A 60-year-old Canadian national who sold lethal substances online to people across the world, including in the UK, has admitted charges of aiding suicide.
Kenneth Law was in court in Ontario, Canada, on Friday where he formally entered his guilty pleas to a total of 14 counts, all relating to Canadian victims.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said 79 UK victims who died as a direct result of purchasing Law’s products will form part of the wider case into his offending.
Authorities informed the victims’ families that Law would not face criminal proceedings in the UK because of the potential for the hotel cook to challenge the extradition after being convicted of similar offences in Canada.
After his Canadian convictions, British prosecutors described Law as a “serial offender who callously exploited many vulnerable and innocent people exchanging their lives for his financial gain”.
He sold 1,200 packages to 40 countries across the world from Canada-based websites – with 286 individuals in the UK receiving the products, leading to 112 deaths.
The NCA and CPS said in a letter to bereaved families that it had been established Law sent 330 products to the UK in total.
Explaining why the UK victims would be taken into the Canadian case, the letter said: “We recognise that this may be painful to hear, and that some victims and bereaved families may have hoped to see a separate prosecution in England and Wales.
“This difficult decision was reached only after detailed consideration of all available options.”
The senior investigating officer at the NCA, Damon Hayes, told reporters including British victims in the Canadian case “guarantees all victims and families in the UK will see justice”.
He added: “This approach is not unusual in cases involving serious offending that crosses international borders.
“This will allow the judge to take into account the full extent of Law’s criminal behaviour, including the fact that his actions resulted in the deaths of people in this country.”
Victims’ families have criticised the move, with one bereaved father saying: “I am angry but not surprised.”
David Parfett, the father of philosophy student Thomas Parfett, who died aged 22 after taking his own life in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, added: “For months, we have been told that the system is working and that existing measures are enough. They are not.
“If our own country will not put anyone on trial for these deaths, the very least it can do is hold a proper inquiry into how they were allowed to happen.”
The sister of 21-year-old Aimee Walton, from Southampton, who died in 2022, said that “doors have been shut” for families seeking justice.
Adele Zeynep Walton said: “The question for our own country is simpler still: who here will examine how the British state let this happen, and what it will do so that no other family goes through it?
“A foreign sentencing hearing cannot answer that. Only a statutory public inquiry can.”
Since opening its investigation in April 2023, the NCA has worked with 45 police forces across the UK to gather evidence on Law’s offending.
Specialist CPS prosecutor Andrew Hudson told reporters that “no victim has been left behind as part of this process”, adding that including British victims will “ensure that the full devastating extent of his criminal conduct is seen and considered by the sentence in court.”
Law was also investigated by police in the United States, Italy, Australia and New Zealand.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email [email protected], or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
f you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
