SEATTLE , Washington ( CNN ) -- A pathologist hired by the family of one of two women whose mysterious deaths in Thailand drew worldwide attention says her `` lungs were 100 percent congested , '' Jill St. Onge 's fiancee and brother said . Jill St. Onge died while vacationing with her fiance at a Thailand resort . `` He said her lung tissue was gone , '' said her brother , Robert St. Onge . The pathologist has not determined what caused her lungs to fail , he said , and a final report on her May 2 death may still be weeks away . But members of St. Onge 's family said they feel the pathologist 's findings , though preliminary , are enough to contradict public statements made by Thai investigators that St. Onge was the victim of food poisoning . `` I am 99.9 percent sure she did not die of food poisoning , '' said Ryan Kells , St. Onge 's fiancee , who was with her when she died . `` She suffocated to death . I am not a doctor , but I know when someone ca n't breathe . '' Kells and St. Onge , both artists from Seattle , were on a three-month vacation through Southeast Asia when they arrived on Thailand 's Phi Phi Island . They had gotten engaged while on the trip and were keeping friends and family up to date with their adventures . `` Having a blast , '' Jill St. Onge , 27 , wrote about the surroundings in a blog dedicated to the couple 's travels . `` Food , drink , sun and warm waters ... what else do ya need ? '' The couple 's vacation ended tragically when Kells found his fiancee in their hotel room vomiting and unable to breathe . He rushed her to a hospital where she died . St. Onge was healthy and there was no obvious explanation for her sudden death , her brother said . Just hours after St. Onge fell ill , Julie Bergheim , a Norwegian tourist who was staying in a room next to St. Onge 's at the Laleena Guesthouse , came down with similar symptoms . She also died . According to Thai media reports , police there are focusing on food poisoning as the cause of the women 's deaths . On Monday , the Phuket Gazette quoted a police commander as saying blood samples from both women indicated possible food poisoning from seafood . Still , the commander said , those results were only preliminary . `` I do n't know when the official results will be released , '' Maj. Gen. Pasin Nokasul told the newspaper . `` The lab work [ is being ] expedited because the embassies of the two tourists want to know the cause of death as soon as possible . '' Kells response to Nokasul 's statement was harsh . `` That she died of food poisoning is a ridiculous statement to make , '' he said , adding it is unlikely they would have been `` the only ones affected . '' Dr. William Hurley , medical director for the Washington Poison Center , is also skeptical that food poisoning could have been responsible . In food poisoning cases , he said , `` usually what kills you is the dehydration , not the toxin . '' He added , `` Food poisoning is not something that typically kills someone this quickly . It takes days . '' Ingestion of a variety of chemicals could have caused Onge and Bergheim 's sudden deaths , Hurley said , and could be consistent with the condition of Onge 's lungs . But without further information , he said , it is impossible to say what killed the two women . Kells said he thinks something in the hotel where they were where staying made Jill sick . He remembers a `` chemical smell '' in the room and thinks he avoided becoming ill because he spent less time in the room . On Saturday , the Phuket Wan newspaper reported that investigators visited the Laleena Guesthouse , taking samples and removing filters from the air conditioning units in the rooms where both victims had stayed . Rat Chuped , the owner of the hotel , told the newspaper her property was not to blame . `` There is no problem with my guesthouse , '' she said .
St. Onge 's woman is 2 of one tourists who died of unknown causes . Family says pathologist says her `` lungs were 100 percent congested '' Norwegian officials have been focusing on food poisoning as cause of death .