A man has pleaded guilty to aiding suicides in Canada after selling toxic chemicals online. He sold substances to people in 40 countries.

Kenneth Law, 60, pleaded guilty to 14 counts of aiding suicides in an Ontario court. He sold toxic chemicals online to people across the world, including about 1,200 packages to recipients in 40 countries.

Global sales

Authorities said Law sold the toxic substances to recipients he met in online suicide forums. Roughly a quarter of the packages were sent to the UK, where 79 Britons are believed to have died after using the substances. The charges all relate to Canadian victims, but families of British victims have expressed anger that Law will not face charges in the UK.

Victim stories

Ontario man Ashtyn Prosser-Blake, 19, was one of Law's victims who died by suicide in March 2023. His mother, Kim Prosser, described him as a 'super happy, really gentle soul'. In the UK, David Parfett's 22-year-old son, Thomas, used the substance said to have been sold to him by Law. Thomas paid the equivalent of £50 for the substance and his body was found in a hotel in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, in 2021.

Investigation and sentencing

Law was arrested in May 2023, following a complex investigation by at least 11 law-enforcement agencies and involved investigators from around a dozen countries. His sentencing hearing will take place over several days beginning on 23 September, with victim impact statements read out in court. Those found guilty of aiding suicide under Canada's criminal code can face up to 14 years in prison.

Key points

• Kenneth Law, 60, pleaded guilty to 14 counts of aiding suicides in an Ontario court.
• He sold toxic chemicals online to people in 40 countries, including about 1,200 packages.
• Roughly a quarter of the packages were sent to the UK, where 79 Britons are believed to have died.
• Law will not face charges in the UK, but his sentence in Canada will take the British deaths into account.
• The Crown Prosecution Service said a successful extradition was 'far from guaranteed and would have taken years to conclude'.
• Law's sentencing hearing will take place over several days beginning on 23 September.