EXCLUSIVE: Family raises alarm amid new deaths from chemical once sold by Kenneth Law

Jeshennia Bedoya Lopez, died in 2022 at just 18 years old. (Jon Woodward/W5).

Warning: Graphic content

Deaths from a chemical that was sold by an Ontario-based salesman of suicide kits dropped substantially after he was arrested and jailed, but they didn’t stop, according to data provided to W5 by coroners’ services across Canada.

Those new deaths are a concerning sign that other salespeople are following in the footsteps of former Ontario chef Kenneth Law, who is expected to plead guilty to aiding and abetting suicide, say the parents of one young woman who died after ordering products from Law’s website.

“I have no words. She was my friend, my confidante, my light, my everything,” recalled Maria Lopez, the mother of Jeshennia Bedoya Lopez, who died in 2022 at just 18 years old.

Jeshennia’s father, Leonardo Bedoya, said his daughter became isolated during the pandemic, and despite her family’s attempts to deal with her depression, even taking her to a Toronto-area hospital, he found her dead in their home.

“You could see in her veins, a darkness that had something to do with something she had taken. It was nothing natural. Nothing natural about what happened,” he said.

Her death had left them broken-hearted, Bedoya said, saying he wants the justice system to mete out a punishment for Law that will make any future sellers stop in their tracks.

“He’s an assassin. A serial killer. They should treat him like a murderer,” Bedoya told W5 in an interview.

Kenneth Law was once a chef at an upscale Toronto hotel. He was arrested and charged in 2023, with authorities alleging that he developed a lucrative side business of selling packages with a high concentration of a meat preservative to people who wanted to die.

More than a thousand packages were shipped around the world, police said at the time. A tally by W5, using statements from authorities, news articles, and interviews, has linked Kenneth Law’s products to at least 150 deaths worldwide.

Police charged Law with 14 counts of first-degree murder connected to 14 deaths in Ontario, including Jeshennia’s. Among the other Canadian victims were Ashtyn Prosser-Blake, 19, and Stephen Mitchell Junior, who was 21.

Crown counsel have since withdrawn murder charges in a plea deal, with Law now expected to plead guilty to aiding and abetting suicide in a hearing later this year. A murder charge carries a maximum of life in prison, while a single aiding suicide charge carries a maximum of 14 years in prison.

Coroners’ data show presence of chemical

W5 reached out to coroners and medical examiners across Canada to get a picture of the deaths connected to the toxin Law was selling.

In 2018, that chemical was connected to just 3 deaths. By 2020, that had jumped to 31 across Canada, staying that high for years, until dropping when Kenneth Law was arrested in 2023.

But the deaths didn’t drop to zero. In 2024, there were 17 deaths linked to that chemical. In 2025, there were 11.

It’s a similar story in the U.K., where that country’s National Crime Agency has identified 112 deaths tied to Kenneth Law. Another regulator, OfCom, says at least 130 deaths have been tied to a pro-suicide forum.

Prof. Dr. Amrita Ahluwalia at Queen Mary University of London said that her laboratory, which is often asked to analyze samples connected to deaths, has been busy.

“All I can be certain of is that we have seen an increase in the U.K. of the number of cases that show a positive indication for the presence or use of this salt,” she said in an interview.

Law often marketed his products on a pro-suicide website that W5 is not naming. Looking at that website recently, W5 was able to find new posts swapping tips about finding “a legit source for Canada.”

Website fined by the U.K.

This week, the U.K. announced it was fining that website the equivalent of more than $1.7 million Canadian dollars, alleging that it has not complied with new online safety legislation to protect people in the U.K. from illegal content.

The U.K. regulator, Ofcom, said that the site did make some changes but made “serious and deliberate” contraventions that posed a risk of fatal harm to people in the U.K.

In Canada, the federal government does not have similar legal tools. An online safety bill died when Parliament was prorogued in January 2025.

Health Canada told W5 in a statement that it cannot ban the chemical because of its legal use as a meat preservative.

However, the agency said it is exploring other options to limit or restrict certain websites, and said it did ask tech company Google to de-list the site.

“The Government of Canada received a response from Google on December 15, 2023, noting that in order to proceed with the legal removal of the website they required the Government of Canada to submit a court order for their review. This matter has been referred to law enforcement,” the agency said in a statement.

‘A part of me died’

Jeshennia Bedoya-Lopez’s parents have built a small shrine in their home north of Toronto to remember their daughter.

It shows many pictures of her, mementoes and keepsakes, as well as a candle that they light. When Maria Lopez walks by a picture of Jeshennia on the wall, she often makes the sign of the cross.

They keep many photos of her through their time in Colombia, before moving to Thunder Bay, and then finally in the Greater Toronto Area.

And they are proud that those photos were featured in a music video by the South American music group Orquesta La Cima, whose work pays tribute to their loss.

They would like the deaths of people via this chemical to end with their daughter’s, saying they want people in distress to get help and support instead.

“It’s something you never, ever want to go through as a mother. Not only a part of me died, but everything inside of me died as well,” Maria Lopez said.

If you or someone you know is struggling with sexual assault or trauma, the following resources are available to support people in crisis:

• Call 911 if you are in immediate danger or fear for your safety.
• The Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres' website has a comprehensive list of sexual assault centres in Canada that offer information, advocacy and counselling.
• The Ending Violence Association of Canada‘s website has links to helplines, support services and locations across Canada that offer sexual assault kits.
• Indian Residential School Survivors Society crisis lines: [phone] or [phone] (24/7)
• Toronto Rape Crisis Centre crisis line: [phone] (24/7)
• Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline: [phone] (24/7)
• Trans Lifeline: [phone]
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 988 (24/7)
• Sexual Misconduct Support and Resource Centre for current and former Canadian Armed Forces members: [phone]
• Read about your rights as a victim on the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime website.