Hospital: Nurse involved in Kate hoax call found dead
LONDON - A nurse who fell victim to a prank telephone call seeking information about the Duchess of Cambridge's pregnancy has died, a hospital said Friday.
Jacintha Saldanha, 46, was found dead early Friday at apartments affiliated with King Edward VII hospital in central London, where she worked for four years.
The death is being treated as unexplained, but police did not find anything suspicious. It will be up to a coroner to decide how she died. Several news organizations, including CNN and ABC News, are reporting that she apparently committed suicide.
2DayFM, the Australian station that performed the prank early Tuesday, said in a statement posted on Facebook and Twitter that two disc jockeys, Mel Greig and Michael Christian, would not return to the station until further notice. They had apologized for the hoax Wednesday.
Saldanha took the hoax call by the pair, who impersonated Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles to elicit information on the duchess, the hospital said. Saldanha later transferred the call to the nurse caring for the duchess, who was admitted to the hospital Monday with acute morning sickness.
"Our thoughts and deepest sympathies at this time are with her family and friends," hospital chief executive John Lofthouse said in a statement. "Everyone is shocked by the loss of a much loved and valued colleague."
St. James's Palace, the office of the duchess and her husband Prince William, also expressed sadness at the death, but insisted that it had not complained about the hoax.
"On the contrary, we offered our full and heartfelt support to the nurses involved and hospital staff at all times," the palace said in a statement.
During the hoax call, a woman using the often-mimicked voice of Britain's monarch asked about the duchess' health. She was told by the second nurse who took the call from Saldanha that the duchess, the former Kate Middleton, "hasn't had any retching with me and she's been sleeping on and off."
The nurse went on to tell the personalities that the duchess had had an uneventful night, as a dog barking sound was heard in the background. The alleged queen and prince talk about traveling to the hospital to check in on the patient.
The hospital said it supported Saldanha in the aftermath of the call and that its phone protocols were under review.
The Australian station placed the recording of the conversation on its website, but later said it was sorry.
"We were very surprised that our call was put through. We thought we'd be hung up on as soon as they heard our terrible accents," Greig and Christian said in a joint statement with the station at the time. "We're very sorry if we've caused any issues and we're glad to hear that Kate is doing well."
The station's chief executive officer, Rhys Holleran, had spoken with the presenters after the nurse's death, and that both were deeply shocked. The hosts "have decided that they will not return to their radio show until further notice out of respect for what can only be described as a tragedy."
Christian's Twitter account has since been taken down.
Officials from St. James's Palace have said the duchess is not yet 12 weeks pregnant. The child would be the first for her and Prince William.
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Associated Press writers Paisley Dodds contributed to this story.
Jacintha Saldanha, 46, was found dead early Friday at apartments affiliated with King Edward VII hospital in central London, where she worked for four years.
The death is being treated as unexplained, but police did not find anything suspicious. It will be up to a coroner to decide how she died. Several news organizations, including CNN and ABC News, are reporting that she apparently committed suicide.
2DayFM, the Australian station that performed the prank early Tuesday, said in a statement posted on Facebook and Twitter that two disc jockeys, Mel Greig and Michael Christian, would not return to the station until further notice. They had apologized for the hoax Wednesday.
Saldanha took the hoax call by the pair, who impersonated Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles to elicit information on the duchess, the hospital said. Saldanha later transferred the call to the nurse caring for the duchess, who was admitted to the hospital Monday with acute morning sickness.
"Our thoughts and deepest sympathies at this time are with her family and friends," hospital chief executive John Lofthouse said in a statement. "Everyone is shocked by the loss of a much loved and valued colleague."
St. James's Palace, the office of the duchess and her husband Prince William, also expressed sadness at the death, but insisted that it had not complained about the hoax.
"On the contrary, we offered our full and heartfelt support to the nurses involved and hospital staff at all times," the palace said in a statement.
During the hoax call, a woman using the often-mimicked voice of Britain's monarch asked about the duchess' health. She was told by the second nurse who took the call from Saldanha that the duchess, the former Kate Middleton, "hasn't had any retching with me and she's been sleeping on and off."
The nurse went on to tell the personalities that the duchess had had an uneventful night, as a dog barking sound was heard in the background. The alleged queen and prince talk about traveling to the hospital to check in on the patient.
The hospital said it supported Saldanha in the aftermath of the call and that its phone protocols were under review.
The Australian station placed the recording of the conversation on its website, but later said it was sorry.
"We were very surprised that our call was put through. We thought we'd be hung up on as soon as they heard our terrible accents," Greig and Christian said in a joint statement with the station at the time. "We're very sorry if we've caused any issues and we're glad to hear that Kate is doing well."
The station's chief executive officer, Rhys Holleran, had spoken with the presenters after the nurse's death, and that both were deeply shocked. The hosts "have decided that they will not return to their radio show until further notice out of respect for what can only be described as a tragedy."
Christian's Twitter account has since been taken down.
Officials from St. James's Palace have said the duchess is not yet 12 weeks pregnant. The child would be the first for her and Prince William.
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Associated Press writers Paisley Dodds contributed to this story.
In two days, nobody will care. Just another body going to the bone yard. RIP nurse lady, you got your 20 seconds of fame, and didn't even know it.Â
I think she felt sure that she would be fired for this after awhile. Â Or she got in BIG trouble behind the scenes. Â Poor little thing, I can sympathize, I've done such stupid things in my life, that I cringe to even remember them. Â ):
Pretending to be someone else on the phone is how Mitnick described using social networking to bypass whatever security measures a company has because it worked for him.
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At the time she died, she hadn't been identified in the press, so only the hospital and it's embarrassed administrators knew who she was. I'm sure they hadn't given her any grief at all, administrators are always so supportive...
Get ready for a slew of monarchy-hating idiots and their assassination theories:
That's crazy! Hope it was natural and simply a strange coincidence.
@Lips it was suicide. Talk radio has no moral compass in Australia either, apparently.
 @Playanekes  @Lips That's terrible. So sorry to hear that. It would have been long forgotten by weeks end. =(
Poor girl! She just couldn't live with the idea that she spoke without permission regarding Duchess Kate.Â
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I'm wondering what the DJs are thinking now?!
"Police say her death is unexplained."
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Yeah, I'm sure it is. She probably comitted suicide by shooting herself in the back of the head twice.
Now the Royal Baby is cursed! I wonder if they will name it Damion if it's a boy?
You people who think the DJs should be charged are as mental as that nurse must have been.
Those Aussies should be criminally charged. Sometimes a joke is not just a joke.
 @nonpartisan And some people need to get a sense of humor.
 @deejm2112 Some people need to get morals. Morally, pulling this stunt was wrong on its face, pure and simple. Here in the US, it's blatantly illegal. As a general rule, any fallout that is deemed criminal can be imposed on the perpetrator of the original crime. If the original act was a crime in Australia, then they should be criminally charged for the RN's death.
@deejm2112 @nonpartisan i hope that when one of your loved ones are in the hospital, somebody calls in pretending to be you and has your loved ones' medical condition broadcast on the radio. Because, you would probably think that's hilarious.
@Playanekes (Cue the late George Harrison) MY..SWEET..LORD. How stupid did the hospital have to be to let those guys through, actually believing it was the Queen? I believe them when they said they never thought they would actually get through. So now what do you do when you get someone to talk about the Duchess? You're gonna hang up? Yeah right..sure you are. for today's FM Radio DJs..this is pretty much expected behavior. This is a typical Mark n Brian, or Nelson and Terry stunt. As far as I'm concerned, it's pretty harmless. Now, that the Nurse off'd herself out of anguish? If so, that's a tragedy, but can hardly be blamed on a couple of knuckleheads in Australia.
And here's one last question, why would anyone call up a hospital, pretending to be someone else's loved one, asking the condition of an unknown person, with the expressed intent to broadcast it on the radio? I hope the next time you post something, you actually think before you post.
Very sad news. And the hospital was standing behind her too, not blaming her for anything. I hope something will be done about those two Aussie DJ's...they really need to be punished for this...I consider them murderers actually. The poor royal baby is certainly beginning on the wrong foot...first his mom gets so sick she's hospitalized....then this. Hope he's born with a rabbits foot!
Why do you care? We're talking about the Royals. Why people are so enamored with and care so much about a bunch of spoiled brit brats is way beyond my ability to comprehend. I s'pose I could break out the old stand by "get a life." But that even seems grossly inadequate. Punishment for the Aussies? Charged as murderers? Wow..ok Captain Overreaction.
That's bizarre....I guess more information will be helpful, won't it?
MI6...?