Sentencing hearing begins for Kenneth Law, who sold substances used for suicide

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

Friends and relatives of those who took their own lives using items bought online from Kenneth Law are expected to lay bare their loss in court in the coming days as the Ontario man linked to dozens of deaths worldwide faces a sentencing hearing.

Law, a former chef from Mississauga, Ont., pleaded guilty in late May to 14 counts of aiding suicide in the deaths of 14 people in the province, including some who were minors.

The plea deal came weeks after Law was set to stand trial on the charges and another 14 counts of first-degree murder related to the same victims.

Prosecutors have said they plan to withdraw the murder charges after Law is sentenced.

Those found guilty of aiding suicide can face up to 14 years in prison, and lawyers for the Crown and the defence are expected to present what they believe would be an appropriate sentence as part of the hearing set to begin Wednesday.

The hearing also offers loved ones of those who died an opportunity to tell Law and the court how his actions affected them.

Law ran several websites that were used to sell sodium nitrite and other products that can be used for self-harm, according to an agreed statement of fact read in court after his plea. He sent some 1,200 packages to people in more than 40 countries, including close to 160 packages shipped to addresses within Canada, the document said.

Between January 2020 and mid-May 2023, nearly $290,000 is sales from his companies were deposited into his accounts, court heard. Law was aware that the people buying his products were likely to use them for suicide, the statement said.

He also occasionally commented under a pseudonym on a forum where people talked about using certain substances for suicide, it said. Some of his replies referred people to his websites, it said.

In early 2023, a Times of London reporter in the United Kingdom reached out to Law posing as a potential customer, eventually travelling to Canada to confront Law about seven deaths in the U.K. that were linked to his business.

Law later put together a will in which he said he believed he was “helping people to alleviate their suffering while making a small modest profit,” court heard.

Prosecutors and the defence are expected to make arguments during the hearing about what Law’s words suggest about his motivation.

While the charges against Law only relate to Canadian victims, the deaths of 79 people in the U.K. linked to the products he sold have also been included in the facts of the case.

Britain’s National Crime Agency has said that it initially planned to request his extradition but agreed to have his offences there addressed through the Canadian court process.

The trial was delayed several times to allow Canada’s top court to rule on a separate case that raised an issue pivotal to Law’s.

The outcome of that case eventually made it impossible to prosecute Law for murder, the Crown said in May.

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, support is available 24/7 by calling or texting 988, Canada’s national suicide prevention helpline.