Essex woman’s death in Ghana hotel remains mystery after inquest
Coroner records open verdict into death of Charmain Speirs, rejecting possible conclusions of unlawful killing and suicide
The mystery surrounding the death of a British woman at a hotel in Ghana will hang over her husband “for the rest of his life”, her mother has said, after a coroner recorded an open conclusion at her inquest.
Charmain Speirs, 41, who was reportedly pregnant at the time, was found lifeless in the bath of a hotel room in the city of Koforidua in March 2015, two days after her husband Eric Adusah had returned to the UK, the inquest in Chelmsford heard.
An initial postmortem in Ghana gave the medical cause of death as a heroin overdose and a second postmortem eight months later in the UK found no evidence of assault, the hearing was told.
Adusah, a Christian preacher from Ghana, was arrested on suspicion of her murder by local police but the case was dropped due to insufficient evidence, the inquest heard.
After hearing evidence from Home Office pathologist Charlotte Randall, who carried out the second postmortem, senior Essex coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray rejected possible conclusions of unlawful killing, suicide and accidental death.
Recording the medical cause of death as acute opiate poisoning, she said: “Because there wasn’t sufficient evidence for any of these possible conclusions, I’m going to return an open conclusion. We shall never quite know what happened. There just isn’t the evidence.”
Earlier Adusah, who wore a wedding ring, had asked Randall: “Is there any way you could find out how [heroin] got in the body? I wasn’t there but my name has gone everywhere and I have no idea what happened. I don’t know how it got in her body. My wife never took that in the house. I never saw her do anything like that.”
Linda Speirs
Speaking outside, Charmain Speirs’ mother, Linda, said: “It is still hanging over him. It’s open, so it will hang over him for the rest of his life.”
She told reporters it would “definitely” be impossible for her daughter to inject or put heroin into her own body. “She wouldn’t have done it. We know that for a fact. She just wouldn’t have done it,” she said.
Linda Speirs said the inquest was “done well” but “didn’t go into great details”.
Charmain Speirs’ mother and stepfather, Peter, were at the hearing along with Adusah and about 30 members of his congregation.
The inquest heard that Speirs’ body was found by staff at the Mac-Dic Royal Plaza hotel after she failed to check out at midday on 20 March 2015, as scheduled.
Randall, who conducted the second postmortem after the body was returned to Essex where Speirs lived, said the examination was limited because the body had been embalmed and more than eight months had passed since Speirs’ death.
The Ghanaian postmortem was conducted within a week of the death, when blood and urine samples could be analysed, and heroin was detected.
Randall conducted tests on hair and found no traces of opiates, suggesting no evidence of long-term drug use. Further toxicology tests found traces of morphine and other substances.
She conducted an external examination of the body and found no evidence of assault, and also found nothing that suggested death from natural causes.
The second postmortem recorded the medical cause of death as unascertained.
Randall said she could not rule out “interference with the mechanics of breathing while intoxicated”.
DI Stuart Smith, of Essex constabulary, said officers were notified of the death by the National Crime Agency. He said police in Ghana did not request assistance with their investigation.
“It’s my view that there’s been a significant police investigation with judicial oversight,” he said. “There’s no direct evidence linking (Adusah) to the death of the deceased.”
Speirs, who had lived in Rayleigh, Essex, grew up in Scotland and spent several years in Swansea where she worked for the NHS.
The coroner extended her sympathies to loved ones, noting Speirs was a “striking-looking, attractive woman who had a bright future in front of her. It’s very clear that she was much-loved”.
Adusah is leader of the Global Light Revival Ministries church in Tottenham, north London. It describes itself as a growing international, multicultural Christian church. It also has a branch in Edinburgh.
