Parents say poisoned limoncello they bought killed daughter and fiancé in Vietnam

The parents of a British woman who died alongside her fiancé in central Vietnam say the limoncello they ordered as a Christmas present for the couple was later found to be laced with methanol.

Greta Marie Otteson, 33, and her partner, Arno Quinton, 36, were found dead on Boxing Day in their villa in Hoi An, Vietnamese authorities and relatives said. Post-mortem examinations determined both deaths were caused by severe methanol poisoning.

Paul and Susan Otteson, who travelled to Vietnam in November to meet Quinton for the first time, told British media they had eaten with the couple at an Italian restaurant in Hoi An that served free shots of homemade limoncello. The couple announced their engagement after that visit, the parents said, and later sent a bottle of the limoncello from the restaurant to their daughter as a Christmas gift.

According to the family, hours after drinking the limoncello Greta reported a severe hangover and visual disturbances, telling her parents she was seeing black spots. Friends and relatives urged her to seek medical help, they said, but she declined and later went to lie down. On Dec. 26 the couple were found dead in separate rooms of their villa.

Vietnamese authorities arrested a bartender in February on suspicion of violating food safety regulations after tests linked the limoncello to methanol poisoning, family members and Vietnamese officials said. The suspect is reported to have used 70-degree medical-grade alcohol, along with filtered water, lemon peel and white sugar, to produce two bottles of the liqueur. He was being held without formal charges pending investigation; if convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison under Vietnamese law.

The Ottesons said they had received no substantive update from the investigation since the arrest in February and that the restaurant where they ordered the limoncello remained open and had not issued a public apology. "We can't move on," Paul Otteson said. "Justice for us would be naming the people responsible and prosecuting them." The couple said they had Greta's and Arno's ashes at their home in Rhandirmwyn, Carmarthenshire, and would not lay them to rest until the inquiry was concluded.

Methanol is a toxic alcohol used industrially as a solvent, anti-freeze and fuel. It is chemically similar to ethanol, the alcohol found in beverages, but the body metabolises methanol into formic acid and formaldehyde, which can cause blindness, organ failure and death. Doctors Without Borders has reported hundreds of methanol poisonings across Southeast Asia each year, often linked to illicitly produced or improperly denatured alcohol.

The Hoi An deaths follow other recent incidents in the region. In late 2024 six people, including a 28-year-old British lawyer, died after drinking methanol-laced shots in Laos, a landlocked neighbour of Vietnam, highlighting recurring public health and safety concerns tied to unregulated alcoholic products in parts of Southeast Asia.

Vietnamese investigators have said autopsies confirmed severe methanol poisoning in the Hoi An case and that they seized samples for laboratory testing. The Ottesons said they were told local procedures can be slow and that suspects may be detained for long periods before charges are filed or cases are resolved.

Friends and acquaintances of the pair paid tribute on social media, describing the couple as happy and excited about their first Christmas together in a new country. The Ottesons described their daughter as a lively, well-travelled woman who had studied in Cardiff, Paris and Los Angeles before moving to Vietnam, and said they had been keen to welcome Quinton into the family.

The investigation remains ongoing. British consular officials typically provide support to families in such cases and can liaise with local authorities, but decisions on criminal charges and prosecutions rest with Vietnamese prosecutors and courts. The Ottesons have said they will continue to press for clarity and for those responsible to be identified and prosecuted.