Three sisters who drowned at Brighton beach died in suicide pact after visiting place where their mother took her own life 16 years earlier, inquest finds
Three sisters drowned at Brighton beach on 13 May in what an inquest concluded was a suicide pact. This tragedy occurred just 16 years after their mother died by drowning, highlighting the profound and enduring impact of losing a family member to suicide and underscoring the importance of mental health support for grieving families.
Jane Adetoro (36), Christina Walters (32) and Rebecca Walters (31) travelled from their London home to Birmingham less than 48 hours before their deaths, visiting the lake where their mother drowned in 2009 and her grave. They returned to London and then travelled to Brighton, arriving at 10:21pm. CCTV showed them on the road for over an hour before making their way onto the beach at 2:42am; police were alerted to a woman in difficulty in the water approximately three hours later. All three sisters were unable to swim. The coroner ruled they had deliberately "entered the sea at West Beach, Brighton to end their lives."
- Three sisters drowned at Brighton in May after a suicide pact.
- They had visited their mother's grave 16 years after her 2009 drowning.
- The inquest concluded they deliberately entered the sea to end their lives.
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Three sisters drowned at Brighton beach in May in the early hours of the morning. None of them could swim.
Sixteen years earlier, their mother had died by drowning herself. Days before their own deaths, the three sisters had travelled to visit the lake where their mother drowned and visited her grave.
The death of someone close to suicide can have profound long-term effects on those left behind. This case highlights how grief and trauma from such a loss can affect survivors' wellbeing over many years.