Laos has said it could not bring homicide-related charges over the deaths of six foreign tourists likely poisoned by methanol-tainted alcohol because authorities did not conduct autopsies on the victims.
The ministry of public security said the lack of forensic evidence meant investigators could not determine the cause of the deaths or establish criminal responsibility.
Speaking at a press conference in Vientiane on Friday, Colonel Khamphong Vongdalasene said investigators did not “have sufficient evidence that can confirm that the deaths of the tourists were caused by the action of any individual or any other causes”.
He said this was because authorities “have not conducted an autopsy on the bodies of these people”, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
The briefing was attended by representatives from the Australian, British, and Danish governments, but international media were not allowed to attend.
Laos’ ministry of public security said in a separate statement on Saturday that investigators “lacked the forensic evidence necessary to determine the cause of death” because autopsies had not been carried out.
It added that tests had nevertheless found “excessive levels of methanol” in vodka produced by the distillery under investigation.
The six victims were Briton Simone White, 28, Australians Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-Bowles, both 19, Danish citizens Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, and Freja Vennervald Sorensen, 21, and American James Louis Hutson, 57.
All six died after falling ill in November 2024 following a night out in the backpacker town of Vang Vieng. Multiple victims had been staying at the Nana Backpacker Hostel, where guests reportedly consumed complimentary shots of locally produced Tiger Vodka before visiting other bars.
Methanol is a toxic industrial alcohol that is sometimes illegally added to counterfeit or illegally produced spirits because it is cheaper than ethanol. Even small amounts can cause blindness, organ failure and death.
Jones and Morton-Bowles were later transferred to hospitals in neighbouring Thailand, where they died. Thai authorities said Jones died from brain swelling caused by high levels of methanol in her system.
Instead of homicide-related offences, Lao authorities have charged the owner of the Tiger Vodka distillery with operating an illegal business and producing or selling consumer goods harmful to health. These lesser charges carry a maximum sentence of one year in prison.
Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong said she was “deeply frustrated and bitterly disappointed” that Laos was not pursuing “the most serious charges” over the deaths of Jones and Morton-Bowles.
“We have consistently made clear our expectations that charges should reflect the gravity of the tragedy that claimed the lives of Holly and Bianca in November 2024,” she said.
Wong said Australia had summoned the Lao ambassador in Canberra and that she would raise the issue with her Lao counterpart at next week’s Asean foreign ministers’ meetings in Manila.
Australia’s special envoy, Pablo Kang, who attended Friday’s briefing, also renewed Canberra’s offer to assist the investigation, telling Lao officials: “We have provided information including toxicology reports and death certificates.”
The decision has drawn condemnation from the victims’ families. Speaking in Melbourne on Friday, Bianca Jones' mother Michelle Jones said: “It’s like their lives didn’t even matter.
“We’re just really appalled by it all. They were just going over to have a bit of fun and just doing the rite of passage that every child or teenager does. So for that outcome, it was just devastating,” she said.
Holly Morton-Bowles’ father Shaun Bowles called the legal development “mind-boggling”. He said Laos remained “a popular tourist destination for a lot of travellers” despite what he described as the authorities’ handling of the case.
“They’ve demonstrated the value that they put on tourists’ lives over there and the way they’ve tried to cover this up,” he said.
Lao authorities disclosed further details of their investigation, saying tests found methanol levels above the legal limit in Tiger Vodka believed to have been consumed by the victims. Colonel Khamphong Vongdalasene said investigators had received information from the Thai hospital where Jones and Morton-Bowles died confirming methanol had been detected in their blood.
The authorities said the Nana Backpacker Hostel remains closed while the investigation continues, and that the owner's passport and those of 10 employees have been confiscated.
Earlier this year, 10 people connected to the hostel were convicted of destroying evidence in connection with Hutson's death after authorities alleged his body had been moved from his room to hospital, although Lao officials said they were appealing the sentences.
