Inquest Rules Three Sisters Who Drowned Off Brighton Beach Took Their Own Lives

A coroner has concluded that three sisters who died in the sea off Brighton took their own lives, bringing a formal end to an investigation that has gripped and saddened the coastal city since May.

Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, drowned in the early hours of 13 May after travelling from London to the Sussex coast. Senior coroner Penelope Schofield delivered the ruling at an inquest into their deaths.

The three women had been living together in Greenford, west London, before their deaths. According to evidence presented at the hearing, they had withdrawn into what the coroner described as "very secluded lives" in the years following the loss of their mother, who herself drowned in 2010.

The inquest heard that the sisters left their London home on 12 May and arrived in Brighton together by taxi at 22:21 BST. The Uber driver later noted that there had been a striking lack of conversation between the three passengers during the journey.

Prior to reaching Brighton, the women had visited an area of Birmingham close to where their mother had died. The following day, they travelled onwards to the seaside town, where they ultimately entered the water in adverse conditions.

CCTV footage tracking their final movements showed the sisters pacing the seafront in darkness. They were recorded at various points along Brighton's east beach, and were last seen alive at 02:42 on 13 May. Their bodies were subsequently recovered from the sea later that morning.

The coroner said the women could not swim. Postmortem toxicology results for all three sisters came back negative for drugs and alcohol, and detectives found no evidence to suggest they had been subjected to violence.

Jane Adetoro was brought to shore by an RNLI crew and declared dead at the scene. Christina Walters, who worked in accountancy, was recovered from the water by an RNLI lifeboat, while Rebecca Walters, who worked in human resources, was washed on to the shore of Brighton beach. Paramedics pronounced both women dead that morning.

Det Ch Insp Mark Cullimore told the court that Rebecca's medical records showed "nothing of note," while Jane had not been registered with a doctor at all. Christina, by contrast, had been experiencing anxiety and depression since her mother's death, the hearing was told.

Police examining Christina's laptop uncovered 227 references to water and 179 references to suicide, a detail that formed part of the evidence considered by the coroner. A previous inquest into the sisters' mother had recorded drowning as her cause of death.

Addressing the court, Schofield acknowledged the unresolved questions surrounding the case. She said the three "lived very secluded lives" and were "incredibly private," adding that it was not known why they took this course of action or why they chose to carry it out in Brighton.

"It is not for the court to speculate and sadly these reasons may never be known," the coroner said. Her remarks underscore the limits of the inquest process, which establishes facts rather than motives, and leaves some bereaved families without the explanations they seek.

The sisters' father, Joseph Jacobsen, provided an emotional statement read on his behalf during proceedings. He described watching his daughters grow "from little girls to beautiful, intelligent women" who held "a special place in my heart."

He added: "There are no words that can adequately express the pain of losing a child. To lose all three of my precious daughters is a heartbreak beyond anything I could ever have imagined." He said he could not understand why their lives ended so suddenly, and expressed hope that they were reunited with their mother "in God's eternal care."

Family members, including Mr Jacobsen, followed the hearing via video link. The BBC has directed those affected by the issues raised in the case towards its Action Line, which offers information and support for people experiencing suicidal thoughts or emotional distress.

The tragedy has resonated beyond Brighton, raising difficult questions about how families navigate grief and mental health after a parent's death. The inquest heard that the sisters had been deeply marked by their mother's drowning more than a decade earlier, yet two of the three had no documented history of mental illness or contact with medical services.

For Brighton, a city accustomed to visitors drawn to its coastline, the deaths have also renewed attention on safety along the seafront, particularly during the night and in poor conditions. The women entered the water in adverse sea conditions, and the case has highlighted the particular dangers posed by the sea after dark.

Inquests into deaths involving multiple family members are rare, and the ruling brings a measure of legal closure to a case that had remained unresolved for months. An initial inquest was opened in late May, and the full hearing has now delivered its findings.

The coroner's conclusion of suicide means the deaths are formally recorded as self-inflicted. No third parties were involved, and the court heard nothing to suggest any criminal element to the events leading up to the drownings.

What remains, according to those close to the family, is grief rather than explanation. Mr Jacobsen's statement captured that sense of bewilderment, telling the court he could find no reason for the loss of all three of his daughters.