Three sisters took own lives 16 years after mother’s death in UK, inquest finds

Jane Adetoro, Christina Walter and Rebecca Walter. Photo: Sussex Police / People

An inquest in the United Kingdom has found that three sisters who drowned in the sea off Brighton took their own lives, BBC reports on Thursday.

Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, had been living together in Greenford, London, and were described by a coroner as having lived “very secluded lives” following the death of their mother.

The sisters had struggled with the loss of their mother, who drowned in Birmingham in 2010. Their cousin, Natalie Walters-Daniel, told The Times that the tragedy had profoundly affected them and that she believed they never got over their mother’s death.

According to the BBC, the sisters travelled from London to Birmingham on May 11 before going to Brighton the following day. They entered the sea in the early hours of May 13 despite adverse conditions and the fact that they could not swim.

In the 48 hours before their deaths, the sisters visited their mother’s grave and Brookvale Lake in Birmingham, where she drowned in 2010, according to a family account published by The Times.

Speaking at the inquest on Thursday, Senior Coroner Penelope Schofield said the sisters were extremely private and that the reasons behind their decision might never be known.

“These three sisters lived very secluded lives, they were incredibly private, we don’t know why they took this course of action or indeed why they chose to do it in Brighton.

“It is not for the court to speculate and sadly these reasons may never be known,” Schofield told the inquest.

The inquest heard that the sisters left their home together and arrived in Brighton by taxi at 10:21 pm on May 12.

The taxi driver reportedly noticed that they hardly spoke during the journey.

CCTV footage showed the women walking along different parts of the seafront during the night. They were last seen alive at 2:42am on May 13.

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Police searches of Christina’s laptop found extensive searches about suicide. The coroner also heard that Christina had experienced anxiety and depression since their mother’s death.

Rebecca’s medical records contained “nothing of note”, while Jane was not registered with a doctor, Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cullimore told the court.

Postmortem toxicology tests on all three women were negative for drugs and alcohol, while investigators found no evidence that they had been subjected to violence.

Jane was brought ashore by a Royal National Lifeboat Institution crew and pronounced dead at the scene.

Christina Walters, who worked in accountancy, was recovered from the sea by an RNLI lifeboat, while Rebecca, who worked in human resources, was washed ashore at Brighton beach. Both were pronounced dead by paramedics.

Christina and Rebecca had adopted their mother’s maiden name, Walters, while Jane retained their father’s surname, Adetoro, according to a family account reported by The Times.

Their father, Joseph Adetoro, described the deaths as “a heartbreak beyond anything I could ever have imagined”.

In an emotional statement read at the inquest, he said he had watched his daughters grow from children into “beautiful, intelligent women”.

“There are no words that can adequately express the pain of losing a child,” he said.

Adetoro said he could not understand why his daughters’ lives had ended so suddenly and expressed hope that they had been reunited with their mother “in God’s eternal care”.

If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, please seek help. Contact the Suicide Prevention Initiative in Nigeria (SURPIN) toll-free line at 0800 078 7746. Help is available 24/7.