Jacintha Saldanha’s suicide: Australian DJs not to be charged

Jacintha Saldanha’s suicide: Australian DJs not to be charged

Mangalore Today/ Dailymail

London, Dec 28, 2012: The two Australian DJs whose hoax phone call has been blamed for the death of a nurse at a hospital which treated Kate Middleton for morning sickness are unlikely to face any charges.

Police in Sydney have revealed that no request has been received from Scotland Yard detectives to interview radio presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian.

 

The 2Day FM radio hosts duped Jacintha Saldanha and another nurse at the King Edward VII Hospital in London into revealing private medical details about the condition of the Duchess of Cambridge.


Radio presenters Mel Greig, left, and Michael Christian are unlikely to face charges following their royal hoax call, police have said

Just days after Ms Saldanha transferred the call, she was found hanged.

It was originally thought the two hosts could face prosecution but yesterday Sydney police said no request had been made by detectives in the UK suggesting no further action would be taken.

New South Wales Deputy Police Commissioner Nick Kaldas said yesterday: ’Nor do we expect there to be any requests.’

Mr Kaldas said Scotland Yard had not asked for any further information or to interview the two Sydney-based hosts.

’There was some initial contact after the death of Jacintha Saldanha but not a lot since and because of the passage of time we believe it is unlikely any charges will be laid,’ he said.

 

Since her death, it has been revealed Ms Saldanha had attempted to kill herself twice in the past year and had been prescribed anti-depressants.

Officers submitted a file to the CPS last week for it to consider whether any offences may have been committed by making the hoax call.

But senior police in Australia believe British prosecutors would have difficulty in finding a charge that could be laid against the two DJs.

Ms Saldanha’s suicide made world headlines three days after the call was aired on 2Day FM.

The nurse had taken a phone call from Greig and Christian pretending to be the Queen and Prince Charles, inquiring about the Duchess of Cambridge’s health. Ms Saldanha transferred the call to another nurse who gave the DJs an update on the Duchess’s condition.

Since the nurse’s death, the pair have been subjected to hate mail and death threats forcing them to go into hiding.

Apart from a TV interview in the days after the suicide, the two have not been seen in public.

They made a tearful apology and their radio station has pledged at least $500,000 - about £320,000 - to help the dead nurse’s family.

A London inquest heard earlier this month that Ms Saldanha had been found in staff accommodation and there were no suspicious circumstances over her death.

Ms Saldanha left three notes, in one of which she criticised the DJs.