Sussex police on Wednesday named the three women whose bodies were recovered from the sea off Brighton beach as sisters Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31. Emergency services were called at about 5.45am on 13 May after concerns were raised for a person’s welfare, and three bodies were pulled from the water near Madeira Drive shortly after.
The women were from the Uxbridge area of London. Their father, Joseph, said Jane, Christina and Becky were more than daughters to him and described them as the beautiful light that filled their family with happiness and love. He said their smiles brightened dark days, their laughter brought comfort and their presence made life more meaningful, adding that their lives ended far too soon.
Police said there is no evidence to suggest criminality or that anyone else was involved. Specialist detectives are working to establish the full facts and circumstances around the women’s deaths, while inquiries continue into what happened in the hours before they were found. Ch Supt Adam Hays said the investigation would continue in earnest and asked that the family be given privacy to come to terms with the tragedy.
The search for answers has focused on the sisters’ last movements around Madeira Drive between 10pm on 12 May and 5.30am on 13 May. Police said hundreds of hours of CCTV footage had been reviewed and inquiries made to businesses and properties in the beach area in an effort to track where they went. Officers have asked anyone with information, especially anyone who saw the sisters near Madeira Drive during that window, to come forward.
The naming of the women gives the case its most personal shape, but it does not yet explain how three sisters ended up in the sea before dawn. For now, police say the evidence does not point to a crime, and the next answer likely lies in the gap between when they were last seen and when emergency crews were called.
