Canadian Man Pleads Guilty to Aiding Suicide
A Canadian man accused of selling lethal substances online to people who used them to end their own lives pleaded guilty Friday to counseling or aiding suicide. Kenneth Law, a former chef from Newmarket, Ontario, entered his guilty pleas in court.
The plea agreement will have Canadian prosecutors withdrawing 14 murder charges against him. Police worldwide have been investigating over 100 suicides linked to Law. The charges are related to 14 people across Ontario who were between the ages of 16 and 36.
Canadian police said Law used a series of websites to market and sell sodium nitrite, a substance commonly used to cure meats that can be deadly if ingested. In 2023, Canadian police released photos of the sodium nitrite, adding that a joint operation led by 11 police agencies from across Ontario were investigating the case.
Law is suspected of sending at least 1,200 packages to more than 40 countries, with about 160 of those allegedly sent to addresses in Canada. He has been in custody since his arrest at his Mississauga, Ontario, home in May 2023.
Prosecutors in the U.K. have decided not to charge Law despite investigating him for over 112 deaths. The Crown Prosecution Service and the National Crime Agency said they had decided Law “should be sentenced for the full extent of his offending within a single sentencing process in Canada.”
Families of some victims called for a public inquiry, stating if their country will not put anyone on trial for these deaths, the least it can do is hold an inquiry into how they were allowed to happen. Kim Prosser’s son Ashtyn took his own life in March 2023 in Canada.
Authorities in the United States, Italy, Australia, and New Zealand have also conducted investigations. Those found guilty of aiding suicide in Canada can face up to 14 years in prison, while first-degree murder carries an automatic sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.