Introduction
To those who loved Charmain Speirs, many aspects of her death remain perplexing.
Following a whirlwind romance and rapid wedding, Charmain was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a hotel bathtub in Ghana six months later.
Her Ghanaian husband, Eric Adusah, head pastor of a Pentecostal church, was charged with her murder but later released due to insufficient evidence.
Known as "the prophet" by his followers, who believe he receives divine revelations directly from God, Adusah has denied any involvement in his wife's death.
BBC Documentary Raises Questions
Last month, a BBC Disclosure documentary questioned Adusah's version of events on the night Charmain, his Scottish wife, was last seen alive.
Friends and family expressed confusion over why Charmain left her seven-year-old son with members of her husband's church while traveling alone to Ghana.
Charmain's Mission to Discover Her Husband’s True Identity
In a new podcast series titled Charmain and the Prophet, Elma Adams, a woman in her 80s, suggests she may understand why Charmain traveled to Ghana.
Elma states Charmain was "on a mission" to uncover who her husband truly was.
Elma, a devout Christian, had been a maternal figure to Eric Adusah since meeting him in Edinburgh in 2012.
However, she believes the prophet exploited both her and Charmain for his own benefit.
Elma first met Adusah in a Christian bookshop in Edinburgh, recalling he was "very charming and easy to talk to." They exchanged numbers, and he later stayed with Elma and her late husband George when visiting Scotland.
Though based in London, Adusah's Global Light Revival church had branches in Manchester and Dublin.
Elma assisted in recruiting Christians to establish the Edinburgh branch, where Adusah stayed about once a month to host services.
Elma was fond of him, and he provided support during her cancer battle.
However, her impression changed after he began his relationship with Charmain.
"There seemed to be a lot of urgency to get married," she says. "What struck me was that they didn't impress me as a romantic couple. It was more like she was an acquisition rather than a beloved romantic partner, more like a stage prop than anything else."
Charmain and Eric’s Relationship
Charmain, originally from Arbroath, met Adusah through a Christian dating site in spring 2014. After a whirlwind romance, they married in September 2014.
At 40 years old and after several broken relationships, Charmain believed she had found the man of God she had long sought.
Within months, Charmain was known as the "first lady" of the church and appeared on publicity posters alongside her husband.
However, according to Elma and others interviewed by the BBC, all was not well behind the scenes.
Charmain lost contact with most friends, although Elma maintained communication, possibly due to her closeness with the prophet.
Elma recalls:
"She, from time to time, would phone me or leave me a text and she would be quite distressed, angry, emotional, resentful. She had little or no extra money at all. She was dependent on support from Eric."
Elma says Charmain confided that her husband insulted her appearance and controlled her clothing choices.
Other witnesses told the BBC they observed signs of coercive control after the marriage, and Charmain’s son alleged she was physically abused.
Another friend, Anne-Marie Bond, who remained in contact with Charmain, visited the couple’s home in Essex.
"She sat me down and she told me, 'I have got to tell you something. He is not who he says he is'."
Anne-Marie says Charmain revealed that Adusah had multiple identities and other women.
The BBC spoke with two women who had been in relationships with Adusah and alleged emotional abuse.
Additionally, another woman involved with him contacted Charmain to warn her.
Anne-Marie states Charmain was planning "an exit strategy" but still held some faith that her "prophet" was the man God intended for her.
"She still had that little bit of faith in her, that little belief that this was possibly the man that she's supposed to be with - because of God," Anne-Marie says.
Charmain’s Trip to Ghana
The reason Charmain traveled to Ghana, despite apparent plans to end the marriage, has remained unclear.
Elma believes Charmain sought to uncover more about her husband's background.
"She was adamant, she wanted to find out more about him and she wanted to meet his background," Elma says. "And I took that to be his family. She was very resentful at the end, and she was angry enough to go on what I say was a bit of a mission to find out what it was really all about."
Elma adds that Charmain felt strongly enough to leave her son behind and travel to Ghana to "get to the root of things."
Elma and Anne-Marie did not communicate with Charmain during her time in Ghana, but a friend from the Global Light Revival church, who remains unnamed for protection, claims to have been in regular phone contact with her while she was in West Africa.
In a statement to British police a month after Charmain’s death, this witness said Charmain had discovered her husband used another name and was older than he had claimed.
The witness also reported Charmain said Eric Adusah had another wife in Ghana.
The witness stated that on 16 March, Charmain planned to check into a hotel with Adusah, who was also in Ghana, to confront him.
Later that evening, the witness received a call from Charmain’s number and heard the couple in the background, with Adusah shouting and banging a table.
This was the day before Charmain was last seen alive.
Death and Investigation
On 20 March 2015, Charmain’s body was found in a bathtub at the hotel where she had spent time with her husband.
More than a decade later, a BBC Disclosure investigation revealed discrepancies in Adusah’s account of the events at the hotel.
Adusah told police he left the hotel after midnight to travel to Accra for a 06:00 meeting with a reverend before a scheduled flight back to the UK.
The BBC found the man Adusah claimed to meet did not confirm this story.
Adusah also omitted that three men visited their hotel room that night, one carrying a briefcase, and stayed for an hour before helping him load bags into his car.
Two of these men were later contacted and said they were praying in the room.
Eric Adusah, who now resides in the USA and uses the name Eric Isaiah Kusi Boateng, did not respond to the BBC’s inquiries regarding allegations of domestic abuse and coercive control.
Aftermath and Reflection
It has been over ten years since Charmain’s death.
Her friends, including Elma and Anne-Marie, continue to grapple with the circumstances, reflecting on their final moments with her.
"I just wish I did more though," says Anne-Marie. "Obviously she's a grown woman. I can't tell someone what to do. I wish I did do more."
For Elma, Charmain’s death has prompted reflection on the influence the prophet held over them both.
"We've both been conned, useful idiots, which is not a very nice way to put it, but we've been used," says Elma. "Charmain was used; she was a commodity."
