Three sisters who drowned in the sea in Brighton collectively decided to end their own lives, a coroner has ruled.
asserted
coroner → drown → lives
The bodies of Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, all from London, were recovered from the sea off Brighton in the early hours of 13 May.
uncertain
bodies → recover → May
An inquest into their deaths heard on Thursday that in the days before they died, the three women made a trip together to Birmingham to visit the former home of their mother, who died by drowning in 2010.
asserted
who → hear → 2010
The inquest at Woodvale coroner’s court in Brighton heard that the sisters travelled by taxi to Birmingham on 11 May and were dropped off at 11.36pm at Linton Walk.
uncertain
sisters → hear → Walk
The address is close to Brookvale Park lake, where their mother, Janice Adetoro, died.
asserted
mother → die → lake
They were picked up to return to the flat they lived in together in Greenford, west London, at 1.28am on 12 May.
uncertain
they → pick → May
DCI Mark Cullimore, of Sussex police, told the hearing there was no CCTV to show what the women did in the time they were in Birmingham.
asserted
they → tell → Birmingham
On the evening of 12 May, they took a pre-booked taxi to Brighton and arrived near the seafront at 10.21pm.
uncertain
they → take → 10.21pm
They are thought to have last been seen alive on CCTV from the beach at 2.42am on 13 May.
uncertain
They → think → May
The bodies of Jane Adetoro and Christina Walters were located by a RNLI lifeboat crew; Rebecca Walters’ body was recovered from the shoreline on Brighton beach.
asserted
body → locate → beach
The senior coroner Penelope Schofield told the court on Thursday: “In hours of darkness, they entered the sea at Brighton, they could not swim and sea conditions were adverse.”
uncertain
conditions → tell → Brighton
A postmortem found all three women had drowned.
asserted
women → find → ?
There was no evidence of any drugs or alcohol in their bodies and no evidence to suggest they had been subjected to violence.
asserted
they → be → violence
The coroner concluded that the medical cause of death for all three women was drowning and that they died by suicide.
asserted
they → conclude → suicide
Schofield told the court: “These three sisters lived very secluded lives, they were incredibly private.
asserted
they → tell → lives
We don’t know why they took this course of action or indeed why they chose to do it in Brighton.
asserted
they → know → Brighton
It is not for the court to speculate and sadly these reasons may never be known.”
uncertain
reasons → speculate → ?
The inquest heard Christina Walters had suffered from anxiety and depression since her mother’s death, but no such issues were recorded for her sister Rebecca.
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issues → hear → sister
Adetoro was not registered with a doctor.
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Adetoro → register → doctor
The women’s father, Joseph Jacobson, who attended the hearing by video link, said in a written statement: “There are no words that can adequately express the pain of losing a child.
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that → attend → child
To lose all three of my precious daughters, Jane, Christina and Rebecca, is a heartbreak beyond anything I could ever have imagined.”
uncertain
I → lose → anything
He said he “cannot understand why their lives ended so suddenly”, adding: “You were my daughters, you will always be my daughters and I will love you for the rest of my life.
asserted
I → say → life
May your beautiful souls rest in perfect peace.”
uncertain
souls → rest → peace
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In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123.
asserted
Samaritans → contact → freephone
In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
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you → call → 988lifeline.org
Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
asserted
helplines → find → befrienders.org
The Aporia
