Inquest concludes three sisters found off Brighton died by suicide
An inquest concluded Jane, Christina and Rebecca, three sisters from West London, took their own lives in the sea off Brighton in May after visiting an area linked to their mother's drowning.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
An inquest at Brighton Coroner's Court has concluded that three sisters who were found in the sea off Brighton in May took their own lives. Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, lived together in West London and were described as having a special bond. None of them could swim.
The sisters' bodies were recovered from the water near Black Rock and Madeira Drive in Brighton in May. Post-mortem examinations found they had drowned. Police found no third party involvement, no injuries consistent with an attack and toxicology showed no signs of substances. They were wearing everyday clothes when found, not swimming clothes.
In the days before their deaths, the sisters travelled by taxi from London to Birmingham. That area was significant because their mother had lived there and had drowned in a lake in 2010. The inquest heard they may have visited her grave. They stayed for around 90 minutes and then returned to London in the early hours. Later that day, they took another taxi to Brighton, a place they had no links with.
CCTV footage showed them walking along Madeira Drive late at night. One used a mobile phone as a torch. The last sighting was at about 2:45am on 13 May. The coroner found they deliberately entered the water in darkness and adverse conditions. It is not clear exactly where they entered the water.
Evidence from Christina's laptop showed extensive searches about suicide and water. Police found 179 references to suicide and more than 200 references to water. She also had medical records showing anxiety and depression after her mother's death. The sisters had cleared bank accounts, repaid debts and cleaned the flat they shared. Police reviewed around 1,000 hours of CCTV.
The coroner said the three women had led very private, secluded lives. She said the reason they chose to end their lives may never be known. She added that it was not for the court to speculate on why they entered into a suicide pact.
Their father, Joseph Jacobson, gave a statement that was read to the inquest. He said no words could adequately express the pain of losing a child. He said losing all three of his precious daughters was a heartbreak beyond anything he could have imagined. He hoped they were now reunited with their mother and embraced by a love that death cannot take away. He also said they were deeply loved and that he was proud of each of them.
Family members joined the hearing by video link. The family raised questions about whether the evidence was enough to conclude that all three sisters had decided to end their lives. The coroner acknowledged that the full reason may never be known and that she could only assess the evidence before her. The hearing lasted around an hour.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Widely reported · 4 or more of 5 channels | |||||
| A coroner concluded that three women recovered from the sea off Brighton died by suicide. | Not reported by Sky News | ||||
| Reported by a few · 2–3 channels | |||||
| A police officer said a laptop's search history included 179 suicide-related searches in the days before the sisters' deaths. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Sky News | ||
| The women's mother had died by drowning 16 years earlier. | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | ||
| Only on one channel | |||||
| CCTV showed the women walking along Madeira Drive using a mobile phone as a torch, and it was unclear how they entered the water. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | |
| Christina had experienced depression after her mother's death, and police found references to suicide on her laptop. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Police found no third-party involvement and no injuries consistent with an attack in the women's deaths. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | |
| The family questioned whether the evidence was sufficient to conclude that all three sisters chose to end their lives. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| The sisters' father, Joseph Jacobson, said in a written statement that losing three daughters caused unimaginable heartbreak. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by Sky News | |
| The three women were sisters from West London, identified as Jane Adetoro, Christina Walters and Rebecca Walters, aged 36, 36 and 31. | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
5 led with the coroner's ruling and the family's loss, then added detail from the evening inquest report. It focused on the sisters' inability to swim, the suicide and water searches on Christina's laptop, and the practical steps they took before their deaths. Its tone was sombre and direct, with the father's tribute given weight.
- “A coroner has ruled that three women who were pulled from the sea off Brighton died by suicide.”
- “the reason the three sisters killed themselves may never be known”
- “they entered the water knowing that they couldn't swim”
BBC ONE West treated the inquest as a straightforward court ruling, setting out the sisters' ages, the fact none could swim, and the Birmingham visit. It gave space to the father's written tribute and to the coroner's finding that the women had led private lives after their mother's death. It avoided speculation and stayed close to the evidence heard.
- “A coroner has ruled that three sisters who died in the sea off Brighton Beach in May took their own lives.”
- “None of the sisters could swim.”
- “In a statement read to the inquest, their father, Joseph, said, there are no words that can adequately express the pain of losing a child.”
ITV1 combined the coroner's conclusion with the strongest evidential details, including the 179 suicide searches, cleared bank accounts and repaid debts. It stressed that the sisters could not swim and deliberately entered adverse conditions, while also noting the court would not speculate on why they entered a suicide pact. Its lunchtime and evening reports placed the father's video-link tribute near the end.
- “the coroner said she believed the trio had the intention to end their lives in the early hours of that May morning”
- “they deliberately entered the water in adverse conditions”
- “the word suicide had been searched for 179 times on one of their laptops and that bank accounts had been cleared and debts had been repaid”
Sky News gave a detailed scene-setting report from Brighton, including the location near Black Rock and the women's ordinary clothes. It framed the deaths as a possible pilgrimage to Birmingham and focused on the coroner's words about their secluded lives and the unknown reason. It was careful to state that there was no third party involvement and no injuries.
- “Coroner has ruled that three sisters who drowned off the coast of Brighton earlier this year took their own lives.”
- “She said that they led very secluded lives and that sadly, we may never know the reasons exactly why they chose to end their lives”
- “They'd also taken steps, these three young women, to what appeared to be clear their debts.”
Channel 4 gave a carefully structured account of the inquest and the evidence, but it was the only channel to highlight that the family raised questions about whether the evidence was enough to conclude all three sisters decided to end their lives. It also named the mother as Janice and described the sisters' final movements in detail. Its tone was measured and slightly more questioning of the conclusion.
- “As an inquest today, the coroner concluded that they'd taken their own lives.”
- “Today, a coroner found the sisters who could not swim entered Brighton Sea in the darkness of night when sea conditions were adverse and ruled their death a suicide.”
- “But the family raised questions around whether this is enough to conclude that all three sisters decided to end their lives.”
Broadcast Timeline
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