Three sisters who drowned off Brighton Beach deliberately entered the water with the intent to end their lives, a coroner has concluded. Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, were pulled from the water on May 13 but could not be saved.
Coroner's findings
Coroner Penelope Schofield said: "I have to consider why they entered the water in the hours of darkness when they couldn't swim. The sisters deliberately entered the water with the intent to end their lives."
The inquest at Brighton Coroner's Court heard the sisters' father had told police none of them could swim. The official cause of death was given as drowning, and the coroner concluded the sisters had taken their own lives.
Background and events
The sisters' mother had died from drowning in a Birmingham lake in 2010. They had travelled by taxi to the city the day before they went to Brighton and were dropped off at the street where their mother had lived. They arrived at Linton Walk, Birmingham, near Brookvale Park Lake, at 11.36pm on May 11 and were picked up to return to the flat they shared in Greenford, west London, at 1.28am on May 12.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cullimore told the court that searches of Christina's laptop revealed 179 references to suicide, all relating to London and the Thames. He also described the weather on the day the sisters entered the water: "On Wednesday, May 13, two calls were received reporting bodies could be seen in the sea in Brighton. One body appeared lifeless and had been washed up on the shore. It was windy and the sea was particularly rough."
Family tribute
The sisters' father, Joseph Jacobsen, told the court: "There are no words that can adequately express the loss of a child. It's a heartbreak beyond anything I could imagine. Each had their own special place in my heart. They shared a special bond as sisters."
He added: "I find some comfort in my Christian faith. They were my daughters - they were loved and they mattered. I'm left with memories that I will have for the rest of my life." He said he "cannot understand why their lives ended so suddenly", but added: "You were my daughters, you will always be my daughters and I will love you for the rest of my life. May your beautiful souls rest in perfect peace."
Police reviewed thousands of hours of CCTV, finding the sisters had used a pre-booked taxi to leave London for Brighton. Last sightings placed them near the pier and on the seafront, with one seen using a mobile phone and another a mobile torch. Family members watched the inquest online via a TV link.
