Saddest journey home: Body of Jacintha brought to India for funeral accompanied by her family

Saddest journey home: Body of Jacintha brought to India for funeral accompanied by her family

mangaloretoday.com/ Dailymail

Mangalore, Dec 16, 2012: The family of the nurse who was found dead after being duped by a hoax call today arrived in India for her funeral - hours after an emotional mass at Westminster Cathedral.

Mother-of-two Jacintha Saldanha, 46, was found hanging in her nurses’ quarters at King Edward VII Hospital in Marylebone, central London, by a colleague and a security guard nine days ago.

Three days earlier the nurse had transferred a call from two Australian DJs posing as the Queen and Prince Charles, to a colleague who revealed details about the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge.

 

Grieving: Ben Barboza (right) husband of Jacintha Saldanha, rgw nurse found hanging in her room days after she had been duped by a hoax call, arrived today at the airport in Mangalore, India, ahead of her funeral

 

Sadness: Lisha Saldanha (right) and Junal Saldanha (centre) arrive at the airport to meet their mother’s coffin


Ms Saldanha funeral will take place tomorrow at Our Lady of Health Church in Shirva, Karnataka, at 4pm local time (10am GMT), said her family, who arrived at Bajpe Airport in Mangalore today.

 

Her coffin also arrived in India today. It came after Ms Saldanha’s children described the ‘unfillable void’ left in their lives by their mother’s death as a mass was held at Westminster Cathedral yesterday.

Following the service in central London, Jacintha’s husband, NHS accountant Ben Barboza, 49, and two children Junal, 17, and Lisha, 14, paid an emotional tribute to a ‘kind-hearted, generous and well-respected woman’.

Mr Barboza said: ‘My wife, you were the light in my darkness, who always showed me the way forward. From the day we met, you always stood by me in times of hardship and happiness.

‘I feel a part of me has been ripped out,’ he added, fighting back tears. ‘Without your beautiful smile and sparkling personality, the house is an empty place to live.

‘Nineteen years of togetherness with a strong bond of affection and understanding will be cherished forever in my life. Your loss is a very painful one and nobody can take that place in my life ever again. I love you and miss you forever.’

Ms Saldanha’s daughter Lisha, 14, said: ‘We will miss your laughter, the loving memories and the good times we had together. The house is an empty dwelling without your presence.

‘We are shattered and there’s an unfillable void in our lives.

’We love you mum, sleep in peace and watch over us until me meet again in heaven. We will always love you and keep you close to our heart.’

 

Tragic: A coffin containing the body of Ms Saldanha is loaded onto an ambulance at the airport in Mangalore

Her son Junal said: ‘Our mother, kind hearted, generous and a well-respected woman in both of our lives. You were the core of the family who kept us together.

‘In times of difficulty you showed us the way forward to happiness and success. Your priority for us was a good education and a bright future. You taught us right from wrong which we appreciate.

‘You worked tirelessly to give us everything that we have today. When we achieved good grades and merit, your pat on our backs encouraged us more.’

Standing outside the cathedral alongside their local MP Charlotte Leslie and MP Keith Vaz, who has been campaigning on behalf of the family, Mr Barboza said the family ‘could not have foreseen the unprecedented tragedy that has unfolded in our lives’.

 

 

Preparations: A worker digs near the grave of nurse Ms Saldanha while preparing it for her last rites at a cemetery in Shirva, about 32 miles north of Mangalore, on Saturday.

‘The events of the last week have shattered our lives. We barely have the strength to withstand the grief and sorrow.’

He thanked the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prime Minister David Cameron for their condolences.

Memorial services have already been held at the hospital where Ms Saldanha worked and in Bristol where her husband and children live.

Indian-born Ms Saldanha left two notes in her room and also had marks on her wrist when her body was discovered, Westminster Coroner’s Court in London heard on Thursday.

 

 

Emotional tribute: Ben Barboza, 49, stands outside Westminster Cathedral in central London with his daughter Lisha, 14, and son Junal, 16, with Keith Vaz MP (right) after a mass for Ms Saldanha

 

Saddened: The DJs behind the call - Mel Greig and Michael Christian - gave an emotional account of their reaction to Ms Saldanha’s death in an interview on Australian TV last week


A provisional date of March 26 has been set for the next inquest hearing.

ohn Lofthouse, the King Edward VII’s Hospital chief executive, has said the nurse was reassured on a number of occasions by senior management after the hoax.

The DJs behind the call - Mel Greig and Michael Christian - gave an emotional account of their reaction to Ms Saldanha’s death.

Interviewed on Australian TV networks, the presenters said their prank call to the hospital prompted ‘a tragic turn of events no-one could have predicted or expected’.

Southern Cross Austereo (SCA), the parent company of 2Day FM, ended the pair’s Hot 30 show and suspended prank calls across the company.

 

Courtesy: Dailymail, London