Canadian “poison seller” accused of murder

A man from Canada is being charged with murder for giving a poisonous chemical to people who used it to end their lives.

Canadian police have accused a 57-year-old man named Kenneth Law, who used to work as a chef, of committing 14 second-degree murders.

Mr Law was accused of helping people to commit suicide by selling them a deadly chemical online.

British police have also connected Mr. Law to 90 deaths in the UK.

Mr Law’s lawyer, Matthew Gourlay, said in an email to the BBC that his client plans to say he didn’t do the things he’s accused of.

Police said on Tuesday that they are charging Mr. Law with murder, which is a serious crime. This is a big step in the legal process against Mr. Law in Canada. The investigation into his actions has involved 11 different police groups in Ontario, which is the biggest province in the country.

Simon James, a police inspector from York Region, said that new murder charges are connected to 14 victims in Ontario, as part of a big investigation.

Mr James said there is proof that backs up the accusation of second-degree murder, but he didn’t give more information because the investigation is still happening.

Mr Law is accused of both murder and helping people to commit suicide in Ontario. He has a total of 28 charges against him. If he is proven guilty of second-degree murder in Canada, he could go to jail for the rest of his life.

Mr Law is in jail and being looked into by police in different parts of Canada and other countries like the UK.

Mr James said that the police in Ontario are working together with international investigations.

Canadian police said Mr. Law had operated several websites that provided tools and substances to help people commit suicide. The police think he may have sent more than 1,200 packages with deadly chemicals to about 40 countries.

He was arrested in May for helping someone commit suicide. In August, the police added more charges against him, all related to deaths in Ontario.

The people who died were between 16 and 36 years old. James said that there were several victims who were younger than 18 years old.

Many people who say Mr. Law hurt them were in the UK too. The National Crime Agency in London said that Mr. Law sent packages to 272 people.

The NCA is looking into whether any laws were broken in the UK. They said 90 people who got the suspicious substance have died, but they can’t be sure it caused all of the deaths.

One person died after police checked on all the addresses that received a package, the agency said.

A person from the NCA said: “We are looking for clues to help us find evidence of crimes that have been committed in the UK or against its people. ”

David Parfett was happy to hear that Mr Law was being charged. His son, Tom, bought chemicals from Mr Law and died in October 2021.

“It tells others who support self-harm and suicide kits for vulnerable people that they can’t break the law,” Mr. Parfett explained to the media.

He said that there are important lessons for the authorities about how to better protect people on the internet.

Online, people are allowed to do things like telling others to kill themselves, even though it’s illegal in real life. “He said it needs to stop. ”

This is a big moment for many families of the victims, but some still have worries.

They are concerned that other sellers have replaced Mr. Law and are still selling the harmful chemical he is accused of supplying. Many people also think that the UK government has not done a good job in preventing this kind of crime.

Mr James from the York Regional Police said a big problem is that some of the websites Mr. Law uses are in other countries where Canadian laws don’t apply.

The families of the victims are also asking for those who created and run a website that promotes suicide to be held responsible for their actions. This website teaches people who are easily influenced how to end their lives. The BBC talked about the forum in October and even spoke to one of its creators, who said he is not part of it anymore.

Many of the people who died learned about Mr. Law and other sellers from a forum that the BBC won’t say the name of.

They read and followed the steps on how to do something to end their lives.