By Bonface Mulyungi
A man has pleaded guilty to 14 counts of aiding suicides in Canada after he sold toxic chemicals online.
Kenneth Law, 60, entered the guilty pleas relating to Canadian victims in an Ontario court on Friday, as part of a deal with prosecutors who withdrew more serious murder charges.
Authorities said the former chef also sold about 1,200 packages of the toxic substances to recipients – who he met in online suicide forums – in 40 countries, including the UK.
Families of British victims have said they are angry with UK prosecutors for not charging Law, who is linked to the deaths of 79 Britons. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the Canadian legal system will take the losses of UK families into account.
A letter from theCPS, seen by the BBC, said Law would not face charges in the UK because of legal complexities.
Specialist CPS prosecutor Andrew Hudson said including UK victims in the Canadian sentencing process was the “quickest and most effective route” to securing justice.
Hudson said a successful extradition was “far from guaranteed and would have taken years to conclude”, and there was a risk if he was extradited that any prosecution “could have been blocked under double jeopardy principles”.
He added: “A condition of our agreement with the Canadian prosecutor was that Kenneth Law’s sentence must reflect the fact that people died in England and Wales as a direct result of using products that he supplied to them.
“No victim has been left behind as part of this process.”
Law was also linked to the death of five people in Scotland and one in Northern Ireland.
The court heard Law sent 330 packages to 286 recipients in the UK.
Ontario man Ashtyn Prosser-Blake, 19, was one of Law’s victims who died by suicide in March 2023.
“He was just such a super happy, really gentle soul, always looking to stand up for the underdog, the kids that got picked on,” his mother Kim Prosser told the BBC.
Prosser-Blake’s mental health declined after Covid – when he graduated he went to college for a year in Toronto before dropping out and moved home where he “just continued to struggle” before dying by suicide, his mother said.
“The pain of losing my son Ashtyn doesn’t ease because someone sits behind bars,” she said. “There is no solace in my healing journey to see someone else suffer.”
In the UK, David Parfett’s 22 year-old son, Thomas, used the substance said to have been sold to him by Law.
“Tom was somebody who really saw the joy in life. He would find humour in the weirdest places. I often think about his laugh,” Parfett said.
“Tom was a massive football fan and he was a good footballer as well. I miss the opportunity to enjoy the 2026 World Cup with him.”
Tom paid the equivalent of £50 ($67; C$92) for the substance. His body was found in a hotel in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, in 2021
1:39David Parfett remembers his son Thomas, who died in 2021, as someone who “really saw the joy in life”
Parfett said while it was good Law “admitted guilt” he said it was still “a moment of unbelievable frustration”.
“I would have preferred Kenneth Law to be tried here [in the UK], I would have wanted to have seen him in court answering charges related to my son’s death,” he told the BBC on Friday.
Parfett is calling on the UK government to hold a public inquiry into the deaths, as he wanted authorities to “understand this issue and stop other people unfortunately suffering the loss of a family member due to a very preventable suicide”.
“The toll here is astonishing, multiple deaths including of children, and yet we don’t see any coordinated attempt to really understand it.”
The BBC has approached the Home Office for comment.
Law was charged with 14 counts of aiding suicides in Canada and 14 counts of murder following his arrest in 2023.
His capture followed a complex investigation by at least 11 law-enforcement agencies and involved investigators from around a dozen countries, including the UK, Italy and the US.
Law was arrested in May 2023, a week after a Times investigation alleged he was selling poison to young people.
In the Times investigation, a journalist posed as a customer and spoke with Law directly.
During that conversation, Law reportedly counselled the journalist on how to use his products to “best ensure death”, according to The Times.
Canadian detectives told the BBC in 2023 that Law ran multiple websites offering equipment and substances to help people end their lives.
Earlier,Law’s lawyer Matthew Gourlay confirmed to the BBC his client would plead guilty to aiding suicide under a deal with crown prosecutors that would result in the more serious murder charges withdrawn.
Those found guilty of aiding suicide under Canada’s criminal code can face up to 14 years in prison.
