A coroner in the United Kingdom has concluded that three sisters of Nigerian descent died by suicide after drowning in the sea off Brighton beach in the early hours of May 13.
The sisters, identified as Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, lived together in Greenford, west London. Evidence presented at an inquest indicated that they had maintained largely private and secluded lives following the death of their mother, Janice Adetoro, who also died by drowning in 2010.
Proceedings at Woodvale Coroner’s Court in Brighton revealed that the three women travelled to Birmingham on the night of May 11, taking a taxi to Linton Walk, near Brookvale Park Lake, where their mother died.
According to DCI Mark Cullimore of Sussex Police, the sisters spent nearly two hours in the area before returning to their London residence. Although investigators found no CCTV footage showing their activities in Birmingham, their movements were established through evidence presented during the inquest.
On the evening of May 12, the sisters hired another taxi to Brighton, arriving near the seafront at about 10:21 p.m. CCTV footage later showed them walking along the beach in darkness. They were last seen alive at approximately 2:42 a.m. on May 13.
A Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) crew subsequently recovered the bodies of Jane and Christina from the sea, while Rebecca’s body was found along the shoreline.
Senior Coroner Penelope Schofield told the inquest that the women entered the sea in complete darkness and during adverse weather conditions, despite none of them being able to swim.
Post-mortem examinations established drowning as the cause of death for all three sisters. Toxicology tests found no evidence of drugs or alcohol, while investigators found no indications of violence or third-party involvement.
The inquest also heard details of the sisters’ medical histories. Christina had reportedly experienced anxiety and depression since their mother’s death, while no history of mental health issues was recorded for Rebecca. Jane, meanwhile, was not registered with a doctor.
In a statement read to the court, their father, Joseph Jacobson, expressed profound grief over the loss of all three daughters.
“There are no words that can adequately express the pain of losing a child. To lose all three of my precious daughters, Jane, Christina and Rebecca, is a heartbreak beyond anything I could ever have imagined,” he said.
He added that they would always remain his daughters and that he would continue to love them for the rest of his life, praying for their souls to rest in perfect peace.
Delivering her conclusion, Coroner Schofield said the sisters had lived exceptionally private lives and that the circumstances surrounding their deaths remained unclear.
She noted that the court could not establish why they chose to end their lives or why they travelled to Brighton to do so, adding that the reasons behind their actions might never be fully understood.
