A United Kingdom inquest has found that three Nigerian sisters who died after entering the sea off Brighton drowned, with the coroner concluding that the sisters took their own lives.
The sisters, identified as Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, reportedly lived increasingly secluded lives following the death of their mother, who drowned in 2010.
Their cousin, Natalie Walters-Daniel, stated that the loss had profoundly affected the sisters, adding that she believed they never recovered from their mother’s death.
The inquest heard that the sisters travelled from London to Birmingham on May 11 before proceeding to Brighton the following day.
They reportedly arrived in Brighton by taxi at 10:21 p.m. on May 12 and entered the sea in the early hours of May 13, despite adverse conditions and being unable to swim.
The taxi driver who conveyed them to Brighton reportedly observed that the sisters hardly spoke during the journey.
Speaking at the inquest on Thursday, Senior Coroner Penelope Schofield described the sisters as extremely private and said the circumstances surrounding their decision might never be fully understood.
“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,” Schofield said.
Reacting to the deaths, their father, Joseph Jacobsen, described the loss of his three daughters as devastating.
Jacobsen, who followed the proceedings alongside other family members via video link, said he had watched his daughters grow from little girls into beautiful and intelligent women who held a special place in his heart.
In an emotional 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 a heartbreak beyond anything I could ever have imagined.”
He added that he could not understand why his daughters’ lives had ended so suddenly, expressing hope that they had been reunited with their mother “in God’s eternal care”