Kenneth Law facing upgraded 1st-degree murder charges in poison-selling case
Posted January 26, 2024 7:53 am.
Last Updated January 26, 2024 11:06 am.
Police now believe the GTA man accused of selling poison to people who went on to take their own lives had planned the deaths in advance.
More than a dozen second-degree murder charges against Kenneth Law have been upgraded to first-degree murder charges, the lawyer representing the accused confirms to CityNews.
In a statement, Law’s lawyer says his client will be “pleading not guilty to the upgraded charges and will fully defend himself in court.”
The reports of upgraded charges would suggest significant new evidence has been uncovered in the case. The 58-year-old former chef from Mississauga was arrested in May and accused of running several websites that were used to sell sodium nitrite, and other items that can be used for self-harm, shipping them to people in more than 40 countries.
Law has maintained the products he sold were legal and he is not responsible for what people do with them. Sodium nitrite is a substance used in meat-processing and can be deadly if consumed in large doses.
Investigators believe more than 1,200 packages were sent out globally, with about 160 sent to people in Canada. There are 11 Ontario police agencies investigating Law, along with several agencies in other countries.
In December, police announced 14 new charges of second-degree murder, in addition to his previous 14 charges of counselling and aiding suicide.
Police have said the charges involve victims from across Ontario who ranged in age from 16 to 36.
The charges were filed in a York Region court. Law’s case is set to return to a Newmarket courtroom on Tuesday.
With files from The Canadian Press
