A family's anguish.
After an apparent suicide on Friday Dec. 7 — following a high-profile phone prank involving two Australian DJs and pregnant Kate Middleton's recent hospital stay — nurse Jacintha Saldanha left behind a husband, two children and other family members still struggling to make sense of her shocking death.
Jacintha's husband, Benedict Barboza, shared his grief on his Facebook wall with a heartbreaking note. "I am devastated with the tragic loss of my beloved wife Jacintha in tragic circumstances," Barboza, also known as "Ben," wrote. "She will be laid to rest in Shirva, India."
Jacintha's 14-year-old daughter Lisha wrote a more succinct note on the social networking site: "I miss you, I loveeee you."
Her colleagues at King Edward VII Hospital condemned 2DayFM, the Australian radio station responsible for the prank which fooled Saldanha and a colleague.
"I am writing to protest in the strongest possible terms about the hoax call made from your radio station," hospital chairman Lord Glenarthur wrote in a stern email.
"It was extremely foolish of your presenters even to consider trying to lie their way through to one of our patients…That the call had been pre-recorded and the decision to transmit approved by your station's management was truly appalling."
"The immediate consequence of these premeditated and ill-considered actions was the humiliation of two dedicated and caring nurses who were simply doing their job tending to their patients," the hospital's letter continues. "The longer term consequence has been reported around the world and is, frankly, tragic beyond words."
In a press conference about the hoax, 2DayFM station owner Rhys Holleran said the DJs involved were "completely shattered" by the tragedy.
