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Italian woman, fiance killed by limoncello drink sent by her parents in Vietnam; now they seek justice

The couple had shared bottles of homemade limoncello, a lemon-flavoured liqueur, that Greta’s parents, Paul and Susan Otteson, had gifted during Christmas.

Just hours before her death, Greta had texted her parents, describing what she believed was a hangover and calling it “the worst hangover ever" (Representational image/Pexels)

The grieving parents of a young Italian woman who died of methanol poisoning after drinking contaminated limoncello in Vietnam say they are still waiting for justice nine months after her death.
Greta Otteson, a former Cardiff University student, and her fiance, Arno Quinton from South Africa, were found dead on Boxing Day 2024 in separate rooms of their villa in Hoi An, where they had been living and hosting travellers.

The couple had shared bottles of homemade limoncello — a lemon-flavoured liqueur — that Greta’s parents, Paul and Susan Otteson, had gifted during Christmas. But the drink was later found to contain dangerously high levels of methanol, a toxic alcohol commonly used in industrial cleaning products.

Just hours before her death, Greta had texted her parents, describing what she believed was a hangover and calling it “the worst hangover ever.” She never woke up after lying down to rest.

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“She was a marvellous free spirit and a hard worker,” Greta’s father, Paul, 71, told the BBC. “We just want justice.” A post-mortem confirmed that both Greta and Arno died from acute methanol poisoning.

Vietnamese authorities charged a local barman in February with “violating regulations on food safety.” He allegedly mixed medical-grade alcohol — usually used for disinfection — with water, lemon peel, and sugar to produce two bottles of limoncello. If convicted, he faces 7 to 15 years in prison under Vietnamese law.

But since then, Greta’s parents say they have received no updates. “We can’t move on,” Paul said. “Susan asks me every morning, ‘Is there any news?’ And every day I have to say, ‘No, nothing yet.’ It’s about accountability. Justice for us would be naming the people responsible and prosecuting them.”

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The Ottesons had visited Hoi An a month before the tragedy and often dined at an Italian restaurant called Good Morning Vietnam, where guests were served free shots of homemade limoncello. That experience inspired their Christmas gift to their daughter. Today, they hold the ashes of both Greta and Arno but say they cannot lay them to rest until the case reaches a conclusion.

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“We want to put them to rest,” they said. “But we feel we can’t do that until we get a proper conclusion.”

Responding to the tragedy, UK Foreign Office Minister Seema Malhotra said the government is working to raise awareness about the risks of counterfeit alcohol abroad.

“We know that methanol poisoning and counterfeit alcohol pose a serious, life-threatening risk to British travellers in some parts of the world,” she said. “This is a deeply concerning issue, and we are committed to helping keep people safe. We are tackling this head-on, working with local authorities and over 150 travel industry partners to raise awareness of the dangers.”