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Hospital nurse found dead after taking prank call on Catherine

Dragonfly

Dragonfly

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Hospital nurse found dead after prank call on Catherine - CNN.com

London (CNN) -- A nurse at the hospital that was duped by a prank call from two Australian radio DJs concerning Prince William's pregnant wife, Catherine, has apparently committed suicide, the hospital confirmed Friday.

The nurse "was recently the victim of a hoax call," King Edward VII Hospital said in a media statement.

The DJs impersonated Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles in the prank call, in which some details of the Duchess of Cambridge's condition and care were given.
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Really?

Should charges be pressed here?

What's the big deal? Is something like this "big" enough to kill yourself over?

What responsibility do the DJ's have?


DJ's from a completely different country by the way.
 
Re: Radio DJ Prank leads to Suicide

Dragonfly said:
Hospital nurse found dead after prank call on Catherine - CNN.com

Really?

Should charges be pressed here?

What's the big deal? Is something like this "big" enough to kill yourself over?

What responsibility do the DJ's have?


DJ's from a completely different country by the way.
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Well, when they do a psychological autopsy on the nurse, they'll probably find out that he/she desperately needed his job and thought he'd lost it.

While the DJs were idiots, they broke no laws. Just a very unfortunate set of circumstances. HOWEVER, if I were their employers, I'd fire their asses immediately.
 
Re: Radio DJ Prank leads to Suicide

Methinks there had to be deeper issues.
 
Re: Radio DJ Prank leads to Suicide

She probably had issues to begin with. However, given the timing, I suspect the prank itself in addition to all of the media attention, being laughed at and harsh criticism from some pushed her over the edge.
 
Re: Radio DJ Prank leads to Suicide

I think there might be more to the story....
 
Re: Radio DJ Prank leads to Suicide

I guess she was suicided. :(
 
Re: Radio DJ Prank leads to Suicide

Dragonfly said:
Should charges be pressed here?
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I would have thought so. I gather that they misrepresented themselves to access an individual's personal medical information and proceeded to broadcast that information on the radio. If that doesn't encompass a criminal offence, it certainly should do. The jurisdictional issues could be a complication but that's really just a matter of whether the offences should be prosecuted in the UK or Australia.

I certainly believe that if they'd done the same thing to a random member of the public rather than "a celebrity", they'd be on remand already.

Dragonfly said:
What's the big deal? Is something like this "big" enough to kill yourself over?
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The nurse clearly made a mistake which would have had consequences to her job and career. Obviously suicide never makes sense but that doesn't stop people doing it.
 
Re: Radio DJ Prank leads to Suicide

MaggieD said:
Well, when they do a psychological autopsy on the nurse, they'll probably find out that he/she desperately needed his job and thought he'd lost it.

While the DJs were idiots, they broke no laws. Just a very unfortunate set of circumstances. HOWEVER, if I were their employers, I'd fire their asses immediately.
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That sounds about right. Sometimes when you prank people you find a person on the edge.
 
Re: Radio DJ Prank leads to Suicide

Yet another reason why I personally abhorr "pranks". The unforeseen consequences can never be predicted, and can often lead to unexpected harm, all for the sake of a cheap laugh at someone? Bah.
 
Re: Radio DJ Prank leads to Suicide

I listened to the lead-up to the prank call three days ago and forwarded it to friends because I couldn't believe anybody could fall for this or that the hospital didn't have protocols. The third person trying to bark like a dog really was very funny.

It wasn't known then that the receptionist was away from the switchboard and that a nurse had answered the silly call and transferred it. The hospital had not sanctioned this nurse nor threatened her employment, and I think there has to be much more to this suicide. Two kids left motherless and a husband left heartbroken just before Christmas simply because of embarrassment at transferring the call to a floor nurse?

I don't like prank calls either but also feel sorry for the DJs, who were amazed that their terrible accents worked.

Sad story, but I can't blame the DJs for this woman's suicide.
 
Re: Radio DJ Prank leads to Suicide

I belive it is illegal for DJs in America to make prank calls. They use to be able to do it, but now all the prank calls you hear are staged. The FCC changed the rules in the 2000s...not sure exactly when.
 
Re: Radio DJ Prank leads to Suicide

nota bene said:
I listened to the lead-up to the prank call three days ago and forwarded it to friends because I couldn't believe anybody could fall for this or that the hospital didn't have protocols. The third person trying to bark like a dog really was very funny.

It wasn't known then that the receptionist was away from the switchboard and that a nurse had answered the silly call and transferred it. The hospital had not sanctioned this nurse nor threatened her employment, and I think there has to be much more to this suicide. Two kids left motherless and a husband left heartbroken just before Christmas simply because of embarrassment at transferring the call to a floor nurse?

I don't like prank calls either but also feel sorry for the DJs, who were amazed that their terrible accents worked.

Sad story, but I can't blame the DJs for this woman's suicide.
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I totally agree with you. It was a dumb radio prank but there was no malice. The DJs did not say anything mean nor did they try to influence her care.

But to kill yourself and cause so much pain to your young children is ridiculous.

The hospital keeps saying what a great nurse she was but I bet her fellow coworkers would tell you something else in private. I have worked with some nurses who were so anal that if something caused them to have to go on break late it would be a major upset to them.
 
Re: Radio DJ Prank leads to Suicide

When our kids were younger, my best friend's and my family often vacationed together, and I was forced to listen to Roy D. Mercer. Everybody but me in that van would be howling with laughter while I sat there just hating, hating, hating him. (One reason, I've concluded, is because I know I'm the perfect gullible foil for somebody like him. :3oops: )

But I wouldn't have killed myself if one of my friends or coworkers set me up with a DJ like him. This nurse's suicide is tragic, but all she did was answer the phone and transfer the call. If she were 15, I can understand the "fate worse than death" perception, but this woman was 47 and had children to take care of.
 
Re: Radio DJ Prank leads to Suicide

nota bene said:
When our kids were younger, my best friend's and my family often vacationed together, and I was forced to listen to Roy D. Mercer. Everybody but me in that van would be howling with laughter while I sat there just hating, hating, hating him. (One reason, I've concluded, is because I know I'm the perfect gullible foil for somebody like him. :3oops: )

But I wouldn't have killed myself if one of my friends or coworkers set me up with a DJ like him. This nurse's suicide is tragic, but all she did was answer the phone and transfer the call. If she were 15, I can understand the "fate worse than death" perception, but this woman was 47 and had children to take care of.
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She obviously had some issues...committing suicide for such a stupid thing..very worrying if she was a nurse..and ''on the edge''..

However..we have another 7 months of ''Kates'' bloody pregnancy..She looks ill'' ''She looks great'' NOOOOOOOOOO!!!
 
Re: Radio DJ Prank leads to Suicide

Rarely do I have sympathy for someone who commits suicide, and this is certainly not one of those times.
 
Re: Radio DJ Prank leads to Suicide

Dittohead not! said:
That pretty much says it all.

It's time for the Brits to dump their royalty.

then, they could worship "celebrities" like we do on this side of the pond.
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The royalty is actually beneficial the british people. The first and foremost benefit the british people have from their royalty is economical.
 
Re: Radio DJ Prank leads to Suicide

MaggieD said:
Well, when they do a psychological autopsy on the nurse, they'll probably find out that he/she desperately needed his job and thought he'd lost it.

While the DJs were idiots, they broke no laws. Just a very unfortunate set of circumstances. HOWEVER, if I were their employers, I'd fire their asses immediately.
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It is a "she" nurse, a mother of two and a wife. And the DJ's's assess were fired.
 
Re: Radio DJ Prank leads to Suicide

When I heard about the death I suspected that, if anyone other than the nurse were to blame, it was probably the hospital or Catherine's team for being overly harsh on the Nurse in response to the prank. Those two sides are denying any responsibility and public outrage seems to have turned solely on the DJs, which is perhaps not that surprising but also a little silly, IMO.

I wonder if these DJs now were to commit suicide, if the public would feel bad about their own bullying and blame themselves. Somehow, I doubt it.
 
Re: Radio DJ Prank leads to Suicide

We are only responsible for "reasonable" reactions to our behavior.

For example, if I were to walk through south central LA yelling about how America needs to kill all the niggers, I am responsible for the ass-kicking I receive. If I get shot to pieces, while I'm sure most people would agree that murder is not the appropriate response to being offended, nobody's going to have any sympathy.

Suicide is not a reasonable reaction to what this woman went through.
 
Re: Radio DJ Prank leads to Suicide

Suicide is not a reasonable reaction?

Of course not - suicide isn't reasonable . . . to others. To her - apparently her life was ruined enough and there was no way to fix it, only end it. To her it wasn't just reasonable - it was the only option.

Tragic.
 
Re: Radio DJ Prank leads to Suicide

I don't care what she thought was reasonable. She obviously wasn't the least bit reasonable or ratoinal. My use of the word refers to what would generally be considered reasonable.
 
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