Kenneth Law

Kenneth 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. He was later charged with 14 counts of first-degree murder. By September 2023, he had become a suspect in 120 suicides worldwide, including 88 in the United Kingdom alone. Law, however, is not being prosecuted outside of Ontario.

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. As of 2024, Law is pleading not guilty.

Early life and career
Law was born in 1965. On his resume, he wrote that he was an engineering graduate from the University of Toronto and that he also enrolled in an MBA program at York University. He claimed in a 2005 blog post to have worked in aerospace, finance and marketing. In 2016, wanting a "lifestyle change", he found employment as a cook at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, where he was filmed partaking in a labour union turf dispute. Toronto Life reported that Law performed poorly, frequently argued with his coworkers and had few friends there. 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. The hotel's kitchen shut down early on in the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, and a now-unemployed Law filed for bankruptcy, owing over $134,000.

In an interview with The Times, he claimed that his mother once 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.

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

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. The Greenberg account has not been active since Law's 2023 arrest, according to two family members of an alleged victim of Law.

The Times investigation and 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.

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. The article also linked Law's products to seven deaths. Shortly after the publication of the article, on May 2, 2023, Law was arrested at his Mississauga residence, as a direct result of his sudden notoriety. 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.

He was initially charged with two counts of counselling or aiding suicide. He opted out of a bail hearing in June. In August, Law was charged with 12 more counts of counselling and aiding suicide. He was additionally charged with 14 counts of second-degree murder in December, which were upgraded to first-degree murder the following month. As of September 2023, Law is a suspect in 120 suicides worldwide, including 88 in the United Kingdom. He is not being prosecuted outside of Ontario. 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." 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).

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.

Concepts and legislation

 * Assisted suicide
 * Euthanasia in Canada
 * Right to die
 * Suicide legislation

People and entities

 * Philip Nitschke, an Australian euthanasia advocate who promoted sodium nitrite
 * Sanctioned Suicide, a forum where Law allegedly hawked his products