A British woman and her South African fiance were found dead in separate rooms at a luxury Vietnamese villa just three weeks after announcing their engagement.
Greta Marie Otteson, 33, and Arno Els Quinton, 36, reportedly drank wine at the £105 per night Hoi An Silverbell villa in Hoi An Town in Central Quang Nam province.
They were later discovered dead in separate rooms by shocked resort staff who arrived to clean the property on December 26.
Greta, believed to be from Wales, was said to have been lying in her bed lifeless in room 101, before officers barged into Arno’s locked room, 201, and also found him dead.
A provincial police spokesman said: ‘There were no signs of ransacking at the scene. The victims’ belongings and phones were untouched.’
Police said there were no signs of trauma and that they collected empty liquor bottles from the room for analysis.
The 4.5-star rated villa located in the Cam Thanh district overlooks the river and is just a short 4.5 km from Hoi An Ancient Town, making it the ideal accommodation for the travel lovers.
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.
A British woman and her South African fiance were found dead inside a holiday villa in Vietnam on Boxing Day. Pictured: Hoi An Silverbell villa in Hoi An Town in central Quang Nam province
The pair were discovered dead in separate rooms by shocked resort staff who arrived to clean the property
The tragic news of their deaths came just three weeks after the couple announced their engagement on Instagram
In a heart-warming Instagram post, uploaded on December 3, Greta and Arno shared a selection of their engagement pictures which showed them embracing on a beach and the bride-to-be’s ring.
On December 11, 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 Greta 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, Arno reveals the pair met in the Middle East before moving to Vietnam in a life change that he described as ‘fun’, ‘crazy’, and ‘insane’.
Greta ran a social media and content marketing agency called Not Sorry Social.
According to her Instagram account, she had lived in Dubai and travelled to a number of countries in Asia before settling in Vietnam with her fiance.
Arno, a professional barista, appears to have worked as head roster at an artisan roastery in the United Arab Emirates until late 2023, according to his LinkedIn.
He has also worked as a stand-up comedian, events coordinator and produced music.
Following their mysterious deaths, several of their friends have taken to social media to express their condolences and pay tribute to the couple.
One wrote: ‘Greta loved Arno unconditionally and was his bedrock, giving him the freedom to do what he needed to without a faltering foundation’.
The couple had applied for temporary residence at the villa last summer
Greta ran a social media and content marketing agency called Not Sorry Social
Greta, believed to be from Wales, was said to have been lying in her bed lifeless in room 101, before officers barged into Arno’s locked room, 201, and also found him dead
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.
‘They celebrated each other there and I know they will continue doing that, wherever they are.’
Arno’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’.
Known as Pam, she urged people to ‘respect the families pain and privacy’, claiming ‘Greta and Arno’s families have not yet claimed their bodies’.
It comes after a British tourist died in Thailand after suffering a severe reaction to magic mushrooms.
The 25-year-old was enjoying a Christmas break with his girlfriend when he allegedly bought the hallucinogenic drug from a shop in Chiang Mai.
He reportedly had a horrific instant reaction to the mushrooms and died soon after.
