Edward Marchesi A family tragedy unfolded during a hearing at Woodvale Coroner's Court after the bodies of three London sisters were found in the waters off Brighton . The inquest determined that Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, voluntarily entered the sea on May 11 and drowned.
In the days following their discovery, details emerged about their journey and their connection to the family's past.
Itinerary and stages confirmed before death
Investigations have reconstructed the three sisters' movements in the days leading up to the tragedy. On May 11, they took a taxi to Birmingham and were dropped off at 11:36 p.m. on a street near Brookvale Park Lake, the site where their mother, Janice Adetoro, drowned in 2010 .
The women then returned to their flat in Greenford, west London, where they were picked up by taxi at 1:28 a.m. on May 12. The visit to that area, more than 15 years after their mother's death, emerged as a significant factor in the hearing and directly links the trip to unresolved grief.
Time and video details
On the evening of May 12, the three sisters took a pre-booked taxi to Brighton , reaching the seafront area at 10.21pm.
The last certain images that appear to portray them alive come from CCTV on the beach at 2.42am on 13 May. The sequence of the transfers was described in court by representatives of the police force, including DCI Mark Cullimore of Sussex Police who reported the absence of footage that clarifies what happened in the hours spent in Birmingham.
Autopsy findings and coroner's assessment
Autopsies determined that the cause of death for all three women was drowning . No signs of substance abuse were found in their systems: toxicology tests revealed no traces of drugs or alcohol. Coroner Penelope Schofield delivered a verdict concluding that the deaths were suicide , emphasizing that the sisters entered the sea at night despite knowing they could not swim and the adverse sea conditions . The coroner also highlighted the three young women's private lifestyles, saying that the reasons for their choice may never fully emerge from the preliminary investigation.
Recovery of bodies and rescue operations
The bodies of Jane Adetoro and Christina Walters were recovered by the crew of an RNLI vessel, while Rebecca Walters ' body was found washed ashore on Brighton beach . Authorities found no evidence of external violence that could have caused the deaths, and no evidence of third-party involvement emerged.
The weight of the past and the father's statement
During the hearing, it emerged that their mother's passing in 2010 was a pivotal event in the family's life. The visit to Brookvale Park Lake was seen as a direct link to that loss, which occurred over 15 years earlier. The father of the three women, Joseph Jacobsen, followed the hearing via video link; in his statement, he expressed profound sorrow, with words that were echoed in court: " There are no words to adequately express the pain of losing a child ." He also said that the loss of all three daughters breaks his heart and said he " clings only to the hope that they will be reunited with their mother " under God's eternal care.
The coroner noted, in her remarks reported at the hearing, that the three sisters led very private lives and that it was not the court's role to speculate on any undocumented motives. Certain elements, such as the visit to their mother's death site and the mental health issues described for one of the sisters, were presented as context but did not provide a definitive explanation for the collective act.
Local authorities and emergency responders have completed the investigation to establish the technical circumstances of the deaths; however, many personal and family questions remain that the hearing was unable to resolve. The father's words and the reconstruction of their movements offer a detailed picture of the three women's final days and link the trip to Brighton in a serious and painful way to the long-standing mourning for the loss of Janice Adetoro in 2010.