A man who apparently decided that 'selling toxic chemicals online to vulnerable people' was a viable career path has pleaded guilty to 14 counts of aiding suicides in Canada. Kenneth Law, 60, entered the pleas in an Ontario court on Friday as part of a deal that saw prosecutors drop more serious murder charges - because nothing says 'justice streamlined' like downgrading from murder to assisted suicide.
Authorities say the former chef shipped about 1,200 packages of his wares to recipients in 40 countries, including the UK, after meeting them in online suicide forums. Because nothing builds trust like a stranger in a chat room offering to sell you poison.
Families of British victims are less than thrilled that UK prosecutors aren't charging Law, who is linked to the deaths of 79 Britons. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) says the Canadian legal system will totally take British families' losses into account - a promise that likely feels as hollow as a poison package. Specialist CPS prosecutor Andrew Hudson explained that including UK victims in Canadian sentencing was the 'quickest and most effective route' to justice, adding that extradition was 'far from guaranteed and would have taken years to conclude.' Also, there was that pesky double jeopardy risk. So, Canada it is.
Law's victims include Ashtyn Prosser-Blake, 19, whose mother Kim told the BBC her son was 'a super happy, really gentle soul' whose mental health declined after Covid. '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 paid about £50 for the substance and was found dead in a Surrey hotel in 2021. Parfett called for a public inquiry, saying 'the government is failing in its duty to protect life' - a statement that lands with the subtlety of a falling anvil.
Law was arrested in May 2023 after a Times investigation where a journalist posed as a customer and Law reportedly counselled them on how to use his products to 'best ensure death.' Because if you're going to sell poison, you might as well offer customer service.
His lawyer Matthew Gourlay confirmed the plea deal, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years for aiding suicide under Canadian law. The BBC has approached the Home Office for comment, presumably to ask if they plan to do anything besides watch from the sidelines.