Canadian 'poison vendor' Kenneth Law faces sentencing after aiding 14 suicides
Victims' families gave harrowing testimonies in a Newmarket, Canada court as former chef Kenneth Law awaits sentencing for aiding 14 suicides.
Families recount grief as Canadian poison seller awaits prison term
Relatives of suicide victims addressed a court in Newmarket, near Toronto, on Wednesday, delivering emotional impact statements ahead of sentencing for Kenneth Law — a former chef who pleaded guilty in May to aiding the suicides of 14 people in Canada, the Jamaica Observer reports.
Law, who is in his 60s, ran online forums during the Covid-19 pandemic where he advised users on methods of ending their lives and sold them lethal substances. He has admitted to proactively seeking out customers, operating under a pseudonym on suicide discussion forums, and shipping packages containing fatal concentrations of sodium nitrite — a meat preservative — both within Canada and internationally, typically for around $80 per packet.
"I cannot stop thinking that my little girl will never come back," said Maria Lopez, mother of Jeshennia Bedoya-Lopez, who died in 2022 at 18 years old. Her statement was read aloud by prosecutors. Her father Leonardo added: "The future we had imagined as a family disappeared."
Leonardo Bedoya later told reporters he discovered his daughter dead in her bedroom. He described prosecutors' decision to drop murder charges as "a disgrace."
Dozens of other bereaved relatives are expected to deliver statements over several days at the Newmarket courthouse. Judge Michelle Fuerst has set aside four days for victim impact statements and additional evidence before determining the sentence. No date has been confirmed for the ruling.
Law sold poison to buyers in at least 41 countries, including China, France and Brazil. He dispatched 330 packages to recipients in the United Kingdom alone, according to an agreed statement of facts signed by both the defence and prosecution.
Several families expressed anger that murder charges were not pursued, arguing Law bore direct responsibility for the deaths of predominantly young and vulnerable people. Despite the dropped charges, legal experts say prosecutors are expected to seek a substantial sentence for aiding suicides — possibly up to 20 years.
"I'm no longer the same person I was before my brother died. Grief is now part of everything I do," said Adrienne Ryan, sister of Maurizio Vadala, her voice breaking as she addressed the court.
Stephen Mitchell described losing his son, Stephen Jr, to one of Law's products. "My son was a depressed, vulnerable, and sometimes immature youth. He was ill, and he needed help," Mitchell said. "Mr Law robbed my son of that chance to be healed."
Canada's Globe and Mail published details this month of psychiatric interviews conducted with Law in prison following his guilty plea. In court documents obtained by the newspaper, Law described himself as acting out of humanitarian motives. "I was just trying to serve a need that I thought was humane," he said. He also stated: "I'm not a diabolical madman."
According to the Globe, Law told the psychiatrist that he viewed himself as blameless after his arrest in 2023, maintaining he did not make the final decision to end anyone's life and was merely supplying a product.
Before establishing his online forums, Law had worked as a chef at a luxury hotel in downtown Toronto. He was arrested in 2023 and entered his guilty plea in May of this year. Prosecutors had determined that evidence was insufficient to support a murder conviction.
Source: Jamaica Observer