Toronto — A Canadian man is accused of murder Allegedly selling deadly substances online He has agreed to plead guilty to counseling people at risk of suicide or assisting in suicide, his lawyer told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. on Friday.
In exchange, Canadian prosecutors will drop all 14 murder charges brought against Kenneth Law, lawyer Matthew Gourlay told CBC News.
Law’s case is scheduled to return to court in Newmarket, Ontario, on Monday afternoon.
Calls to Gourlay’s office and the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario were not immediately returned.
Canadian police say Law, from the Toronto area, used a series of websites to market and sell sodium nitrite, a substance commonly used to cure meat that can be fatal if swallowed.
Canadian police say Law is suspected of sending at least 1,200 packages to more than 40 countries. Authorities in the United States, Britain, Italy, Australia and New Zealand have also launched investigations.
It is against the law in Canada to recommend suicide to anyone, although assisted suicide has been legal since 2016 for people at least 18 years of age. Any adult with a serious illness, disease, or disability can ask for help in dying, but they must seek assistance from a physician.
Law has been in custody since his arrest at his Mississauga, Ontario home in May 2023.
According to the Canadian Criminal Code, abetment of suicide carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. A murder conviction automatically means life in prison, with no possibility of parole for at least 25 years.
