Murder charges to be withdrawn against Kenneth Law, his lawyer says

Mississauga man accused of selling poisonous substances online will instead plead guilty to aiding suicide

Published Apr 18, 2026  •  Last updated 49 minutes ago  •  2 minute read

Kenneth Law, of Mississauga, is accused of selling suicide kits online. Photo by Handout /Peel Regional Police

The lawyer for Kenneth Law, the Mississauga man accused of selling suicide kits online, says his client will not face murder charges.

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Matthew Gourlay, Law’s legal representative, said Crown prosecutors will withdraw 14 charges of first-degree murder and instead his client will plead guilty to 14 counts of aiding suicide at a plea hearing that he expects will be scheduled for a later date.

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“There will be more said in due course in court,” Gourlay told the Canadian Press on Saturday.

Law, who was 57 years old when he was arrested, is expected to make a planned court appearance on Monday. He has been in custody since charges were laid nearly three years ago.

A former chef employed at the Royal York Hotel in downtown Toronto, Law is likely to receive credit for time served while awaiting trial when the judgment is issued.

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Trial repeatedly delayed

His trial had been delayed a number of times as prosecutors and defence lawyers awaited a Supreme Court ruling on an ambiguous area of the law regarding when murder charges can be laid against people who provide help to others to end their lives.

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In December 2025, the Supreme Court decided not to wade into this issue in an appeal involving a case of attempted murder and aiding suicide.

“I decline to conclusively resolve this abstract legal issue in this appeal,” Justice Michelle O’Bonsawin wrote in the decision.

Accused of selling sodium nitrate

In May 2023, Law was arrested by Peel Regional Police following an investigation involving the online sale and distribution of alleged suicide kits containing sodium nitrite, an odourless, yellowish-white, crystalline compound chemical.

While used in the food industry as a preservative for fish and meats, sodium nitrite is also prescribed as a medicine and can be used as an antidote to cyanide poisoning. However, it is lethal in larger doses.

At the time of his arrest, it was alleged Law counselled or aided the suicide of two individuals.

As the investigation progressed, detectives from other jurisdictions including Toronto, York, Durham, OPP and six other police agencies across the province joined to the probe.

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In August 2023, Peel Regional Police announced 12 additional offences of counselling or aiding suicide were laid, bringing the total number of charges to 14.

York Regional Police Insp. Simon James speaks at Peel Regional Police headquarters on the investigation of Kenneth Law, on Aug. 29, 2023. Photo by Jack Boland /Toronto Sun

Murder charges added

Then in December 2023, investigators laid 14 charges of second-degree murder pertaining to the same 14 victims. Those charges were later upgraded to first-degree murder.

In September 2024, a CBC report alleged Law was linked to 131 deaths from around the world, including at least 88 in the United Kingdom as well as fatalities in Australia and New Zealand.

Law is not facing charges outside Ontario, but an Aurora family filed a $2-million lawsuit against him, a Newmarket hospital and seven doctors after their 18-year-old daughter died in September 2022.

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