The parents of the pregnant Angus woman who was found dead in a bathtub in Ghana grew increasingly worried about their daughter in the weeks leading up to her death.
In an exclusive interview with The Courier, Linda and Peter Speirs revealed how they tried desperately to make contact with their daughter Charmain, who had travelled to Africa to attend a funeral with her husband.
They last heard from Charmain on March 8 and in the days before her body was discovered on March 20 sent several text messages and voicemails to her phone, which seemed to be switched off.
Linda, 61, was so concerned about her daughter’s welfare that she opened a missing person case with local police.
The 41-year-old was found face down in a bath by hotel workers at the Mac Dic Royal Plaza Hotel, Koforidua, inGhana’s Eastern Region on March 20.
Charmain’s husband Eric Isaiah Adusah, 28, who is a self-proclaimed prophet and leader of Global Light RevivalMinistries Church based in London, has now been arrested for her murder.
“March 8 was the last time Charmain contacted me and she normally calls me two or three times a week,” said Linda from her home in Arbroath.
“I had been leaving messages and voicemails on her phone to get in touch and asking what’s wrong.I knew something wasn’t right.”
Linda received a text message, apparently from Charmain’s husband Eric, on March 18 after he had travelled back to Britain alone.
Police in Ghana think that at this point Charmain had already died. The state of her body when it was discovered by hotel workers indicates she had already been dead for three or four days.
Linda said: “I received a text saying ‘that’s me back, mum’ making out that it was from Charmain. It wasn’t it was from him (Eric). That was on the 18th.
“I texted back ‘Hi Charmain, is that you back in Britain? That’s good’.And all I got back was ‘No, it’s Eric’.
“I asked him where Charmain was. He said ‘she not want to come home’. He said she wanted to stay extra days and that she hadn’t gone to the airport to wave goodbye.”
Eric then texted Linda, stating he had received a call from Ghana sayingCharmain, who was three months pregnant, was in hospital and was very ill.
Linda claims that when Eric sent this text message he had already been told the body had been discovered.
“Eric texted me to say he’d just received a phone call from Ghana to say that Charmain had been taken tohospital and that she was ill.
“But he’d already been told in the morning that she was dead. He was lying to me.
“On Saturday night (March 21) he said he was trying to get a flight and that he would go to the hospital on Monday.
“I was asking him what was wrong with her and for the name of the hospital so I could phone them. He wouldn’t tell me.”
Linda and Peter spoke to the police on March 22, who opened a missingperson’s case. The following morning, Linda and Peter received a phone call from a Bishop in Ghana, informing them Charmain was dead.
Eric has not submitted a plea to the charge that he caused the death of Ms Speirs by “unlawful harm.” Applications by his lawyers for bail have been refused.
Linda said she was frustrated at the lack of information received from Ghana and said police investigating the case had not contacted them at all.
“It’s shocking that we as the parents are not being told anything,” she added.Charmain caught up in whirlwind romanceIt was a complete shock when Charmain told her parents she was getting married last year as they didn’t even know she had a boyfriend.
Charmain lived in Swansea for the past 11 years after moving there to study photography at Swansea Metropolitan University. She owned a house, which she lived in with her eight-year-old son Isaac who she had in a previous relationship.
When she broke the news of her engagement to her mother Linda she said the wedding was just three months away.
“It was a whirlwind romance,” said Linda.“She phoned me up and said ‘I’m getting married, mum’ and I said ‘I didn’t even know you had a boyfriend’.
“She said he’s really good to me. He buys me this, he buys me that. Turned out it was all for show.
“I said are you bringing him up to meet us? She said yes, but he never came. We met him the day before the wedding.”
Linda said the wedding in September was arranged in such a hurry that only her immediate family herparents and brother Paul were invited. She said the marriage quickly deteriorated.
“Eric didn’t even speak to us at the wedding,” Linda added.“We now know from speaking to her best pal that she had doubts about the marriage on her wedding day and it deteriorated immediately.
“He didn’t give her any moneyand he had nothing to do with my grandson.Charmain told Eric that she wanted to stay in Swansea for a year so that Isaac could get used to him.
“But a few weeks later he went against his word and said ‘we’removing to Essex’.”
Peter and Linda last saw their 41-year-old daughter exactly a month before her death, when she stayed with them at their Moir Place home for six days.
Linda said that Charmain was in tears about the state of her marriage when she left Arbroath on February 20.
“I only wish she had opened up and we wouldn’t have allowed her back,” said Linda.
Linda said Charmain had her three-month pregnancy scan shortly before leaving for Ghana, to attend the funeral of Eric’s father.
Charmain suffered bad morning sickness but despite this Eric showed her little support, Linda said, spending more of his time at the Global Light Revival Ministries Church.
“He was always away,” said Linda.Lawyer claims autopsy showed self-inflicted heroin overdoseReports from Ghana indicate thatCharmain may have been dead for up to four days when her body was found.
Eric Adusah allegedly left the hotel on March 17, a day after the couple had checked in, after telling staff his wife did not like to be disturbed and she would call on them if required.
He then flew back to Britain and only returned to Ghana after his wife’s body was discovered. He had been “invited” to return by police who suspected foul play.
He was then arrested for her murder. Mr Adusah is yet to submit a plea in court to the charge.
However, his lawyer has claimed that an autopsy shows that Charmain died from a heroin overdose which was “very self inflicted”.
Charmain’s mother Linda saidCharmain would never take drugs.Husband won’t allow family to bring daughter’s body homeCharmain’s parents have been desperately trying to bring her body back to Scotland since being told the devastating news of her death.
However, Ghanaian law meanspermission has to be granted byCharmain’s husband.
Currently imprisoned in Ghana’s capital Accra while he awaits his trial, Eric Adusah is not granting approval to her parents.
“We want to get her body home so we can put her to rest,” said Linda.
“It was her birthday last week which was a very hard day for me, especially when she’s still lying out there.
“We’ve spoken to the High Commissioner about it but Ghanaian law states the husband needs to give permission and Britain can’t interfere withGhanaian law.
“We just want to get her home.”