Nurse duped by Australian radio DJs found dead in suspected suicide

[Jarnhamar]

Anyone think radio hoax's or gags are starting to go too far?

http://www.news.com.au/world/hospital-receptionist-duped-by-australian-radio-djs-dies-in-suspected-suicide/story-fndir2ev-1226532600709

THREE days after being duped by Australian radio presenters during a royal phone prank, a London nurse has been found dead after an apparent suicide.

Jacintha Saldanha, 46, a mother of two, was unable to be revived after being found unconscious at a nurses' accommodation block near London's exclusive King Edward VII Hospital at 9.35am (local time) on Friday.

Police said the death was "unexplained" and have launched an investigation, but "the death is not being treated as suspicious at this stage".

Her husband, Ben, and two children - a boy, 16, and girl, 14 - have been informed.

 

[Devo3733]

While it's terrible something like this occured over a radio phone hoax..  The details seem incredibly minor to warrant a suicide.  It's not as if the radio hoax had her selling posessions, divorcing her husband, hating on her family, or anything like that.  She gave patient information to whom she thought was a family member, a mistake yes, but a life/career ending one? hardly.

I dunno.. I've heard of plenty of radio hoaxes that get right nasty, but this one just doesn't seem that harmful.
Hell in my home city they publicly shame cheaters by calling pretending to be a "free flower arrangement" award and asking who they want to send them to while the girlfriend is listening on the line and listening to the &$% storm that comes after.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

  She gave patient information to whom she thought was a family member, a mistake yes, but a life/career ending one? hardly.

Maybe the fact she could forever lose the ability to feed her family might not mean much to you....................

 

[Kat Stevens]

While it's terrible something like this occured over a radio phone hoax.

Should have stopped right there.

 

[Devo3733]

Maybe the fact she could forever lose the ability to feed her family might not mean much to you....................

As opposed to death with turns that could into an absolute?  I suppose if she was for sure being fired over the whole ordeal that adds quite a lot of seriousness, but that's not clear.  Radio pranks and most of their "competitions" are ridiculous, but it's still a suprising escalation.

 

[OldSolduer]

Let's not jump to conclusions. What I think is a small inconvenience maybe a huge issue to another. Lets see what turns up before we condemn the DJs.

It is a sad state of affairs that it turned out like this.

 

[Michael OLeary]

As opposed to death with turns that could into an absolute?  I suppose if she was for sure being fired over the whole ordeal that adds quite a lot of seriousness, but that's not clear.  Radio pranks and most of their "competitions" are ridiculous, but it's still a suprising escalation.

Like many things in life, everyone has a different tolerance for their emotional response to actions they are involved in or observe, both for the seminal event, and any fallout whether that be legal, employment sanctions, teasing or bullying, etc. None of us can judge where someone else's personal threshold is or should be. To do so is simple arrogance. How you think you would react is completely immaterial with regard to how she might have responded within her own mind. This is neither the time nor the place for any of us to judge her or her reactions, the degree of connection is yet to be established and made public, but if the prank call was a factor, the gross insensitivity of the DJs is where social attention should be focused. the question is not why any of us think it should have led to suicide, but why western society thinks abusing the good nature of people in the manner the DJs did is an acceptable behaviour in the first place. If it was just humorous and embarrassing, they would have claimed all the credit for the viral attention ... similarly, it having gone badly, they own that too, completely and without any mitigation.

 

[Devo3733]

Like many things in life, everyone has a different tolerance for their emotional response to actions they are involved in or observe, both for the seminal event, and any fallout whether that be legal, employment sanctions, teasing or bullying, etc. None of us can judge where someone else's personal threshold is or should be. To do so is simple arrogance. How you think you would react is completely immaterial with regard to how she might have responded within her own mind. This is neither the time nor the place for any of us to judge her or her reactions, the degree of connection is yet to be established and made public, but if the prank call was a factor, the gross insensitivity of the DJs is where social attention should be focused. the question is not why any of us think it should have led to suicide, but why western society thinks abusing the good nature of people in the manner the DJs did is an acceptable behaviour in the first place. If it was just humorous and embarrassing, they would have claimed all the credit for the viral attention ... similarly, it having gone badly, they own that too, completely and without any mitigation.

Certainly.  I'll be the first to admit I know absolutely nothing of her personality, how something like this could affect her based on present circumstances, personality, and culture.  The original point was that "these things go too far", and my point is that it's suprising that this sort of prank has ended up the way it has (or atleast looks, preliminarily, before investigations and whatnot).  There are already lynch mobs and people howling for the blood of the DJs but it's very unlikely that anyone could have forseen it going this badly.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

but it's very unlikely that anyone could have forseen it going this badly.

I'll bet most drunk driver's think that afterwards also.....

 

[Devo3733]

I'll bet most drunk driver's think that afterwards also.....

Now you're just being dramatic.
She forwarded the phone call to the department where Kate was, anyone who sais they could see this coming are full of it.
A call was made, a person has died, instantly the caller is made the devil without any further information.  It's a sad and terrible series of events but far from a nefarious plot of murder.

 

[brihard]

Now you're just being dramatic.
She forwarded the phone call to the department where Kate was, anyone who sais they could see this coming are full of it.
A call was made, a person has died, instantly the caller is made the devil without any further information.  It's a sad and terrible series of events but far from a nefarious plot of murder.

You beat me to it by a second. The nurse who is dead said nothing more than "Oh yes, just hold on ma’am." as she put the call through to the nurses' station. That's it. She didn't give any info up or anything.

No way to DJs could have predicted something like this happening. No way anyone could have, really. It's simply a tragedy with no good explanation.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Guess I'm not, nor ever have been, a big fan of trying to make ridicule of perfect strangers on a national scale...................carry on......

 

[brihard]

Guess I'm not, nor ever have been, a big fan of trying to make ridicule of perfect strangers on a national scale...................carry on......

No, and I agree. But being the sort of jackass who makes prank phone calls is a long way form being culpable in a death, which some people seem to be holding these two to be. I draw a big distinction between the two.

 

[The Bread Guy]

I want to learn more about the incident, but based on what's been said here, consider this:  would one's feelings be different about the people calling the hospital if they'd been reporters instead of radio show hosts?

To me, if it's not cool for one, it's not cool for the other.  Either media can do this, or media can't - for "informing", or for entertaining.

More, as I learn more ....

 

[Sythen]

No, and I agree. But being the sort of jackass who makes prank phone calls is a long way form being culpable in a death, which some people seem to be holding these two to be. I draw a big distinction between the two.

Right now, bullying is the hot button issue, and how is this any different? The guy who filmed his room mate having gay sex was found guilty. Where is the difference?

 

[Jarnhamar]

While it's terrible something like this occured over a radio phone hoax..  The details seem incredibly minor to warrant a suicide.  It's not as if the radio hoax had her selling posessions, divorcing her husband, hating on her family, or anything like that.  She gave patient information to whom she thought was a family member, a mistake yes, but a life/career ending one? hardly.

*She* could have been embarrassed,  both professionally and nationally.  In all fairness you're not exactly in a position to judge what an acceptable level of embarrassment/shame/stress in someone is in order for them to commit suicide.  To you it may be a bad joke, to her she could have seen it as the end of the world.



I think any radio DJ or TV personality who contacts someone under the guise of another name for jokes like this should be at the very least charged with fraud.

What if someones kid was in the hospital and a DJ called pretending to be a family member and the nurse accidentally let it slip that the kid contracted HIV and it was broadcast over the air nationally?  Where's the line drawn.

DJs and TV shows et el contacting people on air pretending to be someone else in order to get laughs is going too far.

 

[OldSolduer]

I think any radio DJ or TV personality who contacts someone under the guise of another name for jokes like this should be at the very least charged with fraud.

What if someones kid was in the hospital and a DJ called pretending to be a family member and the nurse accidentally let it slip that the kid contracted HIV and it was broadcast over the air nationally?  Where's the line drawn.

DJs and TV shows et el contacting people on air pretending to be someone else in order to get laughs is going too far.

I agree. This form of "entertainment" that intentionally embarasses others to gather ratings should be frowned upon my station management.
Are there any laws already on the books that would apply to this sort of thing?

 

[mariomike]

Are there any laws already on the books that would apply to this sort of thing?

Apparently not in Australia.

"Prank call pre-recorded and vetted by lawyers before broadcast in Sydney."

 

[GR66]

Apparently not in Australia.

"Prank call pre-recorded and vetted by lawyers before broadcast in Sydney."

I wonder if the call had turned up something really juicy if the lawyers would have stopped it from being broadcast or if they would have just run it as "news" instead?

 

[Journeyman]

The details seem incredibly minor to warrant a suicide.

I wasn't aware of a matrix that laid out where the option of suicide is warranted.  We have no idea if this call alone drove her to the edge, or if it was merely the tipping point in a series of pre-existing demons.

Either way, I'm on the side of finding practical jokes neither practical nor funny...from the flaming paper bag of dog shit, to "America's Funniest Videos," up to this international-scale 'joke'  --  stupidity is already rampant, without it being actively cultivated.