Kenneth Law to plead guilty after murder charges withdrawn, lawyer says

Warning: This story contains sensitive subject matter involving suicide.

The lawyer for Kenneth Law says his client will plead guilty to 14 counts of assisting suicide, while the Crown will withdraw 14 counts of first-degree murder.

Matthew Gourlay confirmed the development to Global News late Friday, saying a date for the plea will be scheduled in May when Law appears before a judge in Newmarket, Ont., on Monday. He said the parties are still working out an agreed statement of facts.

Law had been set to stand trial on 14 counts each of first-degree murder and aiding suicide, with proceedings expected to last eight weeks.

The trial of the Ontario man accused of selling lethal substances online to people who later used them to take their own lives had been pushed back to April.

Law’s trial had already been rescheduled to January 2026 but was postponed again to the spring as the Crown and defence awaited a Supreme Court of Canada decision in a separate case that could impact the proceedings.

The Crown is appealing a ruling by Ontario’s top court that suggests a person may only be liable for murder if they provided a person who died by suicide with the lethal substance and “overbore the victim’s freewill in choosing suicide.”

Police have alleged that Law ran 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.

They have said all charges against him relate to the same 14 people, who were between the ages of 16 and 36.

Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General did not immediately respond to Global News’ request for comment Friday evening.

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, support is available 24/7 by calling or texting 988, Canada’s national suicide prevention helpline.