An inquest has confirmed the deaths of Jane Adetoro, Christina Walters and Rebecca Walters, five months after the sisters were found off the Brighton coast. Their grieving father says losing all three daughters has left him heartbroken.Diaspora News | Brighton, United Kingdom | October 16, 2026
A senior coroner in the United Kingdom has ruled that three British-Nigerian sisters whose bodies were recovered from the sea off Brighton in May 2026 died by suicide. Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, were found dead on May 13 after travelling together from their home in Greenford, west London. Delivering her findings at Woodvale Coroner’s Court in Brighton on Thursday, October 8, senior coroner Penelope Schofield concluded that all three women died from drowning and had deliberately taken their own lives. The ruling followed months of police investigations and medical examinations into the circumstances surrounding their deaths, a tragedy that attracted widespread attention and left their family struggling with the loss of three daughters.
The inquest heard that the sisters had lived together in London and were known to lead particularly private lives. According to evidence presented before the court, the women travelled to Birmingham on May 11, visiting an area close to their late mother’s former home and the lake where she drowned in 2010. They returned to London before making a separate journey to Brighton the following evening. Investigators reconstructed their movements through transport records and CCTV footage, although some parts of their journey remained unclear. The court was also told that the sisters had no known personal connection to Brighton, leaving unanswered questions about why they chose to visit the coastal city. Schofield acknowledged that the available evidence could not fully explain their decision.
Emergency services responded to reports of concern near Brighton’s seafront in the early hours of May 13, leading to the recovery of the three sisters’ bodies. An investigation by Sussex Police examined the circumstances surrounding their deaths, including whether another person had been involved. Post-mortem examinations subsequently established drowning as the medical cause of death, while investigators found no evidence of violence or third-party criminal involvement. Police formally concluded their investigation in September, ahead of the final inquest hearing the following month. Although these findings helped resolve initial uncertainty about how the sisters died, they did not provide a complete understanding of the personal circumstances that preceded the tragedy.
The inquest also examined the sisters’ family circumstances and the effect of an earlier bereavement. Their mother, Janice Adetoro, died by drowning in Birmingham in 2010, approximately 16 years before her daughters’ deaths. The court heard that Christina had experienced anxiety and depression following her mother’s death, while comparable medical histories were not established for the other two sisters. Schofield acknowledged the family’s painful history but cautioned against drawing unsupported conclusions about the women’s motivations. She described the sisters as extremely private individuals whose personal decisions were difficult to understand from the available evidence. Although the inquest established that the deaths were suicides, the coroner made clear that the reasons behind their actions might never be known.
Their father, Joseph Jacobson, attended the October 8 hearing through a video link and submitted an emotional statement about his daughters. He spoke of watching them grow from children into intelligent young women and described the difficulty of losing all three within the same tragedy. His words reflected the depth of a father’s grief as he struggled to understand how their lives had ended so suddenly. Jacobson also recalled the love and happiness his daughters brought into his life, emphasising that they would always remain part of him. Rather than attempting to explain their deaths, his statement focused on their lives, the years they had shared and the lasting pain their absence had created.
Before their deaths, the sisters had established professional lives and maintained close family relationships. According to reports published following their funeral in June, Jane worked as a senior accountant, Christina was a junior accountant and Rebecca was employed as a human resources administrator. Born in Luton, England, they later shared a home in Greenford and were remembered by relatives for their close relationship. During their funeral service in London, family members spoke about their personalities, achievements and the memories they had created together. Jane was remembered for her strength and intelligence, Christina for her kindness, and Rebecca for her warmth and lively personality. These tributes offered a fuller picture of three women whose lives involved careers, family bonds and personal accomplishments long before their deaths became the subject of a public investigation.
The October ruling marked the conclusion of an investigation that began after the sisters’ bodies were discovered in May. When the inquest first opened on May 29, the medical cause of death had not yet been formally established, and further examinations were required. Investigators continued gathering information about the women’s movements, reviewing available evidence and examining whether any criminal activity had contributed to their deaths. By September, Sussex Police announced that the investigation had found no evidence of criminality or third-party involvement. Subsequent medical findings confirmed drowning as the cause of death, allowing the coroner to reach her final conclusion in October. The ruling provided answers to the principal legal and medical questions, although some aspects of the sisters’ personal circumstances remained unresolved.
The case has also highlighted the distinction between a coroner’s legal findings and a complete understanding of the circumstances preceding a death. In England and Wales, an inquest examines who died, when and where the death occurred, and how it happened. It is not a criminal trial and does not exist to assign blame. In this case, the evidence enabled Schofield to conclude that the sisters died by suicide, but it did not establish why they made that decision. Their mother’s earlier death and the private nature of their lives formed part of the evidence considered, yet neither provides sufficient grounds for attributing the tragedy to one particular cause. That distinction is especially important when reporting sensitive deaths involving bereavement, mental health and unanswered personal questions.
The sisters’ deaths also underline the importance of reporting suicide with sensitivity and avoiding speculation about circumstances that investigators cannot fully explain. During the early stages of the investigation, public uncertainty surrounding the tragedy contributed to online discussions and theories about what might have happened. Schofield had previously expressed hope that the inquest would help address speculation surrounding the deaths. While the final ruling established the manner of death, it also demonstrated the limits of what could be known about the women’s personal experiences. Mental health organisations continue to encourage compassionate conversations about emotional distress, bereavement and isolation, while emphasising the availability of confidential support. However, the sisters’ individual experiences should not be reduced to general assumptions about mental illness or family loss. Their relatives deserve privacy and consideration as they continue grieving.
As of October 16, 2026, the inquest into the deaths of Jane Adetoro, Christina Walters and Rebecca Walters has concluded, with suicide formally recorded as the manner of death for all three sisters. The findings have clarified the medical circumstances of their deaths and confirmed that police found no evidence of criminal involvement, but the reasons behind their decision remain unknown. For Joseph Jacobson and the wider family, the ruling closes one part of a painful experience without lessening the loss of three daughters and sisters. Their relatives have remembered them as educated, hardworking women who shared years of experiences, achievements and close family ties. Beyond the court’s findings, their story remains one of profound grief and three lives that deserve to be remembered for far more than the circumstances of their deaths.
