Vigil set to be held for three sisters who died in the sea off Brighton
A Brighton community group for women of colour is organising the vigil to honour the sisters
Vigil set to be held for three sisters who died in the sea off Brighton
Jane, Christina and Rebecca died in the sea last week
STORY BY MELISSA SIGODO
MAY 24, 2026
A vigil is set to be held for three sisters who died in the sea off Brighton last week.
The bodies of Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, were recovered from the sea in the early hours of Wednesday 13 May.
Sussex Police say they are currently investigating to understand how the women came to be in the water.
They added that there is no evidence to suggest third-party involvement or criminality, but that specialist detectives are working hard to gather the full facts and circumstances of their deaths.
After the sisters were formally identified, their father Joseph made a heartbreaking tribute expressing how their deaths had “left an emptiness that words cannot heal.”
Now, a local community group Women of Colour in Brighton is planning a vigil for the women to ‘honour their lives.’
Writing on Instagram, the group wrote: “Honouring the lives of Jane Adetoro, Christina Walters, Rebecca Walters - three Black women who were pulled from the sea in Brighton.
“We gather in grief, remembrance, solidarity and love.
“Join us as we hold space for Black women, women of colour sisterhood, for mourning, for collective healing and for the guidance of ancestral wisdom.”
The vigil is set to be held at 8pm today May 24 at Black Rock Beach in Brighton.
Sussex Police say the investigation into the women’s deaths has involved the review of hundreds of hours of CCTV, enquiries at properties and businesses around the beach area to try and trace the women’s last movements and extensive engagement with our partners in Brighton and London.
They are appealing for anyone who has any information that could help the investigation to come forward.
Particularly anyone who may have seen the three women around the Madeira Drive area between 10pm on Tuesday, 12 May, and 5.30am on Wednesday, 13 May.
Anyone with information is urged to contact police online or via 101, quoting Operation Ledmore, serial 438 of 20/05.
Chief Superintendent Adam Hays, Divisional Commander for Brighton and Hove said: “The thoughts of everyone at Sussex Police are with the family of Jane, Christina and Rebecca following this devastating loss.
“I know this incident has had a profound impact on the local community in Brighton, and across the country and I’d like to reassure the public we will leave no stone unturned in our investigation to understand exactly what led to the tragic events of that Wednesday morning.
“This investigation will continue in earnest, with Jane, Christina and Rebecca’s family at its centre. I would ask that they are given the privacy to come to terms with this terrible tragedy.”
A fundraiser launched to help with the costs of arranging the three sisters’ funerals has now surpassed its £18,000 goal reaching over £41,000.
For more information about the GoFundMe, click here.