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The grieving parents of a female who passed away alongside her boyfriend after drinking tainted lemon-flavored alcohol say they are desperate for justice.

Greta Otteson, thirty-three, and the man, thirty-six, were located without life on Boxing Day in Hoi An, Vietnam, as a result of lethal substance ingestion.

Hours earlier, she had messaged her mother and father, her relatives, to say she had "a terrible hangover imaginable" and was going to rest, but she did not awaken.

A server who allegedly prepared the beverage was arrested in last winter and is being held while under investigation. Her relatives explain they have had little information from the authorities.

"This is about accountability," said Greta's dad, noting: "We cannot find closure."

The harmful substance is a type of chemical often found in industrial supplies, energy sources and coolants.

It is similar to drinking alcohol, which is intended for cocktails, but it is more affordable and far deadlier to people as a result of the way it is processed by the organism.

In the parents' home in their village, the Welsh county, a pair of square bags remain next to the stairs – the first has a pink bunny sitting on top, the second, a plush bear.

They keep the couple's ashes.

"They sit in the home with me and Susan," shared Paul, a former worker. "We want to put them to rest, but we think we are unable to do that until we get a proper conclusion."

The woman had been living in Hoi An with the man, her foreign boyfriend of approximately a couple of years, where the duo operated a accommodation offering rooms to travellers.

Greta was an sole offspring, referred to by her parent as "wonderful", a "independent soul" and a "dedicated individual" who trained in Cardiff, Paris and Los Angeles.

In late 2024, Paul, seventy-one and the mother, seventy, had journeyed to the Asian country, encountering Greta's partner for the initial occasion, and the two shared their engagement soon afterwards.

"Their time together proved beautiful – we were so joyful," recalled Paul, who referred to the man as "calm but highly intelligent" and someone he "dreamed to have as a family member."

In their trip, the parents dined a several times at a local restaurant, a famous establishment, where they enjoyed the food and accepted free glasses of house-made limoncello at the end.

Several weeks later, when the parents had departed their trip and were thinking to decide on a Christmas gift for the young couple, they thought back to the eatery and its products of their specialty drink and opted to purchase a number of them for delivery to their loved one's house.

That choice was a action that would have the heartbreaking consequences.

Just a short time of consuming the limoncello, the woman contacted her relatives on December 25 to say she had a severe hangover and was noticing black spots but ignored advice from family, and a visitor who had stopped by, to seek medical help.

The pair were pronounced dead in individual rooms of the home on the following day. Moments later, Paul and Susan were on a plane to Vietnam.

Paul described the significant social media rumors that followed as well as the struggle to handle the logistics of dealing with a loss in a overseas country.

Soon quickly before post mortem examinations confirmed Greta and Arno had passed away from acute chemical consumption.

In early this year, police apprehended a barman who served in a eatery in the city for "disregarding regulations on edible items" by "utilizing used strong industrial spirit, mixed with filtered water, citrus rind and sweetener to make multiple containers of the beverage."

According to national law, the crime could result in a highest jail time of seven to 15 years.

Numerous of individuals are harmed by the substance every year in Southeast Asian nations, as stated by charity organizations.

Their deaths came just weeks after multiple people were killed of similar causes in a neighboring country, a country which shares a boundary with Vietnam.

The family were informed investigations require patience in the country, with the chance of a accused being kept for a year before being indicted or released.

The family expressed the wait for information was becoming extremely difficult.

"I just want justice," emphasized Paul. "They cannot heal. Susan says to me every morning when we wake up, 'is there updates? Any changes?' I have to say 'not yet, no news yet'."

"It's about responsibility," he continued. "A resolution for me and Susan would be holding responsible the individuals responsible and charging them."

Paul and Susan explained they also felt "deeply disturbed" the establishment where they had purchased the limoncello was still open and had not openly apologised.

"They just carried on as if no tragedy has occurred," said Greta's parent.

Regarding the parents, the sorrow is still very raw.

Greta's dad