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Relatives of people who died after buying lethal substances from Canadian poison seller Kenneth Law are due to speak in court this week, as a judge begins deliberating how long the former chef should spend in prison.
Justice Michelle Fuerst has set aside four days at a court in Newmarket, just north of Toronto, to hear victim impact statements and further evidence. It is not yet clear when she will hand down her sentence.
Law pleaded guilty in May to aiding the suicides of 14 people in Canada. Prosecutors dropped murder charges after concluding they did not have enough evidence to secure a conviction over the online forums where he advised people on how to end their lives.
Under an agreed statement of facts signed by both sides, Law admitted seeking out buyers by posting on a suicide discussion forum under a false name and offering lethal products for sale. His packages reached customers in at least 41 countries, including China, France and Brazil, with 330 sent to the United Kingdom.
Several bereaved families have said they are angry Law will not stand trial for murder, arguing he bears direct responsibility for the deaths of mostly young and vulnerable people. Legal experts say prosecutors are likely to push for a heavy sentence, potentially up to 20 years.
UK deaths under scrutiny since 2023
Britain’s role in the case came to light soon after Law’s arrest. In August 2023, UK authorities were investigating 88 deaths linked to Law, with the National Crime Agency working to trace people in Britain who may have bought his products.
Police in Surrey had contacted Law in October 2022 over the death of 22-year-old Tom Parfett, who died in 2021 after apparently visiting one of Law’s websites, and a later inquiry into his death raised questions about why the force had not investigated Law further.
‘Not a diabolical madman’
Earlier this month, Canada’s Globe and Mail reported details of interviews Law gave to a psychiatrist in prison after his guilty plea. According to court documents obtained by the paper, Law said he had been “trying to serve a need that I thought was humane,” adding: “I’m not a diabolical madman.”
The documents show that after his arrest in 2023, Law considered himself blameless, insisting he never made the final decision to end anyone’s life and was simply selling a product, the Globe reported.
Law, now in his 60s, worked as a chef at a luxury hotel in downtown Toronto before setting up his online forums during the Covid-19 pandemic. He has admitted to shipping lethal substances within Canada and abroad, typically charging around $80 per package.
Among his victims was 18-year-old Jeshennia Bedoya-Lopez, who died in 2022. Speaking outside court in May, her father Leonardo Bedoya said he had found her dead in her bedroom. Describing his only daughter as the “light in my life”, he called the prosecutors’ decision to drop the murder charges “a disgrace.”
Additional sources • AFP