A grieving family of a woman who passed away alongside her partner after ingesting poisoned limoncello express they are desperate for accountability.
The woman, 33, and her partner, 36, were discovered deceased on Boxing Day in the tourist destination, the Southeast Asian country, as a outcome of methanol poisoning.
A short time earlier, the woman had messaged her mother and father, Paul and Susan Otteson, to say she had "a terrible headache ever" and was going to sleep, but she never woke up.
A server who reportedly prepared the beverage was detained in February and is being kept without charge. The family say they have had little information from the authorities.
"It's about answers," said Greta's dad, noting: "The family cannot find closure."
Methanol is a type of compound typically used in household chemicals, gasoline and antifreeze.
This substance is similar to consumable spirits, which is used for cocktails, but it is more affordable and highly dangerous to individuals due to the way it is metabolized by the human system.
At the parents' house in their community, their hometown, two urns remain near the entryway – the first has a pink bunny resting on top, the second, a plush bear.
They keep the couple's ashes.
"The urns stay in the home with the family," said Paul, a ex- worker. "We want to give them a final resting place, but we think we cannot do that until we get a proper conclusion."
Their daughter had been living in the coastal town with her partner, her international fiance of approximately a couple of years, where the pair managed a guesthouse offering spaces to visitors.
Greta was an single daughter, described by her dad as "wonderful", a "free spirit" and a "dedicated individual" who educated herself in the UK, Paris and Los Angeles.
In late 2024, Greta's dad, in his seventies and Greta's mum, seventy, had journeyed to Southeast Asia, getting to know Greta's partner for the first time, and the pair revealed their engagement shortly afterwards.
"The trip felt heartwarming – we were so joyful," recalled the father, who described Arno as "reserved but highly intelligent" and someone he "dreamed to have as a relative."
In their trip, the family dined a multiple times at an Italian eatery, a famous establishment, where they enjoyed the food and received free shots of handcrafted specialty drink at the conclusion.
Some weeks later, when the couple had left their trip and were thinking to think of a Christmas gift for Greta and Arno, they remembered the eatery and its bottles of limoncello and chose to purchase a couple of them for transport to their child's house.
That choice was a action that would have the heartbreaking consequences.
Within moments of consuming the beverage, Greta contacted her relatives on Christmas Day to say she had a terrible sickness and was seeing black spots but ignored suggestions from her parents, and a friend who had come over, to seek medical help.
The couple were discovered deceased in different spaces of the villa on December 26. Moments later, the parents were on a plane to Vietnam.
Paul remembered the intense social media theories that came after as well as the difficulty to handle the formalities of coping with a death in a foreign country.
It was a short time before post mortem examinations revealed Greta and Arno had passed away from lethal methanol poisoning.
During February, police apprehended a bartender who worked in a restaurant in the area for "disregarding regulations on consumable products" by "utilizing repurposed high-proof medical grade spirit, mixed with filtered water, fruit skin and white sugar to create several units of the drink."
Based on local law, the crime could carry a potential jail time of seven to 15 years.
Numerous of people are affected by methanol every year in South East Asia, as stated by charity groups.
The couple's fatalities came just a short time after six people died of methanol poisoning in Laos, a territory which is next to Vietnam.
Paul and Susan were informed investigations take a long time in the region, with the possibility of a suspect being held for a year before being charged or let go.
They expressed the wait for information was becoming extremely difficult.
"We just want closure," stated Paul. "The family are stuck. Susan questions each day when we get up, 'is there information? Have there been changes?' I have to say 'nothing, nothing yet'."
"This situation is about answers," he continued. "A resolution for the family would be holding responsible the parties involved and prosecuting them."
Paul and Susan explained they also felt "very upset" the establishment where they had ordered the product was operating as usual and had not openly acknowledged responsibility.
"The management just proceeded as if no incident has occurred," said Greta's parent.
In the case of the family, the pain is still very fresh.
The father
