Cause of death of sisters found in Brighton sea still unknown, inquest hears

The cause of death of three sisters recovered from the sea off Brighton is still unclear, an inquest heard.

Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, were recovered from the water in the Sussex city on 13 May.

The inquest into their deaths opened on Friday morning at Brighton and Hove Coroner's Court.

It heard the bodies were recovered shortly before 6am.

Statements detailed how Ms Adetoro and Christina Walters were brought to shore by an RNLI crew and declared dead by a paramedic at the scene.

Rebecca Walters was washed to the shore and also declared deceased.

Senior coroner Penelope Schofield said post-mortems hadn't yet been able to ascertain a provisional cause of death and medical tests were "ongoing".

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However, she said police currently don't believe there was anyone else involved in their deaths.

She told the girls' father, Joseph Jacobson, who was listening remotely, the loss must be "unbearable" and called for social media speculation to end.

The inquest also heard the women had lived together in Greenford, west London, and their occupations were unknown.

Proceeding were adjourned until a full inquest 8 October.

Police have said they've examined hundreds of hours of CCTV to try to piece together the women's last moments.

However, it is still unclear how they ended up in the sea and why they were in Brighton, East Sussex.

The sisters' father said in a previous statement that losing them "has left an emptiness that words cannot heal".

"No words can truly describe the pain of losing three daughters in the prime of their lives," he said

"Jane, Christina, and Becky were more than daughters to me; they were my joy, my strength, and the beautiful light that filled our family with happiness and love."

(c) Sky News 2026: Cause of death of sisters found in Brighton sea still unknown, inquest hears