The pair died alongside four other tourists staying at the Nana Backpackers hostel after accidentally consuming methanol when free shots of vodka and whiskey were handed out.
For the families of the teenagers, their heartbreak was multiplied by the mystery of how and why the methanol poisoning happened, and not knowing who was responsible.
In an exclusive interview with 60 Minutes journalist Tara Brown, six months after the shock deaths, the mothers of the teens – Michelle Jones and Sam Bowles – said the families had been met with silence from the Laos government, despite multiple attempts to seek answers.
Michelle Jones and Sam Bowles said they had written to Laos Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone “a million times”. They claim to have even contacted his wife. Still, they said they had had no response.
Finally, 10 days ago the families received the news – not from Laos, but from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) that charges have reportedly been recommended by local police against 13 people from Nana’s Hostel and the Tiger distillery.
The proposed charges include elimination of evidence, violation of food and health security and unlawful business operations.
For Michelle Jones and Sam Bowles, the proposed charges are shockingly weak.
“Pretty appalling, I’d say pretty insulting,” Sam Bowles fumed.
Michelle Jones agreed, saying: “I think we’re pretty furious about it … Food and beverage. You know, that’s like?”
“What is that? We don’t even know,” Sam Bowles continued. “We know that there’s no murder or manslaughter charges, which we feel there should be.”
The mothers said their feeling was that those allegedly involved will simply get a slap on the wrist, and are only “going to be fined” if found guilty.
Sam Bowles explained: “It’s heartbreaking… Heartbreaking and just full of anger, frustration.”
They believed that Laos authorities simply don’t care.
“They don’t care. They don’t, life is nothing,” Sam Bowles said.
Over recent months, the mothers say they have channelled their grief into raising methanol awareness and charity dollars in their daughters’ names.
Joy turned to horror
For the young Melbourne travellers, it was meant to be a trip like no other.
Instead, their parents are dealing with a heartache they never should have to experience.
“I was so happy for her,” Michelle Jones told 60 Minutes in an earlier interview, of daughter Bianca. “She was so excited, but I just didn’t think that, you know, she wasn’t going to come back.”
While Mark Jones recalls the last conversation he had with Bianca: “I said, ‘Let’s take a selfie’. And she said, ‘Bugger off, dad’. It was the last conversation I had with her.
“It’s still hard to believe she’s not coming home. You wake up every morning, expecting her to walk out of her room.”
The devastated Melbourne families revealed just how dangerous methanol is.
“What it can do to your body is incredible,” Michelle Jones said. “It’s just so lethal.”
“They weren’t doing anything wrong,” Mark Jones recalled of the best friends’ trip. “They were having, having a drink, having fun. And yeah, there’s no way to determine if there is methanol in a drink. So it’s, it’s very much a silent killer.”
As NSW University clinical toxicologist Dr Darren Roberts warns, methanol is invisible and tasteless. A minuscule amount can blind a person, while a single serve of spirits can be deadly.
“30ml is the fatal amount that will kill someone if they don’t get help fast enough,” Roberts said. “One shot to die. Two teaspoons to have severe lifelong injuries.”
news.com.au has contacted DFAT for comment.
