Death of British woman blamed on heroin overdose
An autopsy report on a British woman who was allegedly murdered by her husband in a hotel in Koforidua has blamed the cause of her death on heroin overdose and acute poisoning.
Charmaine Adubrefoh, 41, was found dead on March 20, 2015, three days after her Ghanaian husband, Prophet Isaiah Adubrefoh, who is resident in the United Kingdom, had checked out of the Royal Mac Dic Plaza where they were lodging.
The report was tendered in by the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Isaac Agba Mahia.
The court has remanded Prophet Adubrefoh who is facing a charge of murder, in police custody to reappear on April 20, 2015.
Defence counsel
Counsel for the accused person, Nana K. N. Adomako Acheampong, said since the autopsy report did not name his client as the one responsible for his woman’s death, he could not be held liable.
He said when the woman died, her husband was not in the country but in the UK, busily engaged in his pastoral work.
He, therefore, prayed the court to take judicial notice of the second cause of death, an overdose of heroin.
He argued that the British woman could have been responsible for her own death, as she might have injected the heroin into her body.
He also urged the court to take into consideration the fact that the woman was alone in the hotel room at the time the incident occurred and, therefore, the cause of her death could not be blamed on her husband.
According to Mr Acheampong, when Charmaine’s death was reported to her husband in the UK, he flew back to Ghana.
Counsel, therefore, asked the court to admit the accused person to bail, since his continued detention for the past two weeks infringed his basic human rights.
Bail denied
The court, however, declined to grant the bail application on the grounds that it was beyond the jurisdiction of the Magistrate Court to grant bail in a homicide charge.
The court told counsel that he reserved the right to apply for bail at the Human Rights Court.
Solidarity
The trial attracted some members of the clergy, church members and relatives of the accused person.
Their presence, according to his counsel, was a proof that the accused was a responsible man of God, who could not have committed the crime levelled against him.
Background
The body of Charmaine was found on March 20, three days after Prophet Adubrefoh had checked out of the Royal Mac Dic Plaza where they were lodging.
Confirming the incident to newsmen in Koforidua, the Deputy Eastern Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mr James Abass Abaah, said the lady and her husband had checked into the hotel on March 16 and were scheduled to check out on March 21.
He said the man, however, checked out the next day, en route to Europe, with specific instructions that his wife did not want to be disturbed and would, therefore, call the reception if she needed anything.
According to Mr Abaah, between March 18 and 20, the lady neither called the reception nor came out of her room.
However, when the check out time was due, the hotel workers found the door to her room locked and they decided to force it open, only to find the woman dead.
