This article contains a discussion of Charles Cullen's real-life crimes, including murder.

Warning: SPOILERS about Capturing The Killer Nurse ahead.Netflix’s Capturing the Killer Nurse gives a detailed account of the true story behind the investigation into Charles Cullen as depicted in The Good Nurse, yet some details are left out from the documentary. Based on Charles Graeber's book The Good Nurse: A True Story of Madness, Medicine, and Murder, Capturing the Killer Nurse retraces the steps of the investigation that led to Cullen’s arrest in 2003. The documentary was released on Netflix on November 11, 2022, around two weeks after the true crime drama inspired by the same book debuted on the streaming platform.

While the overall picture of the investigation Capturing the Killer Nurse gives is quite detailed and accurate, some details about the aftermath of Charles Cullen’s arrest are left unsaid. Starting from the suspicious death of Reverend Florian Gall that prompted the internal investigation, Capturing the Killer Nurse introduces all the people that began second-guessing Charles Cullen’s actions, later identified as multiple murders, before they realized the full extent of what was happening. Unlike The Good Nurse, the real story behind the investigation is all laid bare in the Netflix documentary, but not much is said about what happened after Cullen was arrested. Here’s what Capturing the Killer Nurse leaves out from the true story.

Related: What Happened To Everyone Involved In Dahmer's Story After Monster Ended

Capturing The Killer Nurse Accurately Details The Investigation

Danny Baldwin and Tim Braun in Capturing the Killer Nurse

Compared to The Good Nurse, Capturing the Killer Nurse offers more insight into all the events that led to the investigation making giant strides after it started haltingly. The Netflix documentary introduces more people close to Charles Cullen at Somerset Medical Center besides Amy Loughren. Another nurse called Donna Hargreaves felt just as much betrayed by Cullen as Loughren after his killing was unveiled, and her work life was also impacted. Moreover, the documentary also reveals how those at the Poison Control Center were the first to believe there was a killer on the loose.

The Good Nurse’s telling of the true story was accurate, but some elements are nevertheless avoided. Capturing the Killer Nurse might shine more light on Cullen’s previous arrests and what his wife accused him of precisely in the past, but what happened after Cullen’s arrest and sentencing is mainly overlooked. Indeed, the hospitals’ misgivings unveiled by the case, along with the impact it had on the people involved, are all excluded from the narrative in Capturing the Killer Nurse. This makes the Netflix documentary a compelling account of everything involved with the investigation while leaving much unsaid regarding the aftermath of Cullen’s arrest and sentencing.

Another Law Was Passed Beyond "The Cullen Law"

Charles Cullen in archival footage in Capturing the Killer Nurse

Capturing the Killer Nurse makes a point of Charles Cullen being held accountable for the murders he committed that were identifiable in the end, while the hospitals that enabled him weren’t. Capturing the Killer Nurse reiterates The Good Nurse’s ending shots explaining how there were no criminal proceedings against the hospitals that employed Cullen. However, the documentary also unveils how all the hospitals supported the 2004 passage of the “Cullen Law,” or Patient Safety Act, which “requires healthcare providers to report to the state any employee’s impairment, incompetence, or misconduct that could affect patient safety.”

Capturing the Killer Nurse leaves out the passage of another law. The New Jersey State Legislature passed the Enhancement Act in 2005, which requires hospitals to report limited facts about healthcare professionals they employ to the Division of Consumer Affairs while also keeping records of all complaints and disciplinary actions relating to the care of their patients for seven years. The Patient Safety Act and the Enhancement Act were passed in 35 other states, though Graeber's book states, “There is no penalty or civil liability for hospitals that fail to comply.”

Related: Orphan True Story & Real Life Crime Explained

Amy Loughren Changed Careers After Cullen's Arrest

Amy Loughren in Capturing the Killer Nurse

What happened to Amy Loughren after Charles Cullen’s arrest was also left out by Capturing the Killer Nurse. Despite the Netflix documentary painting a picture of someone very dedicated to her patients, in telling Amy Loughren’s story, it focuses mainly on her involvement in leading the detectives Tim Braun and Danny Baldwin on the right path to understanding what the hospital papers had said. Capturing the Killer Nurse, in a way, goes further than The Good Nurse, as the documentary also contains Loughren’s memories regarding one patient she now believes Cullen murdered under her eyes.

However, Capturing the Killer Nurse doesn’t delve into how much those realizations impacted Loughren’s life. After Cullen’s arrest, Loughren decided to take a break from her career. Instead of returning to being a nurse, she chose to become a Reiki master, a hypnotherapist, a meditation instructor, and more.

The Hospitals Employing Cullen Blamed Each Other In The Civil Suits

Dennis Miller, CEO and president of Somerset Medical Center, in archival footage in Capturing the Killer Nurse

Netflix’s true crime documentary Capturing the Killer Nurse omits Cullen’s victims’ families’ civil suits against the hospitals that employed him, only letting Charles Graeber divulge that there were no criminal proceedings against them. However, after Cullen’s criminal conviction, the civil suits against the hospitals followed, and Somerset Medical Center actually motioned to add Saint Luke’s Hospital as a third-party defendant, making it clear that the hospitals were blaming each other without taking responsibility.

Although the suits were settled out of court, sealing the files, some information is available, including the judge’s decision to side against Saint Luke’s. There was proof that despite Saint Luke’s Hospital’s neutral references for Cullen, they called other hospitals to inform them of his “do not rehire” status. Still, they failed to inform Somerset and protect patients that would have been under Cullen’s care, effectively deciding “who will live and who will die,” as the judge ruled.

Related: What Netflix's Dahmer Tapes Documentary Adds To Monster's Story

Cullen's Sentencing Wasn't The Last Time He Made News

Charles Cullen in archival footage from Capturing the Killer Nurse and Lucille Gall, sister of victim Reverend Gall, in Capturing the Killer Nurse

Just like how The Good Nurse didn’t update Cullen’s story past his arrest, Capturing the Killer Nurse only shows glimpses from his trial and reveals his 18 consecutive life sentences. However, Graeber’s book unveiled that Cullen made the news also in prison. Indeed, Cullen considered donating a kidney to his ex-girlfriend’s brother.

However, his victims’ families were against Cullen donating a kidney, not only as that caused him to make the headlines once again but also because the reasons for which Cullen wanted to pursue that were entirely unknown. Cullen eventually had his way and managed to donate the kidney before returning to his regular life in jail. Despite Capturing the Killer Nurse omitting this detail from Cullen’s story, in the end, it still accurately depicts the events leading to the arrest, and more importantly, it highlights the system’s failures to stop him and the system's lack of accountability.

Next: Wait, Why Is Everyone Suddenly Obsessed With Cannibals?!