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An Ontario man who allegedly sold lethal substances online to people who later took their own lives has been charged with 14 counts of second-degree murder, police announced on Monday.
Kenneth Law, 57, was previously charged with 14 counts of counselling or aiding suicide in May, after police in Peel Region investigated two local deaths linked to his online activities.
Law is accused of using several websites, disguised as catering, academic, or medical services, to market and sell sodium nitrite, a substance commonly used to cure meats that can be deadly if ingested in large doses.
Police said Law sent at least 1,200 packages of sodium nitrite to people in more than 40 countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Italy.
The new murder charges stem from 12 additional deaths across Ontario that police believe are connected to Law's online poison sales. The victims ranged in age from 16 to 64, and died between 2022 and 2023.
"We will not tolerate criminal actions by those who prey on vulnerable individuals in our communities and we will hold those responsible accountable," said Inspector Simon James of York Regional Police, who led the investigation.
James said police are still investigating other potential deaths related to Law's websites, and urged anyone who may have received a package from him to contact their local police.
Law appeared in court in Brampton on Monday and was remanded in custody until his next appearance on Dec. 20.
Police also warned the public to look out for packages or transactions that bear the names of Imtime Cuisine, AmbuCA, Academic/ACademic, Escape Mode/escMode, and ICemac, which are the websites allegedly used by Law to sell sodium nitrite.
The National Crime Agency in the U.K. said it is also probing the deaths of 88 people who bought products from Canada-based websites selling substances to assist with suicide. The agency said 272 people in the U.K. are believed to have bought sodium nitrite from Law's websites, but it could not confirm the chemical was the direct cause of the 88 deaths.
Law, a former aerospace engineer who worked as a chef at a high-end hotel, has not entered a plea to any of the charges against him.
