Story highlights
About 3,000 people attend the Mass and burial, priest says
Jacintha Saldanha took the prank call from DJs seeking info on the Duchess of Cambridge
She was found hanged on December 7, an apparent suicide
Hundreds of mourners packed a church in southwest India on Monday to honor the Indian-born nurse believed to have killed herself after taking a prank call at the hospital treating Prince William’s pregnant wife.
Jacintha Saldanha was buried Monday after a Mass at Our Lady of Health, Shirva, according to the Rev. Stany Tauro.
Tauro said about 3,000 people attended the service.
The funeral came two days after a Westminster Cathedral memorial service for Saldanha, who in early December took what turned out to be a prank call from two Australian radio show hosts pretending to be Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles.
Read more: Who was nurse Jacintha Saldanha?
Believing the call was genuine, she transferred it to the King Edward VII’s Hospital ward where Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, was being treated for severe morning sickness.
The hosts were able to get some information about Catherine’s condition before the nurse who took the call grew suspicious and ended the call.
Saldanha was found hanging from a wardrobe door at her hospital living quarters on December 7, a coroner’s court heard Thursday. She left three notes, according to the court. The content was not disclosed.
At Saturday’s memorial in London, Saldanha’s family spoke of the pain of losing her.
Read more: Nurse’s family: ‘We love you and will miss you forever’
“I feel a part of me has been ripped out,” her husband, Benedict Barboza, said after the service. “Without your beautiful smile and sparkling personality, the house is an empty place to live.”
“We are shattered and there’s an unfillable void in our lives,” her daughter, Lisha, said. “We love you, Mum. Sleep in peace and please watch over us until we meet again in Heaven. We will always love you and keep you close to our hearts.”
Although the hosts have apologized, the show has been taken off the air indefinitely.
The hospital, which has said Saldanha was not subject to any disciplinary actions because of the prank, set up a memorial fund to benefit her family.
CNN’s Harmeet Sigh, Laura Smith-Spark, Susanna Palk and Jack Maddox contributed to this report.
