Kenneth Law to plead not guilty to 1st-degree murder charges, lawyer says
Thomas Daigle, Victoria Stunt | CBC News | Posted: January 26, 2024 3:00 AM | Last Updated: January 26
All 14 2nd-degree murder charges will be upgraded, CBC News has learned
Alleged poison seller Kenneth Law will face multiple first-degree murder charges in connection with deaths in Ontario, CBC News has learned.
His lawyer, Matthew Gourlay, confirmed on Friday that the 14 counts of second-degree murder his client was facing will all be upgraded.
Law is also charged with 14 counts of counselling or aiding suicide. All 28 charges are linked to the same 14 deaths across Ontario.
Gourlay told CBC News his client would be pleading not guilty.
Toronto-area police have alleged Law, 58, operated websites selling a potentially lethal substance to clients at risk of self-harm. According to a tally by CBC News, his products are suspected of being connected to at least 124 deaths worldwide — most of them in the United Kingdom.
Canadian authorities recently shared new intelligence with British investigators suggesting the Ontario man had sent out more packages containing suicide paraphernalia than initially thought.
It's not clear what prompted authorities to upgrade the murder charges. Law is set to appear in court in Newmarket, Ont. on Tuesday. Peel Regional Police referred questions to Ontario's Ministry of the Attorney General. A ministry spokesperson did not immediately provide a response to emailed questions from CBC News.
York Regional Police Insp. Simon James, who co-ordinates the sprawling Ontario investigation, said in December the second-degree murder charges stemmed from unspecified evidence that had come to light.
"We are constantly assessing evidence," he said.
According to the Criminal Code, a first-degree murder is a homicide that's both planned and deliberate. A contract killing — when someone pays to order a death — is considered first-degree murder. The lesser charge of second-degree murder generally applies when the killing is deliberate but no planning was involved.
First-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence with no possibility of parole for 25 years.
Before the charges were upgraded, the parents of one of Law's alleged victims told CBC News they hope the perpetrator will feel "the full weight of the law."
Law has previously denied wrongdoing.
Law, a former hotel cook, has been in custody since his arrest in Mississauga, Ont., last May. Around that time, Interpol distributed the names and addresses of Law's customers — provided by Canadian investigators — for authorities to carry out wellness checks in the U.S., France, Malta, Australia and elsewhere.
WATCH | Toronto-area police reveal new details in alleged poison seller case:
The U.K.'s National Crime Agency was initially informed of 272 buyers in Britain but recently learned of 16 further purchases made before Law's arrest. In all, 93 Britons are now believed to have died after placing an order from Law's websites.
Ontario's Peel Regional Police declined to say how investigators learned of the additional buyers. The provincial task force handling the case has previously said Law was believed to have sent 1,200 packages to more than 40 countries, and roughly 160 to Canadian addresses.
Peel police would not provide updated figures or further details, Const. Donna Carlson said Thursday, "in order to protect the integrity of this complex, multi-jurisdictional investigation."
B.C. RCMP, as well as police in Montreal, Calgary and Moose Jaw, Sask., have all confirmed their own probes. Deaths have been reported in multiple countries including Italy, Ireland and New Zealand.
Law has only been charged in Ontario.
LISTEN | What we know about the case of Kenneth Law:
Alleged victim was 'everything' to her parents
Police have said Law's alleged victims, in Ontario cities including Toronto, London and Thunder Bay, were as young as 16. The parents of Jeshennia Bedoya Lopez, from Aurora, Ont., told CBC News she had only recently turned 18 when she died on Sep. 10, 2022.
"She was our only daughter and she was everything to us," Jeshennia's father, Leonardo Bedoya, said in a recent interview. Her mother, Maria Lopez, described her as "a jokester, a good student, a good daughter" and a good source of advice.
The couple said their daughter had just graduated from high school in June 2022 and dreamt of one day becoming a police officer. At times, they said they considered moving back to Leonardo's native Colombia or to Spain, where the couple met, but Jeshennia insisted on staying in Canada.
They said they learned of the connection to Law when detectives paid them a visit 10 months after Jeshennia's suicide.
"We were in shock," Leonardo recalled. He said he and his wife hope Law spends the rest of his days behind bars. People "don't know all the damage he's done to the world," Leonardo said.
Maria wears a necklace bearing Jeshennia's picture. "It's the only thing that consoles me," she said.
Following news of the upgraded charges, Stephen Mitchell Sr. said his family is "pleased" with the latest developments. His son, Stephen Mitchell Jr., is listed in court documents as a victim of Kenneth Law.
"We believe the latest upgrade to the charges against Mr. Law match the crimes that he committed against my son and many others and the clear seriousness of those crimes," he wrote to CBC News.
Case is 'novel,' lawyer says
Ingrid Grant, a criminal defence lawyer in Toronto, told CBC News the case is "novel" and "unprecedented," as "on first blush, it doesn't sound like a murder."
"For murder, a person has to have intention to kill as opposed to just indifference or negligence," she said. "If he's sending these packages just to make money and doesn't care what people do with them, that doesn't necessarily sound like murder, but we don't know all the evidence yet."
LISTEN | Alleged victim's brother calls for poison selling sites to be shut down:
Grant said the case is likely to be very complicated to get through and for the Crown to prove given it's a not a "straightforward" case.
Kent Roach, a law professor at the University of Toronto, told CBC Toronto that the Crown can argue that Law's operations weren't a "spur of the moment matter, but rather an enterprise that was planned and deliberate."
"I think it's important for people to understand that all the Crown has to prove to get a murder conviction in Canada is that the accused knew that someone else was likely to die," said Roach.
He said it's still too early to know how this will affect Law's potential sentencing.
"At this stage I think it's premature to know whether we'll have a trial and whether the conviction will be for second- or first- degree murder or whether there will be an acquittal."
Accused intends to plead not guilty
"To my knowledge, in Canada there has never been a prosecution for this offence (aiding suicide) where the conduct in question is selling an otherwise-legal product on the open market," Gourlay, Law's lawyer, told CBC News in an email before murder charges were added.
Police have said Law sold a toxic salt that can be legally purchased but has proven lethal when consumed in pure form. The same substance is commonly used as a highly diluted food additive.
Leonardo Bedoya urged anyone suffering from mental health struggles to seek support, even if they don't feel comfortable speaking with family. "Find help from other people and let yourself be helped," he said. "Life is worth a lot."
WATCH | Mother reported website to police a year before arrest:
If you have a news tip related to this story, contact CBC News senior reporter Thomas Daigle by email: thomas.daigle@cbc.ca.
If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to get help:
- Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988
- Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 (phone), live chat counselling on the website.
- Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention: Find a 24-hour crisis centre.
- This guide from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health outlines how to talk about suicide with someone you're worried about.