TRENTON, N.J., April 27 (UPI) -- A former nurse who says he killed more than 30 patients has agreed to plead guilty in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to avoid the death penalty.
A proposed plea agreement with former nurse Charles Cullen was sent Monday to prosecutors in seven counties in New Jersey and Pennsylvania where he worked in his 16-year career, the New York Times reported Tuesday.
The proposed agreement has Cullen pleading guilty to 14 patients' deaths and help investigators identify his other victims, in exchange for life in prison instead of the death penalty.
If the deal is approved, as expected, Cullen will plead guilty to murder in Somerset County, N.J., on Thursday and admit intentionally administering fatal doses of medication to 13 patients at Somerset Medical Center in Somerville, N.J., and one at Easton Hospital in Pennsylvania. Cullen has also agreed to plead guilty to attempted murder charges for poisoning two patients who survived.
Of those 16 victims, 11 were men and 5 were women; some were terminally ill, while others appeared near recovery.
