Kenneth Law pleads guilty to 14 counts of aiding suicide, will see murder charges dropped

Warning: This story deals with suicide, a sensitive issue that some readers may find upsetting. Please read at your own discretion.

A Mississauga, Ont., man has pleaded guilty to 14 counts of aiding suicide for selling lethal substances online to people who used them to die by suicide.

Crown attorneys say they will withdraw 14 counts of first-degree murder against Kenneth Law after he is sentenced.

After Law, 60, entered his pleas in a Newmarket, Ont., courtroom, Crown attorneys began reading an agreed statement of facts to the court.

That statement detailed how Law ran several websites that were used to sell sodium nitrite, a preservative for cured meats, along with other items. All of them could be used for self-harm.

The court documents also shed light on victims in multiple countries, the circumstances of their deaths and how authorities were able to link them to Law.

Some of them bought and used sodium nitrite, while others bought and used a face mask that depleted oxygen. Packaging of these products with labels of Law’s websites were found near their bodies.

Prosecutors said Law would frequently visit an online forum that discussed suicide methods. Using a pseudonym, he would engage with forum users and direct them to his websites.

Court heard a recording of a call between Law and a potential customer, who unbeknownst to him was a journalist. Law is heard talking about his products, their efficacy as well as his experience getting them to their destination without the knowledge of authorities.

In that recording, he shared how the idea came to him during the COVID-19 pandemic and how people were struggling. Law told the journalist some people told him he was doing “God’s work,” which he said he felt was too much of a compliment, and that some people may feel what he was doing was “criminal.”

Those guilty of aiding suicide can face up to 14 years in prison. First-degree murder carries an automatic sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.

His pleas come more than a month after his lawyer, Matthew Gourlay, told Global News about the proposed conclusion to the case.

He was set to stand trial in April after it was pushed back multiple times in anticipation of a Supreme Court of Canada decision on a separate matter that prosecutors and defence lawyers believed would impact the case.

In that case, the Crown appealed a ruling by Ontario’s top court that suggested a person may only be liable for murder if they provided a person who died by suicide with the lethal substance and “overbore the victim’s freewill in choosing suicide.”

Canada’s top court delivered its decision last December but declined to “conclusively resolve” what it called the “abstract legal issue” in the appeal.

“The court’s analysis of that issue that made a murder prosecution in this case impossible,” Crown attorney Peter Westgate told court.

“It is our obligation as the Crown to continue to assess the reasonable prospect of conviction regarding all charges that are before the court.”

Authorities alleged Law, who was arrested three years ago, shipped roughly 1,200 packages to people in more than 40 countries over several years.

Police alleged roughly 160 of those packages were sent to addresses in Canada; the charges against him related to the same 14 people, who were between the ages of 16 and 36.

Court heard nearly $290,000 in sales were deposited into Law’s accounts by Shopify and PayPal between Jan. 1, 2020, and May 23, 2023.

Elsewhere, a New Zealand coroner found that four people who died by suicide had ordered items online from a business associated with Law, but noted that Law’s activities are outside the jurisdiction of New Zealand courts.

Prosecutors also gave details about 79 people in the United Kingdom who died from Law’s products.

The Canadian Press reported Friday that families of people who died in the U.K. said the country’s National Crime Agency and Crown Prosecution Service have informed them Law will not be facing charges there, because extradition could be a lengthy process and any sentence imposed in Canada would be similar.

A sentencing hearing is expected to take place in the fall.

If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs help, resources are available. In case of an emergency, please call 911 for immediate help.

For immediate mental health support, call 988. For a directory of support services in your area, visit the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention at suicideprevention.ca.

Learn more about preventing suicide with these warning signs and tips on how to help.

— with files from The Canadian Press