Miss Altmann and her two friends then spent the day at Tauranga, drinking the methanol both there and on the way back. She continued to drink the methanol at a house when she arrived back in Tokoroa, mixing the chemical with lemonade.
Several friends saw Miss Altmann the day after drinking the toxic chemical but all thought she was suffering from a severe hangover.
"It wasn't until about 2pm when Miss Altmann's de facto partner visited her that she was taken to Tokoroa Hospital," Dr Ryan said.
"The autopsy findings showed that Miss Altmann's death was the direct cause of methanol poisoning."
He said tests showed Miss Altmann had 153mg of methanol per 100ml of blood.
"Methanol is produced in small amounts in normal bodily fluids however, the amount present is usually no more than 3mg per 100ml of blood."
Dr Ryan said Miss Altmann drank the methanol willingly.
"The drinking was clearly voluntary but I am satisfied that she, nor anyone else knew that it was methanol."
He said the delay in getting Miss Altmann to hospital and the amount of methanol she drank was a fatal combination.
"This time lag proved critical in her case," he said.
"The damage to her brain and internal organs were irreversible by the time she got to Waikato Hospital. She could not be saved despite best efforts from the medical team."
Dr Ryan said Miss Altmann's was a very sad case and "entirely preventable".
"The only recommendation is that people should not drink a liquid if they don't know what it is," he said.
"I am hoping the wider community will reconsider their approach to drinking alcohol from an unapproved source."
