Three sisters cleaned their homes, emptied bank accounts and settled debts before Brighton beach suicide
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
The three sisters from west London, whose bodies were recovered from the sea off Brighton, cleared some of their bank accounts in the days leading up to their deaths.
The bodies of Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, were pulled from the water on 13 May.
Senior coroner Penelope Schofield ruled their deaths as a suicide this week, but admitted that it ‘sadly may never be known’ why they took their lives.
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“Many of the ladies’ accounts had been cleared of funds and in some cases debts had been settled,” Schofield said.
“Jane and her sister Rebecca shared the lease on their two bedroom flat. It showed very few belongings and looked like it had been cleaned.”
On 11 May, the sisters, who had lived 'very secluded lives', travelled to Birmingham and were dropped off close to their mother’s former home, near to where she had drowned more than 16 years earlier.
After spending 90 minutes in Birmingham, they then took a taxi back to London in the early hours of 12 May and headed to Brighton that evening, arriving at around 10.21pm.
They are thought to have last been seen alive on CCTV at 2.42am on 13 May. A cyclist reported seeing a body on the beach and emergency services attended the scene at around 5.45am.
Paying tribute to his daughters, Joseph Jacobson, who attended the Brighton inquest by videolink, said in a written statement: “There are no words that can adequately express the pain of losing a child.
“To lose all three of my precious daughters, Jane, Christina and Rebecca, is a heartbreak beyond anything I could ever have imagined.”
He said he 'cannot understand why their lives ended so suddenly', but added: “You were my daughters, you will always be my daughters and I will love you for the rest of my life.
“May your beautiful souls rest in perfect peace.”
Jacobson later asked the coroner: “Have police got any proof that it was a suicide attempt, because based on the laptop, she could have been researching that, but that doesn’t give police the final answer that it was a suicide attempt?”
Schofield replied: “All the police can do is provide the court with the evidence that they’ve found.”
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cullimore said he had ‘remained open minded throughout and always considered whether there was third party involvement’ but he was now satisfied there had not been.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123 or contact Harmless by visiting their website https://harmless.org.uk.
Topics: UK News
Anish Vij