@professorgreen she was my mum
— Junal Barboza (@junalbarboza07) December 7, 2012
The tragedy surrounding Jacintha Saldanha‘s suicide is even more heartbreaking as details of her family come to light.
Heavy.com has discovered that her husband, a health service worker in the UK, Ben Barboza, is a native of India — specifically the Mangalore region in the western part of the country. There he attended the St. Mary’s High School and was raised and is still a practicing Christian.
The couple had two children, Junal, 16, and Lisha, believed to be 14. Jacintha lived in a nurse’s residence just five blocks from the hospital where she worked in London during the week, and returned to live with her family in the city of Bristol on her off-days.
A neighbor of the family told The Guardian:
They’re a lovely family – Ben gives my lad a lift when he goes refereeing at Bristol Rovers.”
From research we’ve gathered they were close family; in 2009 at a Mangalore Christmas celebration the family were awarded “family of the day”.
The Christmas event in 2009 where the Saldanha’s were awarded “Family of the Day”.
On October 10, 2011, Ben Barboza updated his Facebook status:
junal barboza is the best person ever….
Junal is active on Twitter, often tweeting about soccer, specifically his favorite team, London-based Arsenal. He is also studying for his final A-Level exams, in Math, Physics, and Tech Business. According to his Twitter he works at a McDonald’s in Bristol.
A portrait of Junal as a toddler that hangs in the Barboza home.
Little is known about his sister, Lisha. Only Heavy.com has reported her name, but the Guardian is reporting that the daughter is believed to be 14.
Junal Barboza in one of his Facebook photos.