Warning: This story deals with suicide, a sensitive issue that some readers may find upsetting. Please read at your own discretion.
Kenneth Law, an Ontario man accused of selling lethal substances online to people who later used them to die by suicide, is expected to plead guilty in court Friday.
Law, who was arrested three years ago, is due to admit to 14 counts of assisting suicide, and it’s anticipated that the Crown will withdraw the 14 counts of first-degree murder against him.
Anyone found guilty of aiding suicide can face up to 14 years in prison, while first-degree murder carries an automatic sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.
His lawyer, Matthew Gourlay, told Global News in April about the expected pleas. Law is scheduled to appear in a Newmarket, Ont., courtroom Friday morning.
He was set to stand trial last month after it was pushed back multiple times in anticipation of a Supreme Court of Canada decision on a separate matter prosecutors and defence lawyers believed would impact the case.
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In that case, the Crown appealed a ruling by Ontario’s top court that suggested a person may only be liable for murder if they provided a person who died by suicide with the lethal substance and “overbore the victim’s freewill in choosing suicide.”
Canada’s top court delivered its decision last December but declined to “conclusively resolve” what it called the “abstract legal issue” in the appeal.
Authorities have alleged that Law ran several websites that were used to sell sodium nitrite, a preservative for cured meats, and other items that could be used for self-harm, shipping them to people in more than 40 countries.
They said the charges against him relate to the same 14 people, who were between the ages of 16 and 36.
Elsewhere, a New Zealand coroner found that four people who died by suicide had ordered items online from a business associated with Law, but noted that Law’s activities are outside the jurisdiction of New Zealand courts.
Britain’s National Crime Agency has also said it is investigating the deaths of dozens of people who bought products from Canadian-based websites allegedly linked to Law.
David Parfett, whose 22-year-old son Tom died by suicide in 2021, told The Canadian Press Thursday that he would like to see Law extradited to the United Kingdom to face charges there.
A spokesperson for Canada’s Justice Department said they couldn’t comment on whether any extradition requests had been made, given that those requests are considered confidential state-to-state communications.
If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs help, resources are available. In case of an emergency, please call 911 for immediate help.
For immediate mental health support, call 988. For a directory of support services in your area, visit the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention at suicideprevention.ca.
Learn more about preventing suicide with these warning signs and tips on how to help.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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