Content warning: This article contains references to murder some may find upsetting. There are also spoilers for Netflix's The Good Nurse. Reader discretion is advised.
For 16 years, the Angel of Death, Charles Cullen, killed between 30 to 40 unsuspecting patients while working as a nurse in multiple facilities across New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Netflix depicted Cullen's murderous spree in the new true crime movie The Good Nurse. Cullen avoided the death penalty by admitting to killing up to 29 patients between 1988 and 2003. He was imprisoned for two years before he was convicted in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and officially sentenced in 2006 to 11 life terms. Tension mounted as Cullen revealed he wanted to exercise the right to miss his sentencing, where families of his victims would be able to address him for the first time. That all changed when the serial killer, whom some investigators believe could have killed up to 300 people, was asked to donate his kidney. Read ahead for everything we know about why Charles Cullen donated his kidney.
Who did Charles Cullen from The Good Nurse donate his kidney to?
According to New York Magazine, Cullen received a newspaper clipping of a story about a man in need of a kidney donor with the note "Can you help," written in cursive. The man in need turned out to be Ernie Peckham, a husband, and father of four who worked as a metal shaper in Farmingdale, New York. According to New York Magazine, Ernie was the brother of Cullen's former girlfriend, who was also the mother of Cullen's youngest child, a daughter he had never seen. Cullen shared two daughters with his ex-wife Adrienne Taub.
Peckham contracted strep in 2002, which progressed into an infection in both of his kidneys. Doctors placed Ernie on a seven-year wait list for a donor until his mother, Pat Peckham, secretly clipped the article and mailed it to Somerville prison, where Cullen was incarcerated.
After submitting the necessary blood tests, Cullen was found to be a perfect match and donor for Ernie. Cullen, who was still awaiting sentencing, wanted to be an anonymous donor to prevent news of his involvement from spreading throughout the media, but someone leaked the story to the press. Cullen's lawyer Johnnie Mask opened up to New York Magazine about what happened once Cullen was proven to be a match. "When he was [determined to be a match], and it got into the papers, suddenly there are all these problems. The judge and the prosecutor and the victims' families got up in arms about Cullen going into a hospital again — they figured he'd kill somebody, or probably himself. Then everyone would be cheated out of their ability to yell and scream at him."
When did Charles Cullen donate his kidney?
Mask was later informed that Cullen could only donate after he was sentenced in December 2005. Two counties in Pennsylvania were still completing their investigations into Cullen's crimes, which caused an extensive sentencing delay. "That's why on January 10, Charlie stopped cooperating with the prosecution, saying, 'Sentence me now.'" Mask explained. "It forced their hand. We realized that by the time they finished, Ernie might be dead."
Despite Cullen's insistence, the delays continued for months. "I don't know what's true now. We thought it would happen in January. Stony Brook keeps giving us new dates—they're saying April now; before, it was March. And Charlie's getting more aggravated every day. I think [allowing the] donation was always just a big dangling carrot to get Charlie to jump." Cullen was finally allowed to donate his kidney in August 2006.
Why did Charles Cullen from The Good Nurse donate his kidney?
Cullen opened up to New York Magazine about the apprehension many people may have had about him donating his kidney while awaiting sentencing for mass killings. "I know people see me as trying to control things; they think I'm trying to get something out of it. But the idea that I was trading my appearance at sentencing for the donation are out-and-out lies," he said. "I was told by my lawyer, Mr. Mask, that I didn't have to appear."
Cullen also dished on why he didn't want to attend his sentencing in the first place, "I mean, you know, who would want to go," he said."The detectives suggested that I offer to go, to speed the donation along. They said I needed to give them something. But that's not me holding a gun to the prosecution. It's the other way around!" Although he was admitted to committing dozens of senseless murders, Cullen believed that he could still bring good into the world. "I grant that I certainly have done some very bad things — I've taken lives but does that prevent me from doing something positive?"
Despite the speculation, Cullen explained what inspired him to donate his kidney. "I know a lot of people find it surprising that someone like me would want to do this, donate. But for me, it's totally consistent. For me, as a nurse, it's what I would do, what I would have always done. It's who I am. But if you need to wonder why I should or why someone like me would, well, it really depends on how you think of people. And what you think people are capable of."
Jasmine Washington is an Assistant Editor at Seventeen, where she covers celebrity news, beauty, lifestyle, and more. For the past decade, she has worked for media outlets, including BET, MadameNoire, VH1, and many others, where she used her voice to tell stories across various verticals. Follow her on Instagram.
