Cause of death confirmed after British woman found dead with fiancé in Vietnam
A British woman found dead with her fiancé on Boxing Day was killed by methanol poisoning from ‘homemade’ limoncello, Vietnamese police believe.
Greta Marie Otteson, 33, and Arno Els Quinton, 36, were found dead Boxing Day at the Hoi An Silverbell Villa, a hotel they’d run for 10 months.
Social media manager Otteson was on her bed, while the South African musician, barista and streamer was in a nearby room where he kept his instruments.
Their belongings were ‘untouched’. There were no signs of injury or trauma. The cause of death was unclear.
But after testing empty bottles collected from the room, Vietnamese police believe they’ve found the answer – methanol poisoning.
A bottle of ‘homemade’ limoncello bought from a local restaurant on Christmas Eve is thought to be the source, the Times reports.
Otteson’s parents, Susan and Paul, said: ‘Both Greta and Arno were experienced worldwide travellers. They found their perfect home and were incredibly happy with their life in Vietnam, planning for the future.
‘The Vietnamese police have now confirmed that the cause of death was methanol poisoning, as verified by the autopsy results.’
They added: ‘They were a loving couple with their life ahead of them. The tributes we have had from around the world are unbelievable. Our aim is to bring the people who supplied the alcohol and killed Greta and Arno to justice.’
Otteson and Els had ordered two of them to be delivered to the hotel reception around 10pm after dining at another restaurant.
It costs about £2.70 per shot, according to the menu where it is listed with the word ‘homemade’ in brackets.
Complaining to her parents over WhatsApp the next day, Otteson described it a ‘the worst hangover ever’ and said she was seeing ‘black spots’. She wanted to ‘sleep it off’.
A source told the Times: ‘A local bar owner and a fantastic friend called over and wanted to take them to hospital but they refused. Sadly I think it was too late by then. Police forensics established the limoncello, which had been delivered, was the source.’
Methanol is a toxic chemical mostly used to make solvents, pesticides, paint thinners, and alternative fuels. But it finds its way into bootleg alcohol too.
Similar to ethanol – the pure form of alcohol – it can sometimes be found in homemade and knock-off, counterfeit versions.
You won’t taste it in your drink, but it can prove deadly for humans because our bodied turn it into formic acid that burns the inside of our mouth, throat and stomach.
This can cause difficulty swallowing, vomiting, blindness, headaches, confusion, brain damage and death.
It killed six tourists in the town of Vang Vieng, in neighbouring Laos, in November.
British lawyer Simone White, 28, bestfriends Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones, both 19, two Danish women and an American man died.
Holly’s father Shaun told the BBC: ‘She was just full of life. She was confident, she was loving, she was just a true friend of people.
In Turkey, 23 people died and dozens more were injured after drinking alcohol contaminated with methanol in Istanbul this month.
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