Police on Thursday confirmed that Jacintha Saldanha committed suicide by hanging herself in the wake of the hoax call controversy. Injuries were found on her wrists.
She left behind three notes — two were found in her room at King Edward VII hospital, where she worked, and one among her possessions. The contents of the notes were not revealed.
An inquest into Ms. Saldanha’s death, which opened at Westminster Coroner’s Court, was told that she was found hanging in her living quarters, near the hospital, by a colleague and a member of the security staff on December 7 — three days after she answered a call from two Australian radio presenters who posed as the Queen and Prince Charles to obtain medical details of the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Williams.
“On Friday 7 December Jacintha Saldanha was found by a colleague and a member of security staff. Sadly she was found hanging. There was also injuries to her wrist. The London Ambulance Service was called to the scene. At this time, there are no suspicious circumstances,” Detective Chief Inspector James Harman told the court.
After a brief hearing, the inquest was adjourned until March 26, 2013.
Labour MP Keith Vaz, who attended the inquest on behalf of Ms. Saldanha’s family, said he had conveyed the details of the hearings to them on phone.
He said a memorial service for her would be held at Westminster Cathedral in Central London on Saturday.
“They are a wonderful and very special family. In all of my 25 years in Parliament, I have never had to sit in a room as I did with them on Sunday, and hear them grief-stricken. They need time to grieve. This is a terrible circumstance for them at the moment,” he said.
Mr. Vaz accused the hospital of not giving any information to the family and demanded a “full” inquiry into the incident that led to Ms. Saldanha’s death.
“The chairman of the hospital said to me that there are inquiries going on… That’s not sufficient for the family. There are unexplained circumstances,” he said.
Prime Minister David Cameron described Ms. Saldanha’s death a “complete tragedy” and urged the media to respect her family’s privacy and allow them time and space to grieve.
Saldanha’s body likely to be taken to India on Saturday
The Indian High Commission here said that Ms Saldanha’s body was expected to be taken to India on Saturday after getting an interim death certificate from the Coroner.
The High Commission was in touch with Ms Saldanha’s husband Benedict Barboza and would extend full cooperation to him.
In a statement, it said the post-mortem examination had been completed and the body was due to be handed to "Funeral Director M/s R Davies and Sons".
"To carry the mortal remains to India, provisional flight booking has been made for Saturday 15th December 2012. Details of flight will be available after the booking details are confirmed by the Funeral Director", it said.
