Inquest hears three killed by drinking $2 illegal moonshine

[Jabberwocky]

THREE people died after drinking moonshine illegally distilled in a neighbour’s house so strong that one sip could paralyse the drinker’s arms for 15 minutes, it has been alleged.

The neighbour, Mary Miller, who allegedly made the moonshine using wine she bought at auction for $2 a bottle, will be giving evidence at the inquest into the three deaths being held in Walgett.

Bottles of the moonshine revealed alcohol and highly-toxic methanol, which can be fatal in small amounts of just 100ml or less, the inquest has been told this week.

At the house where two of the victims, brother and sister Sandra Boney, 40, and Norman Boney, 46, lived, police found at least 100 empty alcohol bottles lying around a tank on the north side of the house at Collarenebri, in the state’s north west.

The other victim was Ms Boney’s boyfriend Roger Adams, 37, who died just six weeks after her death.

“Witnesses from the community suggest that Sandra, Norman and Roger had been drinking moonshine for months before their deaths, possibly up to 6 months prior,” counsel assisting the coroner Peggy Dwyer told the inquest.

She said it was illegal in Australia to distil alcohol without a license.

All three victims died of organ failure and “organising pneumonia” after a history of alcohol abuse.

After drinking just one nip of a red moonshine, a friend of theirs suffered numbness in her arms for 10 to 15 minutes.

“She purchased some moonshine rum, different to the red drink, for $30. It tasted like methylated spirits,” Ms Dwyer said.

“Some of the moonshine contained highly toxic levels of methanol. Liquid from some of the (other) bottles seized smelt like apple juice and unleaded petrol.”

Police began their investigation after Ms Boney died in February 2015, Mr Boney died two weeks later and Mr Adams died a month later after convulsing, vomiting blood and suffering a heart attack.

Ms Dwyer said Ms Miller and her friend Graham Stewart had co-operated with police and said they used the distillery to make their own spirits which they gave as gifts or as part of a battering system.

Ms Dwyer said the inquest would not be judging the three victims nor their community in relation to alcohol abuse.

“A major aim ... is to learn the lesson from these very sad deaths, and to educate the community and the broader public about the dangers of home made alcohol use,” she said.

“The aim is to save lives.”

The inquest before Deputy State Coroner Helen Barry continues.


Source: http://www.news.com.au/national/nsw...e/news-story/63402d1134e2a62849f131da70dfdced

 

[mister]

so strong that one sip could paralyse the drinker’s arms for 15 minutes, it has been alleged.

How did they pick up their second drinK

 

[consumer]

They were butt chugging

 

[2minuteSnoots]

Family friend of ours makes his own shine, has at least one drink a day, he's 87 years old and damn near perfect health, takes his boat out fishing every weekend. You just gotta know how to make it right. Also you never drink the first half gallon or so that come out of the still, that shit will kill you. But good moonshine is the bee's knees

 

[spacejunk]

But good moonshine is the bee's knees

In the sense that bees are dying out??!

Kidding - that's actually pretty interesting. I wonder if your family friend's recipe was a hand-me-down from the Prohibition era (assuming that you're in the USA)?

 

[2minuteSnoots]

In the sense that bees are dying out??!

Kidding - that's actually pretty interesting. I wonder if your family friend's recipe was a hand-me-down from the Prohibition era (assuming that you're in the USA)?

Oh I'm sure it was handed down.. He started making it to sell in the 40's, and was took down by the tri-state area police force and some type of Gov. Policing agency(pre- DEA/ATF) don't remember what it was called. I've seen the pics and newspapers clips. They seized 2 brick houses, around 10 or 12 cars, a couple hundred gallons in 6 different stills, and I wanna say roughly $70,000 cash. Mind you this was in the 1950's, that was a whole lotta shit from hustling liquor. He only makes a few gallons a month now, but I'm tellin you it's good, I havnt bought a bottle from the store in years now, his is better than anything to me. I wish he would teach me so I could go legal with it

 

[spacejunk]

That's pretty cool.
Folks in those days didn't fuck around

 

[2minuteSnoots]

So I've heard, he wasn't no Al Capone or nothin though.. Just super nice dude with the best shine around

 

[szuko000]

Moonshine 101 fermentation of sugar creates both methanol and ethanol. To remove methanol impurity simply distill off and remove the first portion of the distillate as it contains largely methanol due to its lower boiling point. Things like wine do not have enough methanol to warrant separation but when you concentrate it you need to as 10-15mL is enough to blind someone.

All she had to do was remove we will call it the first 10% of the distillation and all could have been avoided.

 

[2minuteSnoots]

Moonshine 101 fermentation of sugar creates both methanol and ethanol. To remove methanol impurity simply distill off and remove the first portion of the distillate as it contains largely methanol due to its lower boiling point. Things like wine do not have enough methanol to warrant separation but when you concentrate it you need to as 10-15mL is enough to blind someone.

All she had to do was remove we will call it the first 10% of the distillation and all could have been avoided.

Yuppp, I mentioned that earlier. Everyone thinks it some redneck joke when you hear moonshine will make you go blind,, shit no lol

 

[belligerent drunk]

Moonshine 101 fermentation of sugar creates both methanol and ethanol. To remove methanol impurity simply distill off and remove the first portion of the distillate as it contains largely methanol due to its lower boiling point. Things like wine do not have enough methanol to warrant separation but when you concentrate it you need to as 10-15mL is enough to blind someone.

All she had to do was remove we will call it the first 10% of the distillation and all could have been avoided.

Yes, fermentation produces methanol, ethanol, and other shit in smaller amounts (acetone, other ketones, aldehydes, esters etc). When you drink beer or wine, you drink all of it - both the methanol and ethanol. When you distill it, however, due to different boiling points, methanol-rich fractions come first, then ethanol-rich, then the rest of the shit comes out (the higher boiling stuff, water included). It's so simple to just discard the first low-boiling fraction and be fine, but people still mess it up.