A Canadian man accused of selling sodium nitrite and suicide-related items online to people in multiple countries pleaded guilty on 29 May to aiding the suicides of 14 people in Ontario, after prosecutors said recent legal rulings made murder charges impossible to pursue.
Kenneth Law, 60, entered guilty pleas at the Ontario Superior Court in Newmarket, north of Toronto. Prosecutors said he operated websites selling sodium nitrite (a chemical used in food preservation that can be deadly in high concentrations) along with masks, hoods and regulators.
Court documents stated that Law shipped 1,209 packages to customers in 41 countries between 2021 and 2023, including hundreds to Britain, the United States and Canada.
According to an agreed statement of facts presented in court, 79 people in Britain died after consuming or using products sold by Law. Authorities in several countries have launched investigations and welfare checks connected to purchases from his websites.
Family members of victims became emotional in court as prosecutors described the deaths of young people aged between 16 and 36.
Financial records presented in court showed more than $214,000 flowed into accounts connected to Law’s businesses between 2020 and 2023.
Prosecutors said they would seek to withdraw 14 first-degree murder charges after sentencing, citing a 2024 Ontario Court of Appeal ruling that narrowed how murder causation is interpreted in cases where victims perform the final act leading to death.
Law has remained in custody since his arrest in May 2023. He faces a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison for counselling or aiding suicide under Canadian law.
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Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for 20 June, covering the latest developments you need to know.
A train driver has been killed and nine people remain in a critical condition in hospital, after two trains collided near Beford in the east of England on Friday. The passenger trains heading to London collided at around 17:15 local time (1615 GMT).
Morocco captain and PSG defender Achraf Hakimi will face trial in France after an appeals court ruled there was enough evidence for the case to proceed.
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck southwest of Greece’s island of Crete on Saturday, with no immediate reports of damage.
Paraguay kept their World Cup hopes alive with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Türkiye, but the celebrations were tempered by a costly red card for veteran forward Miguel Almirón.
Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire, a senior U.S. official has said. Hezbollah has released a statement saying Israel must leave southern Lebanon. Israel has said it agrees to the ceasefire, but has said its armed forces won't leave Lebanon and will resume hostilities if attacked.
Fuel stations in Russian-controlled Crimea stopped selling fuel to individuals and businesses from 9:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, the Russian-installed governor said.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said the violent attacks in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Friday, which left five men injured, were motivated by "anti-Muslim hatred".
Britain's Observer newspaper reported that Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to resign on Monday and outline a timetable for his departure.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrived in Switzerland on Sunday for peace talks with Iran, as a dispute over the Strait of Hormuz threatened to complicate a fragile 60-day ceasefire between Washington and Tehran.
Thousands gathered in Novi Sad, Serbia, to commemorate the deaths of 16 people in the 2024 railway station awning collapse and renew calls for snap elections.
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