Kenneth Law pleads guilty to 14 counts of assisted suicide

Poison seller Kenneth Law has pleaded guilty to 14 counts of assisted suicide in a Newmarket courtroom.

The plea deal will see him avoid first-degree murder charges over 14 deaths, including two minor teenagers, all caused by products he sold online knowing they would be used for suicide.

Law, 60, entered the prisoner’s box soon after 10 a.m. dressed in a blue blazer, white shirt and tan trousers, his greying black hair cut short. With his legal team beside him, he said “I plead guilty” 14 times to the registrar’s reading of the charges. He showed no emotion and spoke only to answer Judge Michelle Fuerst’s questions about whether he understands the consequences of his plea.

Behind him in the gallery, victim family members sat with solemn faces, some in tears, others with pained expressions or closed eyes, or sharing comforting embraces.

Court has heard details of the 14 Ontario deaths that are the subject of his pleas, and details of his business by which he would ship products to customers, mostly a culinary curing salt that is toxic in sufficient quantities, but also asphyxiation masks. He would also offer consultation phone calls, and sent documentation saying his businesses “will be held harmless for the end use of its products.”

Court is now hearing details of 79 similar deaths in the U.K., details of which were shared by British authorities and will be considered in sentencing later this year in September. Assisting suicide has a maximum jail term of 14 years.

His online material said he would not sell to minors, but court has heard two Canadian children, and another in Britain, successfully placed orders.

He shipped 1,209 packages to 41 countries.

An agreed statement of facts indicates that from 2020 to his 2023 arrest, he received nearly $300,000 from this business, roughly equally between Shopify and PayPal.

• Can suicide be murder? With Kenneth Law to plead guilty to lesser charge, we may never know
• Ontario man accused of selling toxic substances so people could die by suicide expected to plead guilty in May

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