Police and prosecutors have charged Kenneth Law with 14 counts of second-degree murder, raising the stakes in the case against the Mississauga man, who was originally arrested on allegations that he had aided suicides by shipping people a potentially lethal substance.
Mr. Law’s lawyer, Matthew Gourlay, confirmed Monday that the charges in Ontario against his client had been upgraded, but he had no other comment.
Peel Regional Police declined to comment, but are planning a news conference on the case in Mississauga on Tuesday morning.
Mr. Law has been the subject of a sprawling national and international investigation. Police have alleged that he operated an e-commerce business selling sodium nitrite, an industrial salt used to cure meats that is deadly in high concentrations. He allegedly sent hundreds of packages to buyers in Canada and other countries, at least some of whom had been visitors to online forums that promote suicide.
Mr. Law told The Globe and Mail in April, before his arrest, that the product he was selling was legal. “What the person does with it? I have no control,” he said.
When police first arrested Mr. Law in May, officers said they were investigating 1,200 packages that he is alleged to have shipped. The charges in Ontario, all related to deaths in the province, are the only ones he is currently facing, though authorities in other jurisdictions where Mr. Law allegedly had customers have said they are continuing to investigate him.
What we know about Kenneth Law
The second-degree murder charges mean Mr. Law faces an automatic life sentence if Crown attorneys can prove in court that he caused someone’s death either recklessly or intentionally. Mr. Law is also still facing his previous 14 counts of aiding suicide, a lesser crime that carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail.
Stephen Mitchell Sr., whose 21-year-old son Stephen died in March, 2023, and was identified in charging documents as someone whose life Mr. Law allegedly played a role in ending, said Monday he was pleased with the developments in the investigation.
“In my opinion, they better reflect the nature of the crime that was committed towards my son, who suffered from depression,” he wrote in an e-mail.
Lawyers who are not involved in the case said the new charges could have precedent-setting implications for criminal law in Canada.
“If successful, it would make him one of the most prolific serial murderers in Canada,” said Daniel Brown, who was until recently the president of the Criminal Lawyers Association. “The question becomes, did he directly or indirectly cause death, by giving people the tools to do it?”
Mr. Brown said the coming legal arguments will be closely watched across Canada. But the new charges also carry risks, he said, because the prosecution’s entire case could be jeopardized if the change causes undue delays in court.
Police in Ontario have been intensifying their case against Mr. Law for months.
In May, police in Mississauga first charged him with two counts of aiding suicide, for the deaths of two people in that city. Then, in August, police announced a total of 14 counts of aiding suicide after 12 additional deaths in other Ontario cities came to light. The charges Monday involve the same 14 people.
Criminal probes in other jurisdictions are continuing. In September, a Montreal police force announced that it had opened a separate investigation into Mr. Law’s activities. In August, Britain’s National Crime Agency announced that it suspected him of being tied to 88 suicide deaths in that country.
Colin Freeze