Three sisters who drowned at Brighton Beach earlier this year had, just days before, visited the lake where their mother had also drowned 10 years prior. The bodies of Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, were found in the water on May 13. Their mother, Janice Adetoro, drowned near the family home in Birmingham in 2016. It remains unclear how the siblings ended up in the water.
Trip to Birmingham with 'deeper meaning'
Their cousin, Natalie Walters-Daniel, 33, said the trio had travelled to Birmingham on a visit with a 'deeper meaning' two days before they died. She told the Sunday Times that her cousins – who were 20, 16, and 15 when Janice died – never got over her death.
'To lose their mum at the ages that they were, it was the crucial stages of growing up and becoming young women,' she said. 'The years where a mother's presence and guidance and reassurance and love should be, they didn't receive that.'
'And for them to come to Birmingham, to take that moment that they did within the lake and also to see their mother, I think that there is definitely a connection there.'
Mother's disappearance and death
Janice was last seen by one of her daughters, with whom she lived, before she went missing. She suffered from stress-related mental health issues but did not take medication with her when she disappeared in December 2009. Her brother, Lincoln, said at the time: 'The girls are so upset and can't stop thinking about you and for their sake we need you to make contact.'
Her body was found three months after she vanished. An inquest recorded that prior to her death she had attended a police station with 'paranoid delusions'. Her daughters later moved back to London, where neighbours described them as private and unsociable.
Investigation and family tribute
Sussex Police have concluded their investigation, finding no evidence of third-party involvement. Natalie said the family is 'not going to get the full answers to this', but she hoped an inquest into her cousins' deaths next month may give them some more information.
The women's dad, Joseph, previously said that 'no words can truly describe the pain of losing three daughters'. In a tribute published by the BBC, he said: 'You were more than my daughters: you were my joy, my strength and the beautiful light that filled my life with love.'
'There are moments when it feels unbearable, but I hold tightly to the memories we shared, the love we knew and the bond that nothing can ever take away.'
A GoFundMe page set up by their uncle in the days after their deaths has raised more than £45,000 to go towards the cost of the women's funerals. The page, set up by their uncle Adesoji Adetoro, reads: '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.
'No parent should ever have to bury their child, let alone all three. While trying to process this unimaginable tragedy, my brother is now also faced with the heartbreaking task of arranging three funerals. As a family, we simply want to give the girls the loving and dignified farewell they deserve.
'We are humbly asking for any support you may be able to offer towards the funeral expenses. Any contribution, no matter how small, will help ease the burden on the family during this incredibly difficult time.'
