Remaining clues in Brighton seashore sisters thriller as key elements solved by household
The deaths of the three sisters off Brighton beach continues to be shrouded in mystery. Relatives are still trying to figure out why Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, had travelled to the city from London.
It is thought they may have been honouring the memory of their mum, who herself died by drowning in Birmingham in 2010. But relatives have spoken out to debunk wild conspiracy theories about the tragic siblings.
Sussex police said they did not have evidence to suggest third-party involvement or criminality. But the force have not yet been able to establish how the women died.
Not drinkers
Relatives say the women were quiet, close-knit and did not drink, smoke or go clubbing.
Ajike Adetoro, the sisters’ aunt, said in a newspaper interview: “These girls would not drink alcohol or smoke. They never went clubbing. They didn’t even have social media. They were their father’s world.”
It had previously been speculated in the press and online that the sisters had been in Brighton for a night out.
Mum’s death
Ajike revealed the deaths was the second drowning tragedy to hit the family after their mother died in Birmingham in 2010.
Genevieve Barnaby, who said she had acted as a maternal figure since the death of their mother, told The Times they were “the most beautiful girls [who] didn’t give us no trouble”.
Jane Adetoro was described by relatives as “extremely intelligent” and “a bit more serious because she had already taken on the role of mother to the other sisters.”
Why were they in Brighton?
It is not known why the sisters, from the Uxbridge area of London, were in Brighton. The city is famed for its nightlife and waterfront bars and revellers from nearby clubs are said to spill out onto the beach after closing time in the early hours of morning.
But Ajike insists they were not clubbers and the family did not know the sisters were travelling to Brighton that morning. It remains unclear why they were, but the family had since reflected on whether they may have been marking the memory of their mother.
Why were they in the water?
Police said they were first called to concern for a single person in the water near Black Rocks car park in Madeira Drive at around 5.45am on May 13. On arrival, two more bodies were sadly recovered from the sea nearby.
Sussex Police said there is no evidence to suggest criminality or that anyone else was involved, but specialist detectives are working to gather the full facts and circumstances around their deaths.
However, it is not clear how they entered the water or why they got into difficulty.
Hurtful conspiracies and AI photo
The sisters were named on Wednesday by police who also distributed a family photo which was later revealed to have been altered by artificial intelligence and recalled.
The family said they used AI to create a single image of the sisters from old photographs because they did not have a recent picture of all three together. But the photo added to wild speculation online.
Ajike added: “We just wanted AI to put it together and make it look good, all three of them together. I’ve just had to stop looking. The most disturbing part for us is the conspiracies.
“We’ve heard people jump to conclusions that it was a racist attack, a murder, that they were clubbing. The most absurd messages. It is all wrong. We’ve got to speak out in order to clarify this whole situation.”
What we know about the sisters
Relatives said Jane Adetoro, who was said to have taken on the role of mum to her younger sisters, worked as an accountant and was described by relatives as “extremely intelligent”.
Christina Walters graduated from Brunel University and had worked hard to move on from the trauma of losing her mother, the family said.
Rebecca Walters was remembered as “the baby who was very mischievous” and “the lively one who was always cracking jokes”.
Ajike urged social media users to stop sharing theories and instead remember the sisters for “everything they stood for as young women”, adding: “That’s the sad thing in all of this.
“There is no compassion shown towards the three girls and their memory of how we know they would like to be remembered.”
The family have set up a GoFundMe page to help towards funeral costs. The appeal says: “As a family, we are still struggling to come to terms with what has happened.
“The girls had so much life ahead of them, and their loss has left a pain and emptiness in our hearts that words cannot describe.”
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.
