Aussie DJs Not To Appear During Jacintha's Suicide Inquest
Their prank led to the death of a nurse in the hospital where Kate Middleton was admitted in 2012. Yet the two Australian DJs will not give evidence, either personally or electronically, during an inquest to probe the suicide of Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse, confirmed Westminster Council, according to The Australian.com.
At the Royal Courts of Justice in London, witnesses have been picked out, but they will not be identified before the inquest begins. The second duty nurse, who had been transferred the call by Jacintha, will give evidence without her name being revealed. The Austereo Radio Network, where the DJs work, has already submitted evidence to the inquest. In 2013, it got the right to be represented at it.
In December 2012, Jacintha Saldanha, 46, had been the first nurse to answer the call by Mel Greig and Michael Christian, who had pretended to be the Queen and Prince Charles.
She transferred the call by the 2DAY FM DJs to King Edward VII Hospital's second nurse. That nurse had believed them and revealed the medical details of the Duchess, who was being treated for morning sickness. A few days after the prank, Jacintha Saldanha was found dead in her staff quarters, with a suicide note blaming the DJs.
The colleague and security officer who came across Jacintha's body at staff quarters near the hospital, and earlier King Edward VII hospital's chief executive, John Lofthouse, may also appear at the inquest. Even the matron at the time may be asked to help reveal Saldanha's state of mind after the call.
Westminster Coroner Fiona Wilcox will be presiding over the inquest, which will most probably take place with no jury. Either she could pronounce the verdict immediately, or take a few weeks. Former King Edward VII hospital chief executive, John Lofthouse, may also be with the lead police investigator. The inquest that was earlier supposed to take place in May 2013, will finally begin on Thursday, or may go on till Friday, if more time is required.
Earlier, Greig had wanted to give evidence at the inquest. But in an interview in June, she confessed that her confidence was low, and left her feeling "so much blame and so much guilt," reports The Australian.com. She was depressed, and the Jacintha suicide kept haunting her, she said. Last year, she had filed a complaint against Southern Cross Austereo to Fair Work Australia, for failing to maintain a "safe workplace."