A photo of Kenneth Law, an Ontario man accused of selling a deadly substance online, is shown during a press conference, in Mississauga, Ont., on Aug. 29, 2023.Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press
The father of a young British man who ordered a lethal dose of curing salt from a company allegedly linked to Kenneth Law says police in his country told him they won’t decide whether to bring their own charges against Mr. Law until his criminal case in Canada has concluded.
Mr. Law, a former chef from Mississauga, Ont., faces 14 counts of first-degree murder in Canada over allegations that he sold packets of sodium nitrite over the internet to people at risk of self-harm. Police in several provinces and in a growing list of countries that include the United States, Britain, Ireland and New Zealand are conducting their own investigations of potentially related cases.
Britain’s National Crime Agency would not comment on whether charges are forthcoming against Mr. Law in any of the 93 cases British police opened last year, after Canadian police forwarded a list of clients who bought sodium nitrite from the handful of sites once run by Mr. Law. The British Crown Prosecution Service also declined to comment.
David Parfett, whose 22-year-old son Tom killed himself in a suburb southwest of London in October, 2021, said local police told him in a private meeting last week that they will be waiting until Mr. Law’s criminal case in Ontario finishes before deciding whether to lay charges in Britain.
“It’s over two years since Tom died and we’re no closer to a prosecution and don’t even know if that will ever happen,” he said in a video interview from Britain last week.
Mr. Law was charged last year with 14 counts of aiding suicide and, last December, also charged with 14 counts of second-degree murder. Those charges were recently upgraded to first-degree murder. The allegations against Mr. Law have not been tested in court and his trial has yet to be scheduled.
Ontario police have publicly alleged that Mr. Law, 58, shipped about 160 packages across Canada and hundreds of others to people in 40 different countries through several websites selling sodium nitrite and other items that can be used for self-harm.
Mr. Law’s lawyer, Matthew Gourlay, told The Globe and Mail late last month that his client is not facing any other charges in other jurisdictions. He said his client will plead not guilty to all charges in the Ontario case.
“It’s certainly, to our knowledge, the first time an alleged act of assisting a suicide has been charged as a murder, so Mr. Law looks forward to defending himself in court and obviously denies he was guilty of these new charges,” Mr. Gourlay said.
Mr. Parfett said senior investigators from the Surrey Police, south of London, told him during their meeting a week ago that they are not investigating any allegations of murder and were unaware of any British cases where direct communication had been found between Mr. Law and an alleged victim. Instead, he said, they told him they were still investigating Mr. Law for allegedly assisting the suicide of his son.
Mr. Parfett said British police told him that they won’t have full access to the evidence uncovered by their Canadian colleagues – such as Mr. Law’s electronic communications – until that trial is over.
“I have to recognize that it’s unprecedented,” said Mr. Parfett. “But, of course, being family of somebody who was provided with poison … and died is also frustrating.”
Until the local police investigation into his son’s death is finished, he said a coroner’s inquest into Tom’s suicide is also on pause. That inquiry could make recommendations to stop other vulnerable young people from legally purchasing toxic substances that are still available from a raft of vendors marketing these products through online forums that promote suicide, according to Mr. Parfett.
“There will be people on there today who are ordering suicide kits and killing themselves, so for goodness’ sake they need to hurry up,” said Mr. Parfett of the need to shut down these forums and vendors.
Mr. Law was arrested shortly after the Times of London published the results of an investigation into him allegedly targeting vulnerable people with his products. Before he was charged by the Peel Regional Police Service, Mr. Law denied any criminal wrongdoing in an interview with The Globe, stating that he started the business selling the salts after going bankrupt during the first wave of the pandemic.
“I’m selling a legal product, okay. And what the person does with it? I have no control,” Mr. Law told The Globe.