• MSN
  • Hotmail
  • More
    • Autos
    • My MSN
    • Video
    • Careers & Jobs
    • Personals
    • Weather
    • Delish
    • Quotes
    • White Pages
    • Games
    • Real Estate
    • Wonderwall
    • Horoscopes
    • Shopping
    • Yellow Pages
    • Local Edition
    • Traffic
    • Feedback
    • Maps & Directions
    • Travel
    • Full MSN Index
  • Bing
  • NBCNews.com
  • TODAY
  • Nightly News
  • Rock Center
  • Meet the Press
  • Dateline
  • msnbc
  • Breaking News
  • Newsvine
  • Home
  • US
  • World
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Travel
  • Local
  • Weather
Advertise | AdChoices
  • Recommended: Are 'lone wolf' attacks the new path to terror?
  • Recommended: Wife of slain British soldier says she thought he was 'safe' back in UK
  • Recommended: Sweden riots: Cops seek reinforcements, US citizens warned
  • Recommended: Delays after passenger jet lands at Heathrow with engine fire

First for breaking news and analysis: Compelling world news stories from NBC News journalists. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

  • ↓ About this blog
  • ↓ Archives
    • Icons Email E-mail updates
    • Icons Twitter Follow on Twitter
    • Icons Feed Subscribe to RSS
  • 11
    Dec
    2012
    10:01am, EST

    Royal prank radio station to pay $525,000 to family of dead nurse

    Dan Kitwood / Getty Images

    Ben Barboza, the husband of Jacintha Saldanha, a former nurse at King Edward VII hospital who was involved in a hoax call concerning the Duchess of Cambridge, arrives with family members at the Houses of Parliament on Monday.

    By Ian Johnston, NBC News

    LONDON — A radio station is to pay at least $525,000 to a memorial fund in the name of a nurse found dead after two DJs duped her into putting their call through to the hospital ward where Duchess Kate was being treated for an extreme form of morning sickness.

    Jacintha Saldanha was found dead in London on Friday after the prank in which Australian radio hosts Mel Greig and Michael Christian pretended to be Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles in the call to London’s King Edward VII’s Hospital.



    Follow @NBCNewsWorld

    Greig and Christian spoke Monday about their distress over Saldanha’s death, saying it had left them "shattered, gutted, heartbroken."

    DJs speak out, say they're 'heartbroken' over death of nurse in royal hoax call

    Police have said the circumstances of the death are "unexplained"; an autopsy was due to be carried out Tuesday.

    Prime Minister David Cameron said what happened to Saldanha was "an absolute tragedy for the family."

    A statement posted on the website of radio station 2Day FM’s parent company, Southern Cross Austereo, said that advertising on the station would resume Dec. 13. It was suspended as news of Saldanha’s death caused widespread outrage.

    The company said that all profits made from the ads until the end of the year would be donated to "an appropriate fund that will directly benefit the family of Jacintha Saldanha."

    Prank-call radio station suspends DJs, ads; dead nurse's family 'deeply saddened'

    "A minimum contribution of $500,000 [Australian, about $525,000 U.S.] will be made. SCA today reiterates its deep regret for what has taken place in these tragic and unforeseen circumstances and offers its condolences to the family of Jacintha Saldanha," the statement added.

    The company’s chief executive, Rhys Holleran, was quoted as saying the company was "very sorry for what has happened."

    Radio station owner calls death of nurse who took royal prank call 'truly tragic'

    A statement from the hospital’s chairman, Lord Glenarthur, welcomed news that Southern Cross Media Group was "set to make a sizeable donation to the family."

    The hospital has set up the "Jacintha Saldanha Memorial Fund to benefit her husband and children at this difficult time."

    "I am pleased to announce that many donations have already been made from around the world," Lord Glenarthur said.  "I have today read that Southern Cross Media Group have pledged to make a minimum donation of $500,000 Australian Dollars to an appropriate fund.  We would certainly welcome such a donation to the Jacintha Saldanha Memorial Fund."

    The radio company has suspended Greig and Christian and scrapped their "Hot 30" program. 

    Reuters contributed to this report.

    More world stories from NBC News:

    • Analysis: Egypt is rapidly approaching its own 'cliff'
    • Nelson Mandela suffers recurrence of lung infection
    • Banking giant HSBC to pay record $1.9 billion in money-laundering case
    • Suspect in US envoy's killing in Libya arrested in Egypt
    • Parents: US Marine detained in Mexico for bringing shotgun across border
    • Cuba's jailing of American contractor 'arbitrary,' UN panel concludes
    • Nearly 900 left missing by Typhoon Bopha in the Philippines
    • Video: Penguins in Tokyo take over as Santa’s elves

    Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook


    814 comments

    I cannot believe she selfishly took her life and left behind 2 children over a prank. What does that teach her children.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: nurse, australia, radio, england, featured, memorial-fund, jacintha-saldanha

Browse

  • featured,
  • world-news,
  • syria,
  • europe,
  • china,
  • afghanistan,
  • world,
  • middle-east,
  • israel,
  • pakistan,
  • egypt,
  • iran,
  • updated,
  • russia,
  • uk,
  • north-korea,
  • africa,
  • london,
  • military,
  • assad,
  • france,
  • protest,
  • environment,
  • al-qaida,
  • britain,
  • taliban,
  • italy,
  • nuclear,
  • terrorism,
  • india,
  • asia,
  • germany,
  • japan,
  • vatican,
  • economy,
  • human-rights,
  • crime,
  • south-africa,
  • mexico,
  • pope
Also
Advertise | AdChoices

Archives

  • 2013
    • May (191)
    • April (275)
    • March (432)
    • February (332)
    • January (323)
  • 2012
    • December (332)
    • November (332)
    • October (313)
    • September (360)
    • August (362)
    • July (310)
    • June (351)
    • May (427)
    • April (404)
    • March (427)
    • February (347)
    • January (284)
  • 2011
    • December (357)
    • November (3)

Most Commented

  • 'Leave our lands': Man knifed to death in suspected London terror attack (1237)
  • UK mom calms man with blood-soaked knife after suspected deadly terror attack (994)
  • Sweden riots: Cops seek reinforcements, US citizens warned (1073)
  • Slain London soldier was 'loving father' who served in Afghanistan (781)
  • Sweden stunned by third night of rioting (631)
  • North Korea fires more missiles, condemns US and South for 'war measures' (511)
  • Wife of slain British soldier says she thought he was 'safe' back in UK (503)

Other blogs

  • The Body Odd
  • Cosmic Log
  • Red Tape Chronicles
  • PhotoBlog
  • US News
  • Open Channel

NBCNews.com top stories

3147,10
© 2013 NBCNews.com
  • World news on NBCNews.com
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Help
  • Site map
  • Careers
  • Closed captioning
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Advertise