Canadian pleads guilty to 14 counts of aiding deaths
A Canadian man accused of selling lethal products in 40 countries to hundreds of people who bought them to end their own lives has pleaded guilty to 14 counts of counseling or assisting suicide.
Dressed in a dark jacket and white shirt, Kenneth Law stood in the prisoners’ box at the Newmarket, Ontario courthouse to plead guilty. Under the terms of the agreement, Canadian prosecutors will drop 14 murder charges against him.
The sentence is planned to be handed down in September.
In the courtroom gallery, family members of the victims wiped away tears as the prosecutor described the final moments of nearly 100 people who died after using deadly products purchased from Law.
Police in Canada and around the world are investigating more than 100 Law-related suicides. The charges against him in Canadian court relate to 14 people between the ages of 16 and 36 across Ontario.
Canadian police said Law, 60, used a number of websites to market and sell sodium nitrite, a substance commonly used to cure meats that can be fatal if ingested.
Law is suspected of sending at least 1,200 packages to more than 40 countries, with about 160 of them allegedly sent to addresses in Canada, police said. He has been in custody since his arrest at his home in Mississauga, Ontario, in May 2023.
Prosecutors in the UK decided not to charge Law or apply for his extradition despite an investigation into 112 deaths.
The decision came in part because British authorities believed he could challenge a prosecution in the United Kingdom under “double jeopardy” laws, which prevent a suspect from being tried twice for the same crime.
During Friday’s hearing, a Canadian prosecutor used Law products to describe the final moments of those who died and detailed the cases of both 14 victims in Canada and dozens of victims in the United Kingdom.
British prosecutors said that the 79 victims who died directly as a result of purchasing Law’s products will be taken into account when the Canadian judge decides on the sentence.
The Canadian prosecutor on Friday presented the court with an Agreed Statement of Facts documenting the impact of Law’s crimes on victims in the United Kingdom. It revealed 73 people in England and Wales, five in Scotland and one in Northern Ireland had died after using products supplied to them.
It was also stated that Law sent 330 packages to England via Canada Post.
Stephen Mitchell, whose son Stephen Jr. died by suicide after purchasing lethal products from Law, told reporters outside court that he was a “vulture” who “takes people at their most vulnerable” and uses them for profit.
Authorities in the United States, Italy, Australia and New Zealand also conducted investigations. A Canadian prosecutor said 431 packages were sent to the United States.
In Canada, those convicted of assisting suicide 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.
A New Zealand coroner found that four people who died by suicide there had ordered items online from a business linked to Law, but noted Law’s activities were outside the jurisdiction of New Zealand courts.
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