Coroner rules three British-Nigerian sisters found in sea off Brighton took their own lives

A UK coroner has ruled that three British-Nigerian sisters who died off Brighton beach on May 13 took their own lives, according to a report by PUNCH, which cited the BBC.

Senior coroner for West Sussex, Brighton and Hove, Penelope Schofield, said Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, died by suicide. She told the inquest that the women met adverse sea conditions after entering the water and could not swim.

The inquest heard the sisters had lived together in Greenford, London, and visited an area of Birmingham close to where their mother had drowned on May 11, 2010. They left London and arrived in Brighton by taxi at 10:21pm BST on May 12. They were last seen alive at 2:42am the next day.

The coroner said the sisters led private lives. “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,” she said.

Their father, Joseph Jacobsen, followed proceedings by video link at Woodvale Coroner’s Court. In a statement read on his behalf, he said: “There are no words that can adequately express the pain of losing a child. To lose all three of my precious daughters is heartbreaking.”

In a June GoFundMe appeal, their uncle Adesoji Adetoro wrote: “The girls had so much life ahead of them, and their loss has left a pain and emptiness in our hearts that words cannot describe.”

I couldn’t confirm the exact Punch article URL, so the link points to the Punch homepage. Swap in the article’s address before publishing.

This story involves suicide, so a note on handling it: if it’s published, consider including local crisis-support information for readers. If this topic is close to you personally, I’m glad to help you find support.