A British woman and her fiancé were found dead on Boxing day in a Vietnamese hotel after drinking contaminated alcohol, it was tonight claimed.
Greta Marie Otteson, 33, and her partner Arno Els Quinton, 36, had dinner together on Christmas Eve. They returned home around 10 pm and decided to order two bottles of homemade limoncello from a restaurant.
They were later discovered dead in separate rooms by shocked resort staff at the hotel that the couple had been running for ten months.
Vietnamese police have since confirmed their deaths were caused by methanol poisoning, believed to be from the limoncello.
On Christmas day, Ms. Otteson messaged her parents, sharing that she was experiencing the worst hangover and seeing black spots in her vision, according to a source familiar with the family.
The couple, who had moved to Vietnam in February last year, decided to try to ‘sleep it off’ rather than seeking medical attention.
Despite a concerned visit from a local bar owner who was a close friend and offered to take them to the hospital, Otteson and Quinton declined the help. Tragically, the help came too late, as expressed by the source in a statement to the Times.
‘Police forensics established the limoncello, which had been delivered, was the source.’
Greta Marie Otteson, 33, and her partner Arno Els Quinton, 36, went out for dinner on Christmas Eve before arriving back home at 10pm and ordering two bottles of ‘homemade’ limoncello from another restaurant
They were later discovered dead in separate rooms by shocked resort staff at the hotel that the couple had been running for ten months
Vietnamese police have since confirmed their deaths were caused by methanol poisoning, believed to be from the limoncello delivered to the couple’s villa (pictured)
A pictured posted online shows the restaurant’s menu calling the lemon liqueur ‘homemade’ and costing 85,000 Vietnamese dong per shot, which is around £2.70.
Five weeks earlier, six people, including Simone White, 28, a British lawyer, died after drinking methanol-laced shots in a Laos backpacking hotspot, the landlocked country bordering Vietnam.
Ms Otteson, believed to be from Wales, was said to have been lying in her bed lifeless in room 101, before officers barged into Mr Quinton’s locked room, and also found him dead.
A close friend to Mr Quinton had sent him voice message just hours before his tragic death.
The friend – who preferred to not be named – said he had ‘sounded super happy and excited about Christmas’.
‘I think their plans were just to be together and experience [Christmas] in a new country. It’s very tragic’.
Friends of the pair flooded social media with heartfelt tributes, with one stating: ‘Greta loved Arno unconditionally and was his bedrock, giving him the freedom to do what he needed to without a faltering foundation’.
He went on to say: ‘There are two distinct things that are so prominent in my thoughts and that is her laugh and how much love they constantly [threw] at each other, regardless of who was around.
The pair had reportedly got engaged in December before they were found dead
The pair were discovered dead in separate rooms by shocked resort staff who arrived to clean the property
Both individuals had registered for long-term temporary residence at the tourist villa from July 4 this year and were understood to have got engaged in December
‘They celebrated each other there and I know they will continue doing that, wherever they are.’
Mr Quinton’s friend Dayle Visser wrote online: ‘Rest in peace my brother. Thank you for always being the fierce friend you were. You saved me many a time.
‘You were real and lived life harder than most people could ever dream of. I love you and I will always miss you.’
A woman on X/Twitter, claiming to be a family spokesperson, also took to the platform to ‘confirm that Greta Otteson and Arno Els have passed away in Vietnam on the 26th of December’.
According to a Vietnam News report, both individuals had registered for long-term temporary residence at the tourist villa from July 4 this year and were understood to have got engaged in December.
Following the tragic incident, and amid investigations, police cordoned off the rooms as they launched probes into the deaths.
Travel lover Ms Otteson had previously lived in Dubai, where she met Mr Quinton. The pair had been together for at least three years.
She was a digital strategist who ran a social media and content marketing agency called Not Sorry Socials. Mr Quinton was a barista, musician, and streamer.
Travel lover Ms Otteson had previously lived in Dubai, where she met Mr Quinton (pictured)
Ms Otteson (pictured) was a digital strategist who ran a social media and content marketing agency called Not Sorry Socials
The devastating news came just days after the couple surprised their families with a romantic video posted to YouTube of their engagement.
It contained a montage of clips showing the couple holding hands and walking around Hoi An, Vietnam, with Ms Otteson in a white dress.
‘This shoot was charged with so much emotion, reminding us how powerful the union of two souls can be. We will miss you great souls,’ Red Eye Studios, the video company captioned the clip.
In the clip, Mr Quinton reveals the pair met in the Middle East before moving to Vietnam in a life change that he described as ‘fun’, ‘crazy’, and ‘insane’.
