Methanol poisoning was the cause of death for the engaged couple who were found dead a month ago at a tourist villa in Vietnam. Investigations carried out by the police in that country point to the limoncello they purchased from a restaurant near the hotel.
Greta Marie Otteson, a British woman, and her partner, the South African Arno Els Quinton, had announced their engagement to their families in early December. Their deaths in separate and locked rooms were discovered after Christmas Day, when their bodies were found by workers at the hotel where they had been living for months.
The investigation found no evidence of third-party involvement, nor any indication that any of their belongings had been stolen. Only the fact that the police had taken two empty bottles for analysis was disclosed from the investigation.
The British newspaper Daily Mail reports, citing sources close to Gretta Otteson's family, that on Christmas Day she sent a message to her parents saying she had "the worst hangover of her life" and was seeing "black spots". The couple chose to sleep it off and dismissed seeking medical attention, even though it was suggested by others.
Methanol is a toxic chemical substance that is often found in adulterated or homemade alcohol. Consumption, even in small amounts, can lead to blindness, brain damage, and death.
Just a month earlier, the death of six other tourists in Laos had occurred. The presence of methanol in the alcohol they had consumed led to several arrests.