Fans are intrigued by the family background of American serial killer Charles Cullen, a story vividly portrayed in Netflix’s recent medical thriller, The Great Nurse.
Born on February 22, 1960, in West Orange, New Jersey, Charles Cullen was the youngest of eight siblings, raised in a typical Catholic household.
On September 17, 1960, tragedy struck as Charles’ father, a bus driver, passed away when Charles was just seven months old. Later in life, Cullen described his early years as “hopeless” and revealed that he endured torment from classmates and his sisters’ boyfriends.
At the tender age of nine, Charles attempted suicide by ingesting chemicals from a laboratory kit. Florence Cullen (née Ward), Charles’s mother, was born in Britain and relocated to the US after The Second World War.
| Name | Charles Cullen |
| Full Name | Charles Edmund Cullen |
| Birth Date | February 22, 1960 |
| Age | 62years old |
| Birth Place | West Orange, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Profession | Nurse |
| Wife | Adrianne Baum(divorced) |
| Children | 2 |
Serial killer Charles Cullen was born in West Orange, New Jersey, to his parents, Florence Cullen and Image Cullen. The Great Nurse, a recent medical thriller on Netflix, is now based on the true events surrounding Charles Cullen, a former nurse and convicted serial killer accused of murdering at least 29 victims.
Experts suspect that the actual figure is much higher; according to some sources, it may even reach 400. Those who watched the series became curious about his family background.
Cullen, nurtured by his parents, had a tumultuous childhood. At the age of nine, he attempted suicide by ingesting chemicals from a laboratory setting. This marked the beginning of 20 similar attempts he would make during his life. Later, while working as a nurse, Cullen had visions of stealing drugs from the hospital where he worked and using them to end his life.
Meet Image Cullen and Florence Cullen: Charles was the youngest of eight children born into an emotionally Catholic family in West Orange, New Jersey. His mother raised her children at home while his father worked as a bus driver.
When Charles was a child, his father passed away, and he lost two of his siblings as adults. He suffered abuse during his upbringing from his father, Image Cullen. Charles described his childhood as terrible. At the age of nine, he attempted suicide by ingesting chemicals from a laboratory setting. When Charles was seven months old, on September 17, 1960, his father, a bus driver, passed away.
Florence Cullen (née Ward), Charles’s mother, was born in Britain and moved to the US after The Second World War. When Charles was a senior in high school, on December 6, 1977, she was killed in a car accident at 55.
Charles described his mother’s death as “devastating” and expressed disappointment that the hospital didn’t inform him promptly and instead cremated his mother’s body instead of bringing it back.
Charles Cullen Described His Young Life As “Hopeless”: Charles Cullen left high school and enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1978 following the death of his parents. He served on the long-range missile submarine USS Woodrow Wilson while assigned to the submarine corps.
As a member of the team controlling the boat’s Poseidon rockets, Cullen rose to the rank of petty officer second class. Cullen was already showing signs of mental illness. He once worked a shift while wearing a surgical mask, green scrubs, and plastic gloves taken from the boat’s medical cabinet.
He was transferred to the USS Canopus, a supply ship. Over the next few years, Cullen made numerous attempts to take his own life. His final attempt resulted in his Navy discharge in March 1984.
Charles Cullen, after graduating from Mountainside, married Adrienne Taub, his ex-wife, three years later. The couple had two daughters together.
In Taub’s legal documents, she alleged that Cullen was capable of “serious cruelty,” particularly towards the family pets, whom he reportedly abused when they misbehaved. Taub claimed that he was generally depressed and withdrawn, and the married couple did not share a bed.
Taub recalled a particularly disturbing incident in her legal documents when she woke up late one night to hear Cullen tormenting the family dogs in their basement.
Despite Taub’s disturbing allegations in the legal documents, Charles Cullen was granted joint custody of their children when Taub and Cullen’s divorce was officially settled in 1994.
The Morning Call reports that Cullen was able to adeptly conceal his darker tendencies when necessary. Seth Levine, the divorce attorney who represented Cullen, described him as a dedicated, amiable man and a devoted parent, expressing empathy for Cullen, the victims, and their families.
Cullen’s neighbor, Karin Ziemba, who also prevented his suicide in the year 2000, observed his children’s drawings in his apartment during the time following his divorce.
Meet Charles Cullen’s Siblings: The youngest of eight children, Charles Cullen, was raised in a secular Catholic home. Early in life, he was very close to his siblings. However, the mainstream media still lacks complete identifying information about his siblings.
In 1993, Cullen claimed he intended to leave the nursing field but was compelled to continue working due to court-ordered child support obligations.
In March 1993, Charles Cullen broke into a colleague’s home while she and her son were asleep, but he did not disturb their slumber. Subsequently, Cullen began incessantly calling her, leaving numerous messages, and stalking her both around the city and at her workplace. Following the woman’s complaint, Cullen pleaded guilty to trespassing and was sentenced to an extended probationary period.
Cullen was employed at Morris Memorial Hospital in Morris, New Jersey, where his employment was terminated due to poor performance in August 1997. After being unemployed for six months, he ceased child support payments.
Shortly after commencing work at Allentown’s Sacred Heart Hospital, Cullen left the position due to interpersonal conflicts with colleagues.
In September 2002, Cullen found employment at Somerset Medical Center in Somerset, New Jersey, specifically in the critical care unit. While working there, he began a romantic relationship with a local woman, but his depression escalated. By June, Cullen had taken the lives of eight more patients and attempted to harm a third, using his customary drugs—insulin and dioxin.