Kenneth Law

Kenneth M. Law (born 1965) is a Canadian man who was charged with shipping sodium nitrite, a potentially lethal substance, to people intending to kill themselves. He was arrested in May 2023 on two counts of counselling or aiding suicide.^[1] He was later charged with 14 counts of first-degree murder.^[2] By September 2023, Radio Canada International linked him to 131 suicides worldwide, including 97 in the United Kingdom alone.^[3] Law, however, is not being prosecuted outside of Ontario.^[4]

Sodium nitrite is also a food preservative and is not inherently illegal, but is harmful to humans in large enough quantities. Law has admitted to selling the substance but argues that he had "no control" over what his customers did with his products and thus has not committed a crime.^[5] As of 2024, Law is pleading not guilty.^[6] His trial is scheduled to start in January 2026.^[7]

Kenneth M. Law^[8] was born in 1965.^[a] He has an industrial engineering degree from the University of Toronto, a master's degree in management science from the University of Waterloo, and a Master of Business Administration from York University.^[11] He claimed in a 2005 blog post to have worked in aerospace, finance and marketing.^[12] By 2009, he had become a managing director for an automotive company.^[11]

In 2009, he was interviewed by Canadian Business. He was described as a former watch collector from Thornhill who invented a wheelchair device for his elderly mother. The device, officially the escMode Wheel Accessory, makes stairs compatible with wheelchairs. He was looking into protecting the intellectual property and constructing a prototype model, estimating that it would cost C$100,000. He had entered his design into the Great Canadian Innovation Competition and was hoping that his invention would become ubiquitous worldwide.^[11] Years later, in an interview with The Times, he further detailed that his mother suffered a stroke and was bed-ridden for seven years, relying on a feeding tube. He also added that his religious father did not believe in euthanasia. The Times could not independently verify his claims, and a family member contacted by The Times disavowed Law entirely.^[13]

In 2016, wanting a "lifestyle change",^[13] he found employment as a cook at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, where he was filmed partaking in a labour union turf dispute.^[14] Toronto Life reported that Law performed poorly, frequently argued with his coworkers and had few friends there. He complained of age discrimination.^[15] In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Law stated that this was where he discovered sodium nitrite, the substance he would later be charged for selling.^[5] The hotel's kitchen shut down early on in the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada,^[15] and a now-unemployed Law^[16] filed for bankruptcy, owing over C$134,000.^[12]

According to Peel Region Police, Law "began operating" websites from which he would later sell sodium nitrite in late 2020.^[17] York Regional Police alleged that he had set up at least five of these sites, also using them to peddle masks and hoods.^[18] Toronto Life reported that these sites, in addition to selling suicide paraphernalia, also offered hot sauce and C$150 "consultation calls" with Law.^[15] 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.^[19] 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.^[16]

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. Greenberg, like Law, was a fan of Star Trek and had a habit of signing off with "cheers".^[20] Several sources interviewed by the Toronto Star believe that Law is Greenberg, but the paper could not verify this. Greenberg, while still active, denied being affiliated with Law.^[21] Greenberg ceased posting shortly before Law's 2023 arrest. Google took down the Greenberg blog a day after The Times exposé on Law.^[22]

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 chemical. 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.^[15] The April 2023 article also linked his products to seven deaths.^[5] Shortly afterwards, Law gave an interview to 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]

Peel Regional Police had been probing a suspicious death involving sodium nitrite since March 31.^[23] In April 2023, after Beal had emailed Peel Regional Police about investigating the suicides, they urgently reviewed past cases of sodium nitrite poisonings. They began intercepting Law's packages by April 27, and arrested him at his Mississauga residence on May 2.^[24] That month, 11 Ontario police agencies united to create a task force investigating Law's activities.^[25] Police agencies in the U.S., U.K., Italy, Australia, and New Zealand also began investigating him,^[26] but he is only being prosecuted in Ontario.^[4] According to a Radio Canada International tally, Law is a suspect in 131 suicides worldwide, including 97 in the United Kingdom.^[3] The task force investigating Law estimated that he sent 1,209 packages to 41 countries through his companies,^[27] but could not say how many contained sodium nitrite.^[23]

He was initially charged with two counts of counselling or aiding suicide in relation to two Peel Region deaths.^[28] In August, Law was charged with 12 more counts of counselling and aiding suicide for other Ontario deaths.^[29] He was additionally charged with 14 counts of second-degree murder in December,^[30] which were upgraded to first-degree murder the following month.^[2] As of February 2025, he was planning on pleading not guilty, with his lawyer stating that Law only sold an "otherwise legal product on the open market."^[6] Law has elected not to pursue his right to bail as of September 2024.^[31]

His trial was originally to take place during September and October 2025.^[32] In September 2024, prosecutors requested that the Supreme Court of Canada give an opinion on whether assisting suicide can be charged as murder.^[33] This appeal caused Law's trial to be delayed to January 2026.^[34] 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).^[35]

Legal experts have described the case as unprecedented.^[36] Unusually, Law is not accused of selling an illegal or restricted substance.^[37]

In September 2024, the family of Jeshennia Bedoya Lopez, an Ontario woman who was suicidal and used products allegedly sold by Law to end her life, filed a lawsuit against him in the Newmarket Superior Court. Seven of Lopez's doctors were also named in the lawsuit for allegedly failing to provide adequate care. They announced that they were seeking damages from both Law and the doctors.^[3]

After Law's May 2023 arrest, Google Trends registered a 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.^[38]

In 2024, the Toronto Star reported that victims' families suspected that Law sold his products on Sanctioned Suicide, but was unable to independently verify the allegation.^[39]

Channel 4 commissioned a two-part documentary, Poisoned: Killer in the Post.^[40]

• Right to die
• Suicide legislation