Hospital Nurse Found Dead After Taking Prank Call On Kate Middleton

A nurse who took a hoax call from two Australian disc jockeys asking about the condition of Kate Middleton, Prince William's pregnant wife, has been found dead, the hospital where the woman worked confirmed Friday.

British media outlets, citing unnamed sources, reported that Jacintha Saldanha's death was a suspected suicide. Scotland Yard said that the death was being treated "as unexplained."

Saldanha was a nurse at King Edward VII Hospital in London, the private facility where Middleton, who is the Duchess of Cambridge, was taken earlier this week for treatment for acute morning sickness, which prompted the royal family to announce her pregnancy.

On Tuesday, two Australian DJs speaking in fake British accents and posing as Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, telephoned the hospital asking to speak to Middleton and for an update of her condition. A duped nurse told the "royal" callers that the duchess was asleep, had been rehydrated and was no longer vomiting.

The hospital's chief executive, John Lofthouse, said Friday that his staff was shocked by Saldanha's death.

"Jacintha has worked at the King Edward VII Hospital for more than four years," Lofthouse told reporters. "She was an excellent nurse and well-respected and popular with all of her colleagues. We can confirm that Jacintha was recently the victim of a hoax call to the hospital. The hospital had been supporting her through this very difficult time."

Lofthouse described Saldanha as "a first-class nurse who cared diligently for hundreds of patients during her time with us."

Palace officials released a statement saying that Prince William and his wife were "deeply saddened" by Saldanha's death.

"Their royal highnesses were looked after so wonderfully well at all times by everybody at King Edward VII Hospital, and their thoughts and prayers are with Jacintha Saldanha's family, friends and colleagues at this very sad time," the statement said.

After the prank call and the ensuing furor over the invasion of Middleton's privacy, the radio station apologized for the hoax, saying that the two DJs had never expected to get through to hospital staff because of their "terrible accents."

Middleton was released from the hospital Thursday.

Scotland Yard said that officers were called about 9:35 a.m. Friday to an address on Weymouth Street in central London where a woman had been found unconscious. The street is around the corner from the hospital.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. An investigation is continuing.

Two days earlier the receptionist took a phone call from giggling Australian DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christianpretending to be the Queen and Prince Charles.

The station and presenters advertised the stunt worldwide and today Christian was continuing to boast about the prank ‘making international headlines’ on Twitter.

A recording of the entire conversation prank was played on the Sydney-based radio station 2Day.

Some people on Twitter are blaming Australian DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian at 2DayFM 104.1 for their prank call.

“I hope the two people responsible for the prank that caused a woman to take her life are very proud of themselves!! Disgraceful!” one Twitter user commented.

However, some on Twitter were calling for calm.

“Surely it's a bit knee jerk to lay the blame at the two dj's” one person tweeted.

Their Twitter accounts have been deleted.

Southern Cross Austereo, the media and entertainment company that operates the radio station, said in a statement that “(SCA) and 2Day FM are deeply saddened by the tragic news of the death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha from King Edward VII’s Hospital and we extend our deepest sympathies to her family and all that have been affected by this situation around the world.”

The company’s CEO Rhys Holleran has spoken with the presenters and “they are both deeply shocked and at this time we have agreed that they not comment about the circumstances.”

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.”

The family of Saldanha issued a brief statement calling for privacy so they can grieve.

“We as a family are deeply saddened by the loss of our beloved Jacintha,” the statement read, according to the BBC.

Little so far is known about the victim.

The Daily Mail found a former neighbour who described her as a “nice, lovely lady.”

The Mail reported that the neighbour lived next door to Saldanha, her two sons and partner Benedict Barboza — known as Ben — at an address in Bristol several years ago.