Alleged criminal activities
According to Peel Region Police, Law "began operating" websites from which he would later sell sodium nitrite in late 2020. [15] York Regional Police alleged that he had set up at least five of these sites, also using them to peddle masks and hoods. [16] Toronto Life reported that these sites, in addition to selling suicide paraphernalia, also offered hot sauce and C$150 "consultation calls" with Law. [13] A woman who claims to be one of Law's customers described a site as being similar to Amazon, even having tracking numbers for products. She also stated that said site was dressed with other products, but only sodium nitrite was ever in stock. [17] The Sunday Times reported that one of these allegedly Law-operated websites appeared "innocent enough" and had a background of cold meats and a cheese board. [14]
An account known as Greenberg, who claimed to be a retired New York doctor, promoted Law's products on suicide forums and ran a pro-suicide blog. The Sunday Times wrote that Greenberg, like Law, was a fan of Star Trek and had a habit of signing off with "cheers", leading a netizen who interacted with Greenberg to suspect that Law was behind the account. Law, however, has denied sending any messages on suicide forums. [14] The Greenberg account has not been active since Law's 2023 arrest, according to two family members of an alleged victim of Law. [18]
The Times investigation and arrest
| Kenneth Law's arrest | |
|---|---|
| Exclusive photo of Law being arrested in Mississauga obtained by Global News | |
 Law's arrest |
After a British woman committed suicide with sodium nitrite in April 2022, the coroner investigating her death noted the involvement of a Mississauga post office and Imtime Cuisine, an allegedly Law-operated business. [19]
After his son Tom committed suicide in 2021 with sodium nitrite, a man named David Parfett discovered a connection to Kenneth Law, who allegedly sold him the poison. He tipped off The Times reporter James Beal, who went on to publish an investigation. Beal called Law, who admitted to selling sodium nitrite and allegedly confessed to instructing customers on how to commit suicide. [13] The article also linked Law's products to seven deaths. [5] Shortly after the publication of the article, on May 2, 2023, Law was arrested at his Mississauga residence, [13] as a direct result of his sudden notoriety. [20] In the time between the publication of The Times report and his arrest, he gave an interview to the The Globe and Mail where he argued that he had "no control" over what his customers did with the sodium nitrite he sold them, and was thus not criminally responsible for anything. He also accused The Times of misrepresenting his words. [5]
He was initially charged with two counts of counselling or aiding suicide. [1] He opted out of a bail hearing in June. [21] In August, Law was charged with 12 more counts of counselling and aiding suicide. [22] He was additionally charged with 14 counts of second-degree murder in December, [23] which were upgraded to first-degree murder the following month. [2] As of September 2023, Law is a suspect in 120 suicides worldwide, including 88 in the United Kingdom. [3] He is not being prosecuted outside of Ontario. [4] As of March 2024, he was planning on pleading not guilty, with his lawyer stating that Law only sold an "otherwise legal product on the open market." [6] His case will proceed directly to trial, without a preliminary inquiry (during which the judge would confirm if the Crown has enough evidence to prosecute the accused). [24]
After Law's May 2023 arrest, Google Trends registered a significant spike in interest in sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate, presumably confused for the former, in Canada. A smaller spike in searches for these two terms occurred in August, when Law was additionally charged. [25]
