AFP/London
The result of a post-mortem on a nurse thought to have taken her own life after a prank call to the hospital treating Prince William’s pregnant wife Catherine will be announced today, police said.
Scotland Yard was unable to confirm media reports that Jacintha Saldanha, 46, hanged herself in the nurses’ accommodation near King Edward VII’s Hospital in central London.
“The coroner is in charge and she dictated she will make the announcement formally at the inquest tomorrow,” a police spokesman said yesterday.
The post-mortem, which aims to determine the cause of death, began Tuesday and has concluded but the result will not be officially announced until the inquest hearing at at London court.
Until then, the death is officially being treated as unexplained although police do not believe there are suspicious circumstances.
In England, inquests are held to examine sudden or unexplained deaths. They set out to determine the place and time of death as well as how the deceased came by their death. They do not apportion blame.
Saldanha, a nurse originally from near Mangalore on the southwest Indian coast and a mother of two children, was found dead Friday.
Three days earlier she answered a prank call to the hospital made by two Australian radio presenters impersonating Queen Elizabeth II and her heir Prince Charles, William’s father.
Saldanha put the call through to a nurse who divulged details of Kate’s condition as she recovered from acute morning sickness.
It is understood the family, who live in Bristol in southwest England, are making arrangements to return Saldanha’s body to India. A private memorial service is expected to be held later this week.
British Prime Minister David Cameron told parliament: “I’m sure the whole house and indeed the whole country will... join me in paying tribute to this nurse and giving all our sympathies and condolences to her family.
“She clearly loved her job, loved her work, cared deeply about the health of her patients. What’s happened is a complete tragedy.”
“There will be many lessons that need to be learned,” he said, adding that the family should be given “the time and space to grieve”.
Kate is continuing to rest and William was to attend the British premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on his own yesterday.