A United Kingdom inquest has concluded that three sisters who drowned off the coast of Brighton in May 2026 intended to end their lives, with a coroner hearing that their mother’s death 16 years earlier had left a lasting mark on the family.

Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, lived together in Greenford, west London. Senior Coroner Penelope Schofield said the sisters had led “very secluded lives” following the death of their mother, Janice Adetoro, who drowned in Birmingham in 2010.

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The sisters entered the sea in the early hours of May 13, 2026, despite being unable to swim and facing adverse sea conditions, the inquest heard.

Speaking at the hearing on Thursday, Schofield said the circumstances surrounding the sisters’ deaths 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,” she said.

The coroner added that the court could not speculate about their precise motivations.

“It is not for the court to speculate and sadly these reasons may never be known,” she said.

Evidence presented at the inquest showed that the sisters travelled to Birmingham in the days before their deaths. They reportedly visited their mother’s grave and Brookvale Lake, where she drowned in 2010, before travelling to Brighton.

Their cousin, Natalie Walters-Daniel, told The Times that their mother’s death had deeply affected the family and that she believed the sisters never fully recovered from the loss.

The inquest heard that the women left their home together and arrived in Brighton by taxi at 10.21pm on May 12. The driver reportedly noticed that they barely spoke during the journey.

Closed-circuit television footage showed the sisters walking along different parts of the seafront during the night. They were last seen alive at 2.42am on May 13.

Investigators also examined Christina’s laptop, where they found extensive searches relating to suicide and water. The inquest heard that she had experienced anxiety and depression since their mother’s death.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cullimore told the court that Rebecca’s medical records contained “nothing of note”, while Jane was not registered with a doctor.

Post-mortem examinations established that all three sisters died by drowning. Toxicology tests found no drugs or alcohol in their systems, while investigators found no evidence that the women had been subjected to violence.

Jane was brought ashore by a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) crew and pronounced dead at the scene.

Christina was recovered from the sea by an RNLI lifeboat, while Rebecca was washed ashore at Brighton beach. Both were later pronounced dead by paramedics.

Christina worked in accountancy, while Rebecca was employed in human resources.

According to a family account reported by The Times, Christina and Rebecca had adopted their mother’s maiden name, Walters, while Jane retained their father’s surname, Adetoro.

The sisters’ father, Joseph Adetoro, expressed profound grief over the deaths, describing the loss of all three daughters as beyond anything he could have imagined.

“There are no words that can adequately express the pain of losing a child,” he said in a statement read at the inquest.

He also reflected on watching his daughters grow from children into “beautiful, intelligent women”.

The inquest concluded that the sisters intended to end their lives, but their precise reasons for doing so remain unknown.

The coroner said the court could not establish why the women chose to travel to Brighton or why they entered the sea together.

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Their deaths have left their family mourning three sisters whose lives, according to evidence heard at the inquest, had been deeply affected by the loss of their mother.