Sussex Police have named the three women who died off Brighton beach, while their father issues a moving tribute and emergency services continue an inquiry
The bodies of three sisters have been formally identified by Sussex Police as Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31. The women, who lived in Uxbridge in west London, were visiting the Brighton area in East Sussex when they got into difficulty in the water early last Wednesday morning.
Emergency services were alerted at around 5.45am on May 13, and the sisters’ bodies were later recovered from the sea off Brighton beach.
The family has been left devastated. Their father, Joseph, issued a public statement to honour his daughters and to express the depth of the family’s loss.
In that tribute he described each daughter as a defining source of joy and warmth for the family and spoke of the enduring memories they leave behind. The family also shared images connected to the sisters: an initial photograph released that was AI-generated from a younger original image, and a subsequent genuine teenage photograph they later provided.
Family remembrance and personal tributes
The public tribute from Joseph focused on the personalities of each sister, noting their individual qualities and the comfort they provided to those close to them. He highlighted how their smiles and laughter were central to family life and emphasized that, although their lives were cut short, the emotional imprint of their presence remains. The statement asked for privacy while also sharing the family’s love and continuing grief. This personal response has been echoed by community leaders and politicians, underlining the broad emotional impact of the loss.
Search, rescue and official inquiry
Multiple agencies were involved in the early-morning response. An HM Coastguard helicopter was overhead and coastguard units from Shoreham, Newhaven, Littlehampton and Birling Gap joined the search. Three RNLI lifeboats — including the Brighton and Shoreham vessels — launched around 6am before being stood down later that morning. Despite the coordinated effort, detectives have not yet established how the three women came to be in the water, and investigators say there is currently no evidence to suggest criminality or third-party involvement.
Coastguard safety assessment
Rescue services are examining a plausible scenario in which one or more of the sisters may have entered the sea from the shore and then stepped off a sudden drop in the seabed. A coastguard source explained that the shoreline around parts of Brighton contains a steep underwater profile, where you can go from knee-deep to chest-deep very quickly. They pointed to the risk posed by shingle shelf drop-offs and the influence of backwash, which can shift pebbles underfoot and make it hard to regain footing when waves push against a person trying to climb back up the slope.
Police lines of inquiry and public appeal
Sussex Police detectives have been reviewing hundreds of hours of CCTV footage and conducting door-to-door enquiries in properties and businesses near the beach to reconstruct the sisters’ final movements. Chief Superintendent Adam Hays, the divisional commander for Brighton and Hove, has asked anyone with information to come forward, particularly people who may have seen the women in the Madeira Drive area between 10pm on May 12 and 5.30am on May 13. Officers stress the investigation remains active and that the family is at the centre of the inquiry.
Community reaction and next steps
Local and national figures expressed sorrow and offered support. Bella Sankey, leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, said she was both shocked and deeply saddened, extending condolences on behalf of the city. Chris Ward, the Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, described the event as deeply tragic and thanked emergency services for their rapid response and continued work at the scene. Police emphasised they will continue to investigate the circumstances and appealed for respect and privacy for the grieving family while enquiries proceed.
