wedding celebrations begin with star-studded party after fresh protests
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s star-studded wedding celebrations in Venice have begun, with VIP guests including the Kardashians descending on the Italian city.
The billionaire Amazon founder and his journalist fiancee waved to onlookers as they left a luxury hotel to travel to their pre-wedding reception by water taxi on Thursday evening.
Hollywood star Orlando Bloom was seen flashing a peace sign to fans as he left Venice’s Gritti Palace Hotel and he was soon followed by TV presenter Oprah Winfrey, who smiled and waved.
Orlando Bloom donning all white. Pic: Reuters
Oprah Winfrey is one of the 200-250 guests. Pic: Reuters
Kim and Khloe Kardashian travelled to the reception with their mother Kris Jenner – who snapped a picture of the pair on a water taxi – and other notable figures in town for the nuptials include Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.
Kris Jenner snaps a photo of Khloe and Kim Kardashian. Pic: Reuters
Kim Kardashian gestures on a boat as Khloe appears to take a selfie.
Pic: Reuters
Some 200-250 A-list guests from showbusiness, politics and finance are expected to attend the events, with the wedding and its parts estimated to cost €40m-€48m (£34m-£41m).
Bezos, his soon-to-be wife and their famous guests have taken over numerous locations in the city, with the couple staying in the luxury Aman hotel, where rooms go for at least €4,000 per night.
The bride and groom leaving their hotel. Pic: AP
The first of the weekend’s many wedding parties is taking place in the cloisters of Madonna dell’Orto, a medieval church that hosts masterpieces by 16th century painter Tintoretto.
While the couple and their A-list guests were all smiles, some in Venice are not happy about the wedding – with protesters seeing it as an example of the city being gift-wrapped for ultra-rich outsiders.
Read more: Why are activists protesting the wedding?
An activist from Extinction Rebellion unfolds a banner in front of St Mark’s Basilica. Pic: AP
An activist climbed one of the poles in the main St Mark’s Square on Thursday, unfurling a banner which said: “The 1% ruins the world.”
Elsewhere, a life-size mannequin of Bezos clutching an Amazon box was dropped into one of the city’s famous canals.
In a bid to keep demonstrators away from Thursday’s party, the city council banned pedestrians and water traffic from the area surrounding the venue, from 4.30pm local time to midnight.
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Bezos wedding protests explained
The couple will exchange their vows on Friday, on the small island of San Giorgio, opposite St Mark’s Square.
Another party will follow on Saturday – the venue for which was changed at the last-minute earlier this week.
Entertainment
Convicted killer jailed for stalking Cheryl admits another restraining order breach after turning up at her home
A convicted killer previously jailed for stalking Girls Aloud singer Cheryl has admitted another breach of his restraining order after turning up at her home.
Daniel Bannister, 50, pleaded guilty to the new charge at Reading Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
Confirming his plea, he told the court he attended an address he “reasonably believed or suspected” was the star’s home.
A court previously heard Bannister “can’t stay away” from the 41-year-old singer.
He was jailed for 16 weeks in March for repeatedly turning up at Cheryl‘s Buckinghamshire home while under a restraining order.
He had initially been jailed for four months in September last year and was handed a three-year restraining order, which he breached when he turned up at her home unannounced in December 2024.
At the March hearing, Cheryl said she “immediately panicked” when he rang the bell at the gate and was “terrified” when she saw him – fearing for the safety of her eight-year-old son Bear.
Cheryl in June 2022. Pic: PA
In 2012, Bannister killed 48-year-old Rajendra Patel in an attack at a south London YMCA shelter and pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
He was remanded in custody on Friday and will appear at Reading Crown Court on 23 September.
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Bear’s father, former One Direction star Liam Payne, died last October in Buenos Aires, Argentina, after falling from his third-floor hotel balcony.
Cheryl described his death as “indescribably painful“, as she voiced fears about protecting their son.
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