Sisters pulled from sea near Brighton took own lives, coroner rules

Three sisters whose bodies were recovered from the sea off Brighton took their own lives, a coroner has ruled.

Emergency services were called to the scene at around 5.45am on 13 May, before the bodies of Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, from west London, were pulled from the water.

Senior coroner Penelope Schofield ruled their deaths were suicide, but noted the reason they took their lives "sadly may never be known".

Paying tribute to his daughters, their father, Joseph Jacobson, who attended the Brighton inquest via videolink, said in a written statement: "To lose all three of my precious daughter, Jane, Christina and Rebecca, is a heartbreak beyond anything I could ever have imagined.

"May your beautiful souls rest in perfect peace."

The inquest on Thursday heard the sisters had travelled by taxi to Birmingham the day before they went to the seaside city and were dropped off in the street where their mother, who died by drowning in 2010, lived.

The family members arrived at Linton Walk, near to Brookvale Park Lake, at 11.36pm on 11 May and were picked up to return to their flat in Greenford, west London, at 1.28am the following day.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cullimore told the hearing at Woodvale Coroner's Court in Brighton that there was no CCTV footage to see what the women had been doing while they were in Birmingham.

Mr Cullimore said financial inquiries showed the women had cleared some of their bank accounts in the days leading up to their deaths.

Police searches of Christina Walters's electronic devices found she had made "extensive searches" about suicide online in the month prior to her death.

She had suffered from depression and anxiety since her mother's death, the inquest heard.

On the evening of 12 May, they took a pre-booked taxi to Brighton and arrived near the seafront at 10.21pm.

They are thought to have been last seen alive on CCTV at 2.42am on 13 May.

Ms Adetoro was brought to shore by an RNLI crew and declared dead at the scene on the morning of 13 May, the inquest heard.

Christina Walters was pulled from the sea by an RNLI lifeboat, and Rebecca Walters was washed on to the shore of Brighton beach. They were also pronounced dead by paramedics that morning.

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Concluding the inquest, Ms Schofield told the court on Thursday: "On May 13, in hours of darkness, they entered the sea at Brighton, they could not swim and sea conditions were adverse."

A post-mortem found the three women had drowned and cited no evidence of any drugs or alcohol in their bodies, and no evidence to suggest they had been subject to violence.

The coroner concluded the three sisters intended to end their lives.

Ms Schofield told the court: "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."

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for free on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

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