Law admitted 14 counts of aiding suicides; nearly 80 UK deaths linked
British survivor Elisabeth Belien testified on Wednesday at the Ontario sentencing hearing of Kenneth Law, telling the court that the former chef exploited her vulnerability when she purchased toxic chemicals from him at age 23 in January 2023. Belien, who had not previously been publicly identified as one of Law’s customers, said she physically recovered after medics administered an antidote, but has continued to struggle with what she described as “survivor’s guilt” since learning from police that others had died from his products.
Speaking directly to Law as he sat in the glass-panelled dock at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Belien said she had struggled with her mental health “for a long time” before the purchase. “Kenneth Law made it a lot easier to act on that despair,” she told the court, according to a BBC report on the hearing.
She described ongoing intrusive thoughts and flashbacks from the day she took the poison, and said the emotional and psychological effects had outlasted her physical recovery. “I feel guilty for surviving. Although I survived it has also impacted my loved ones. I feel like my vulnerability was exploited. I still feel a lot of shame about what happened,” she said. Belien also told the court she felt her purchase enabled Law “to continue his business, supplying his products, to other people who might have been vulnerable, like I was.”
Being present at the hearing, she said, reminded her “how easily” it could have been her own parents in the gallery speaking about her death. She added: “I’m learning that things can get better. I’m learning to be excited to see what the future holds for me. But the gratitude I’m feeling for being alive today doesn’t take away from the trauma of the experience.”
Scale of the sales and the plea deal
Canadian authorities have said Law, a former chef, sold about 1,200 packages of toxic substances to recipients he met in online suicide forums in 40 countries, with roughly a quarter of the packages sent to the United Kingdom. He was arrested in May 2023 following what officials described as a complex investigation involving at least 11 law-enforcement agencies and investigators from around a dozen countries, including the United Kingdom, Italy, and the United States.
Nearly 80 deaths in the UK have been linked to Law. As part of a plea deal with Canadian authorities, Law will not face charges in the UK or over any British deaths, the BBC reported.
UK families describe the aftermath
Impact statements from families of British victims were read during the sentencing hearing this week.
David Parfett, whose son Tom died in October 2021, said he had struggled with his own mental health since the death. “Initially, in the months after he died, I didn’t properly mourn him, because my focus was on understanding, and then exposing the harm caused by the internet platforms that allowed Law to trade suicide to kids,” he said in his statement. “I’m still, after five years, unable to fully process Tom’s death. I’m a very different person to who I was before Tom took his own life, having previously been gregarious, outgoing. I find it difficult to enjoy life.”
A statement was also read from the parents of Henry Tucker, a 14-year-old British boy who died in October 2021. Kate and Henry Tucker said Henry had been diagnosed with autism but in fact had a neurological condition that could have been treated with antibiotics. “The realisation that his suffering and his death could have been prevented is a weight that is impossible to bear,” they said. “The death of a children under these circumstance is a heavy burden to carry for the rest of our lives. We will carry it however with Henry’s blessings until we meet again. We love you Henry.”
Norson Harris, the father of British victim Ashleigh Harris, read his statement in person. “We all feel we should have been able to prevent Ashleigh’s death. Rather than offer the help needed that individual Kenneth Law sold her a chemical that Ashleigh took to end her life,” he said. “I still hope over time Mr Law will recognise the answer to Ashleigh and the myriad of others who reached out to him should have been that they were loved and there was help available to them.”
Canadian families also address the court
Earlier in the hearing, Stephen Mitchell Sr, the father of Canadian Stephen Mitchell Jr, who died on March 25, 2023, addressed Law directly. “He was ill, he needed help, and I tried my best to bring him that help,” Mitchell Sr said. “Mr Law robbed my son of that chance to be well.”
Mitchell Sr said he was willing to accept that Law might have experienced brief moments of regret or despair during his incarceration, even thoughts that his own life was meaningless. “That was the same thoughts that my son Stephen had before he took the chemicals that Mr Law sold him,” he said. “When my son was well, he would have gladly helped Mr Law work out his depressive thoughts, if asked, because he believed in the value of people.”
Sandra Scott, whose daughter Amara Scott died on February 9, 2022, aged 25, said she and her family had been trying to help Amara through a mental health crisis. “Our efforts were cut short when, in her most vulnerable state, she made contact with the accused,” she told the court. “The day I and her friends found Amara, and the way that she died — it broke my heart. It was a blessing and an honour to be Amara’s mother.”
The hearing continues.