A former chef who provided poison to suicidal people to avoid murder charges, angered families

A Canadian man accused of sending poison to suicidal people around the world is expected to plead guilty in many cases on Friday, the case that shocked the public ended.

While Kenneth Law expected to plead guilty to 14 counts of aiding or abetting suicide, Canadian prosecutors dropped the murder charges, multiple sources confirmed, causing anger among distraught families. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation first reported the request.

Law, 60, is a former chef accused of running a number of online forums that mainly offered young, depressed people advice on how to kill themselves.

It is alleged that he sent packages to hundreds of people in many countries containing sodium nitrite, a legally available preservative that can be fatal in certain areas. In 2023, Canadian police released images of sodium nitrite, adding that a joint operation led by 11 police agencies from across Ontario was investigating the case.

“Detectives are asking members of the public to be aware of any packaging or labeling identifying sodium nitrite,” Constable Sarah Patten said at the time.

Britain’s National Crime Agency said it has identified 232 people in the UK who bought products from websites in the two years to April 2023. Of those buyers, 88 have he died.

Kim Prosser’s son Ashtyn took his own life in March 2023, weeks before Law’s arrest. It is one of 14 Canadian deaths in the trial in Newmarket, north of Toronto.

Prosser told AFP prosecutors informed him that Law would plead guilty to counseling suicide, a charge of murder that was dropped, information shared with Canadian media by defense attorney Matthew Gourlay.

The Ontario attorney general’s office told AFP Law he will appear in person on Friday “to file a plea.”

Prosser, who said he will attend the hearing, spoke about the pain he has endured in the three years since his son’s death on March 30, 2023.

He said he received his ashes on April 13, his birthday, just two weeks before what would have been Ashtyn’s 20th birthday.

“Being in court on Friday and staying there… is the beginning of another chapter in this treatment process,” he said.

Prosser, who now works in the training and wellness sector, told AFP he understood some families were angry that the law would not be charged with murder, but said he did not feel that way.

“To me, it’s murder”

David Parfett’s son, Thomas, was 22 years old when he ended his life in 2021 by means allegedly provided by the Act.

Thomas’ death is not part of an ongoing Canadian case, but is one of nearly 100 British suicides reported to be linked to Law’s online forums.

Since Thomas’ death, David Parfett has become an advocate for change, calling for tougher legislation to tackle online posts that lead people to harm.

He noted that although he is not a lawyer, he believes that Canadian authorities have missed an opportunity to demonstrate the moral value of the Act.

“This was a man who was inciting and facilitating suicide,” Parfett told AFP.

“If (the Act) didn’t give you detailed instructions on how to take your own life, there’s a good chance my son would still be here. So again, to me, it’s murder,” Parfett said.

Leonardo Bedoya – who killed his 18-year-old daughter Jeshennia Bedoya Lopez in 2022, allegedly with the help of Law – told Canada’s CTV that he was furious with the deal.

“He is a murderer. A murderer. They should treat him like a murderer,” Bedoya told the network.

“Heinous Crime”

Dalhousie University law professor Robert Currie told AFP prosecutors seeking to try Law for murder were caught in a legal “loophole”.

Under Canadian law, it is not clear whether “murder is a separate crime from counseling suicide, or whether the same conduct can constitute both of those crimes,” he said.

Prosecutors had hoped a Supreme Court decision in a separate case would resolve the uncertainty, but Canada’s top judges “refused to clarify” the issue, Currie added.

Because prosecutors doubted they could get murder charges, they “walked away with the bird in the hand,” Currie said, stressing that counseling suicide is a serious crime.

Experts suggest that Law could be jailed for 10 to 20 years in Canada, depending on whether he receives concurrent or consecutive sentences, at the next trial.

“Given the heinousness of this crime, I would be surprised if he didn’t get something serious,” Currie told AFP, noting that Law could face justice elsewhere, and extradition to the UK is a reasonable next step.

Each year, about 4,500 people in Canada die by suicide and every day, more than 200 people in Canada attempt suicide, according to government statistics.

For more information about mental health care resources and support, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 am–10 pm ET, at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or email info@nami.org.