American Tourist Killed in Laos Hostel Poisoning Is Identified

Mar. 15, 2025

Nana Backpackers hostel in Vang Vieng, Laos.Photo:AP Photo/Anupam Nath

AP Photo/Anupam Nath

The victim is 57-year-old James Louis Hutson, theBBCreported, citing Laotian authorities.

Staff grew concerned when they noticed he hadn’t come out of his room all day, and found him unconscious on his bed when they went to check on him.

According to local outlet theVientiane Times, Hutson was taken to a local hospital; the BBC reports he was deceased when he was found in his room.

Investigators later found several empty bottles of beer and vodka in his room, per theVientiane Times.

Hutson reportedly entered Laos on July 23 and checked into the Nana Backpackers Hostel on Oct. 20, per the outlet.

Bianca Jones (left); Simone White; and Holly Bowles.Facebook (3)

Facebook (3)

The other victims were British citizen Simone White, 28; Danish citizens Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman and Freja Vennervald Sorensen; and Australian teenagers Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19, the BBC reported.

“Excited to embark on the trip of a lifetime, they travelled to Thailand and Laos to experience new cultures and create lasting memories together,” read part of the fundraiser, which was set up to help the victims' families with the costs of retrieving their bodies, and will also earmark money to campaigns focused on raising awareness about methanol poisoning.

White’s family is remembering her as “one of a kind” and someone who “had the most wonderful energy and spark for life,” per theBBC.

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As of Tuesday, Nov. 26, eight staff members from the hostel had been detained in connection with the killings, theBBCreported, citing local police.No further information about Hutson was available as of publication time. State department officials did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment, but previously toldCBS Newsthey’re monitoring the situation.

source: people.com