A police investigation into the deaths of three sisters who drowned in the sea off Brighton has found no evidence of criminal involvement.
Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, died in what Sussex Police described as a tragic incident on May 13. Their father remembered the three women as “beautiful lights”.
Sussex Police said the sisters entered the water together and confirmed investigators had found no indication that another person was involved in their deaths.
The women were born in Luton and had been sharing a home in Greenford, north-west London. They were found fully clothed in the English Channel at about 5.45am.
At the time of their deaths, Jane worked as a senior accountant, Christina was employed as a junior accountant and Rebecca was an HR administrator.
Rebecca was swept onto the beach near Brighton’s Black Rock car park on May 13. A paramedic pronounced her dead at the scene.
Sisters Jane, Christina and Rebecca died after entering the water together in Brighton (pictured in a digitally enhanced image provided by their family)
Father Joseph Jacobson (second from left) with his daughters (left to right) Jane Adetoro, Christina Walters, and Rebecca Walters. Police have concluded there was no evidence of criminality in their deaths
The bodies of Jane and Christina were later located at sea and recovered by an RNLI crew.
An inquest was opened on May 29, while post-mortem examinations carried out that month confirmed that all three sisters died from drowning.
As part of the investigation, officers established that the sisters had travelled by taxi to Madeira Drive, arriving at about 10.20pm on Tuesday, May 12.
When they were found roughly seven hours later, all three were wearing ordinary day-to-day clothing. Investigators found no evidence that they had visited nightclubs or businesses in the area before their deaths.
In a statement issued on Sunday evening, Sussex Police said the evidence indicated that the sisters entered the sea close to the location where their bodies were subsequently discovered and drowned.
The force said the inquest by HM Coroner would examine where the women had been before their deaths and what may have prompted them to enter the water. Police said they would not comment further at this stage.
Rebecca was carried onto the shore and pronounced dead by a paramedic, while Jane and Christina were found at sea by the RNLI and brought back to land
Chief Superintendent Adam Hays said officers had been aware from the beginning of the complex investigation that the deaths had prompted widespread speculation and left the public seeking answers.
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He said the central focus had been establishing the truth for Jane, Rebecca and Christina’s family, who were facing an “unthinkable tragedy and loss”.
Chief Supt Hays said the inquiry had been extensive and had taken into account concerns raised by Black communities about the deaths of Black people in or near bodies of water. Investigators also sought to understand the sisters’ lives and the circumstances that may have led to them being found on the beach.
He confirmed that the investigation had now concluded, unless new information emerges.
Chief Supt Hays added that the sisters’ deaths had prompted a national wave of grief and thanked everyone who came forward to assist the police inquiry.
‘We will now support the coronial process and ask that the sisters’ family continue to be given privacy to come to terms with their loss.’
Jane, Christina and Rebecca left behind a surviving sister, Lillian, who made a poignant tribute at her siblings’ joint funeral in June by writing: ‘We were four, and now I am one.’
At a sombre service in north-west London, their father, Joseph Jacobson, said: ‘You were more than my daughters: you were my joy, my strength and the beautiful light that filled my life with love.
‘No words can truly describe the pain of losing three daughters in the prime of their lives.
‘There are moments when it feels unbearable, but I hold tightly to the memories we shared, the love we knew and the bond that nothing can ever take away.’
Recalling each of their most treasured traits, he continued: ‘Jane, I will never forget your strength. Tina, your kindness touched so many lives. Becky, your warmth and joyful spirit brought happiness wherever you went.
‘Though I can no longer see you, I carry you in my heart every day.’
Relatives previously revealed the sisters’ mother, Janice, had died by drowning in Birmingham 16 years ago.
Speaking at the funeral on behalf of the family, their cousin, Natalie Walters-Daniel, said: ‘Your lives will never be forgotten, and your memory will live on forever.
‘Together they accomplished so much.
‘They pursued their education, they built careers, they created lives that reflected the values their parents instilled in them,’ the BBC reported.