The British Greta Otteson (33) and the South African Arno Quinton (36) were found dead on December 26, 2024 in their home in Hoi An, in Vietnam. The couple had been living in the town near Da Nang for about two years, where they rented rooms in a villa to travelers.
Methanol Sneak killer of unsuspecting tourists, how do you prevent you from becoming a mistake?
In November they received a visit from Otteson’s parents, where Paul (71) and Susan (70) met Arno for the first time. Shortly thereafter the couple announced their engagement. “It was great, we were so happy,” says Paul. During their stay, the four ate a number of times Good Morning Vietnaman Italian restaurant where they received free shots of homemade limoncello at the end.
When Otteson’s parents were back home a few weeks later, they ordered a few bottles from that Limoncello for delivery to their daughter as a Christmas gift. A few hours after drinking the Limoncello, Greta sent a message to her parents to say that she “had a terrible hangover” and “saw black spots.” Her father and mother urged the doctor, but Otteson did not respond to that.
Found dead in Villa
Both Otteson and her partner were found dead a day later in their villa. After autopsy it turned out that the couple had died of serious methanol poisoning
© Quang Nam Provincial Police
In February, the police arrested a bartender who worked in a restaurant in Hoi An because of “violating food safety regulations” by using “used medical alcohol of 70 degrees, along with filtered water, lemon zest and white sugar to make two bottles of limoncello”. According to the Vietnamese government, the man risks a maximum prison sentence of up to fifteen years.
Methanol is a kind of alcohol that is common in cleaning products, fuel and antifreeze. It is similar to ethanol, which is used for alcoholic beverages, but it is cheaper and toxic for people because of the way it is processed by the body.
Hundreds of poisoned annually by Methanol
According to Doctors Without Borders, hundreds of people in Southeast Asia are poisoned by methanol every year. The death of Greta and Arno followed only a few weeks after six people died of methanol poisoning in Laos, a neighboring country of Vietnam.