Nurse in British royal hoax found hanging
LONDON (AP) - An inquest into the apparent suicide of a nurse duped by a hoax call from Australian DJs about the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge heard Thursday that she was found hanging in her room, had wrist injuries and left three notes.
Coroner's officer Lynda Martindill said nurse Jacintha Saldanha was discovered hanging by a scarf from a wardrobe in her nurses' quarters on Friday by a colleague and a member of security staff at London's King Edward VII Hospital.
Martindill said an attempt to revive Saldanha failed. The case is being treated as an apparent suicide.
Police detective chief inspector James Harman said Saldanha, 46, also had injuries to her wrists.
He told the inquest at Westminster Coroner's Court that two notes were found at the scene and another among Saldanha's belongings. He said there were no suspicious circumstances, meaning nobody else was involved in Saldanha's death.
Harman said that police were examining the notes, interviewing the nurse's friends, family and colleagues and looking at emails and phone calls to establish what led to her death.
He also said detectives would be contacting police in the Australian state of New South Wales to collect "relevant evidence."
Saldanha answered the phone last week when two Australian disc jockeys called to seek information about the former Kate Middleton, who was being treated for severe morning sickness. The DJs impersonated Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, and Saldanha was tricked into transferring the call to a nurse caring for the duchess, who revealed private details about her condition.
The DJs, Mel Greig and Michael Christian, apologized for the prank in emotional interviews on Australian television, saying they never expected their call would be put through. The show was taken off the air and the DJs have been suspended indefinitely.
Australia's media watchdog, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, said Thursday it was launching an official investigation into whether radio station 2DayFM breached its broadcasting license conditions and the industry code of practice.
Coroner Fiona Wilcox opened and adjourned Saldanha's inquest until March 26.
Wilcox expressed "my sympathies to her family and everybody who has been touched by this tragic death."
In Britain, inquests are held to determine the facts whenever someone dies unexpectedly, violently or in disputed circumstances. Inquests do not determine criminal liability or apportion blame.
Saldanha, who was born in India, lived in Bristol in southwestern England with her husband and two teenage children.
The family was not in court. Lawmaker Keith Vaz, who has spoken on their behalf, said the nurse's loved ones "need time to grieve."
Vaz said a memorial Mass would be held Saturday at London's Roman Catholic Westminster Cathedral.
Coroner's officer Lynda Martindill said nurse Jacintha Saldanha was discovered hanging by a scarf from a wardrobe in her nurses' quarters on Friday by a colleague and a member of security staff at London's King Edward VII Hospital.
Martindill said an attempt to revive Saldanha failed. The case is being treated as an apparent suicide.
Police detective chief inspector James Harman said Saldanha, 46, also had injuries to her wrists.
He told the inquest at Westminster Coroner's Court that two notes were found at the scene and another among Saldanha's belongings. He said there were no suspicious circumstances, meaning nobody else was involved in Saldanha's death.
Harman said that police were examining the notes, interviewing the nurse's friends, family and colleagues and looking at emails and phone calls to establish what led to her death.
He also said detectives would be contacting police in the Australian state of New South Wales to collect "relevant evidence."
Saldanha answered the phone last week when two Australian disc jockeys called to seek information about the former Kate Middleton, who was being treated for severe morning sickness. The DJs impersonated Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, and Saldanha was tricked into transferring the call to a nurse caring for the duchess, who revealed private details about her condition.
The DJs, Mel Greig and Michael Christian, apologized for the prank in emotional interviews on Australian television, saying they never expected their call would be put through. The show was taken off the air and the DJs have been suspended indefinitely.
Australia's media watchdog, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, said Thursday it was launching an official investigation into whether radio station 2DayFM breached its broadcasting license conditions and the industry code of practice.
Coroner Fiona Wilcox opened and adjourned Saldanha's inquest until March 26.
Wilcox expressed "my sympathies to her family and everybody who has been touched by this tragic death."
In Britain, inquests are held to determine the facts whenever someone dies unexpectedly, violently or in disputed circumstances. Inquests do not determine criminal liability or apportion blame.
Saldanha, who was born in India, lived in Bristol in southwestern England with her husband and two teenage children.
The family was not in court. Lawmaker Keith Vaz, who has spoken on their behalf, said the nurse's loved ones "need time to grieve."
Vaz said a memorial Mass would be held Saturday at London's Roman Catholic Westminster Cathedral.
This woman clearly has MAJOR issues. Â Anyone who decides to kill themselves over a prank phone call and leave their kids without a mother has to have something wrong with them. Â What a terrible thing to do, I feel bad for her family - it is unfortunate she thought nothing of them.
My understanding from what I heard from one of our local Seattle radio stations is that the management of that radio station gave the DJ's a green light to do it. There must be another reason, I can't think of anything that would make me want to kill myself leaving my spouse and children. If there isn't....well then she was selfish in not thinking of the repercussions on her family.
There had to have been something else going on. People don't normally just kill themselves over something like this. But if she had other issues going on, it could have been the final straw to put her over the edge. I haven't heard how the hospital reacted -- if she was disciplined or not.
The only person responsible for this suicide is the nurse.
That's the problem when you have some idiotic concept of "royalty"--it causes people to get all flustered and break protocol. Â And this woman sounds like the sort of woman who thought she was doing the "right" thing (THE QUEEN!!) and was then destroyed when she found out that someone had used one of her weak spots for a foolish prank. Â I think the idea of the Royal Family is idiotic, but given the place that the concept occupies in the Commonwealth, I think there should be strict penalties for impersonating the Queen or whoever. Â All morning DJ's should be required to watch "The Fisher King" before they go on the air for the first time.Â
This is seriously shocking to me... I mean how could this prank lead to something like this | if this lady was being hounded by the paparazzi as a result of this prank they should be help responsible at least somewhat for her death!Â
Wow, that's truly unfortunate. Â So many things to consider here. Â For one thing, nurse Saldanha should not have given out any information. Â Any first year med student knows that HIPAA prohibits that sort of thing. Â I don't care if the real queen of England showed up in person, that's confidential information. Â The prank itself may have been in poor taste, but not out of line with so many other similar pranks done by radio personalities over the years. Â I wouldn't really blame the DJs in this case. Â I'm guessing Saldanha was already troubled or depressed, realized after the fact that she screwed up by giving out the info, and that was just the last straw for her. Â Sadly, the two DJs are going to have to live with the fact that someone died as a result (an indirect result) of their prank. Â Not their fault, but I'd hate to be in their shoes right now.
 @magic_eye She merely transferred the call to the Duchess' Quarters.  She was not the nurse that gave out the information.
 @usecommonsense  @magic_eye You're right, I misread that part.  Now I'm even more puzzled.
 @magic_eye HIPAA doesn't apply in the UK, but they do have the Data Protection Act of 1998, which is similar.
It's unfortunate this troubled woman dragged so many people down with her.
 @PilonidalCyst Nice try MI6
You feel it's not unfortunate?