Alleged suicide kit salesman files in Supreme Court to contest whether assisted suicide can ever be murder

Lawyers representing the Ontario man accused of selling hundreds of suicide kits with deadly effect around the globe have filed to intervene in a case in Canada’s highest court, arguing there is no way he can be charged with murder under Canadian law.

The question of what Kenneth Law’s culpability for 14 deaths in Ontario of people who consumed his poisonous products may ultimately be settled by Canada’s Supreme Court in a case that observers say has the potential to decide one of the country’s largest set of murder charges as well as impact Canadian assisted suicide laws.

“Assisting suicide is not murder,” Law’s lawyers, Matthew Gourlay, Stephanie DiGuiseppe, and Taylor Wormington wrote in a brief filed Friday.

"Mr. Law is not alleged to have been present at any of the deaths. He is not alleged to have deceived the victims into unwittingly ending their own lives. It would impermissibly warp the language of the Code to assert that someone who mails a toxic substance that another person later voluntarily consumes in another location with suicidal intent has “actually committed” their murder," they write.

Law, a former engineer and chef, was arrested in May 2023 after allegedly operating a number of online storefronts to sell a legal but deadly substance, as well as additional products like rubber tubing and gas masks for the purpose of suicide.

He was originally charged with aiding and abetting suicide, but in January 2024 he was also charged with first degree murder, meaning authorities are accusing him of intentionally killing 14 people. The alleged victims in Ontario range in age from 16 to 36.

Authorities said he sent more than 1,000 packages around the world, and tracking by CTV News has determined the number of deaths possibly connected to Law’s products has climbed past 130.

Among them was 21-year-old Liana Kirk, whose father Dale told CTV News in an interview from New Zealand that as a young child, she loved to dance and to laugh.

“She was happy. She had lots of friends. She was great, a real spark,” Kirk said.

But he said as she got older she grew withdrawn, quit school, and disappeared for long periods. By 21, she was in and out of hospital, and using methamphetamines. When the pandemic hit, the mental health problems got worse, he said.

A coroners report says she ordered one of Law’s products in September 2022, and a month later, she was dead.

“It’s your worst nightmare,” said Kirk.

There is no criminal prosecution for Liana Kirk’s death in New Zealand. But Dale Kirk, who was once a New Zealand police officer, says he is glad that Canadian authorities are taking the Canadian cases so seriously.

“At the end of the day I’m a believer in the justice system and if he goes through the justice system and he faces a jury of his peers and is judged, I’m happy to accept that, but I certainly believe there is criminal liability on his part,” he said.

The Supreme Court case is not an appeal of Law’s criminal case, which is ongoing, or related to a civil lawsuit that has been filed against him and a Toronto-area hospital by the parents of a dead teenager.

It is an appeal by the Crown of a finding in a case where the Ontario Court of Appeal found that for a potentially deadly action to be murder, it must overcome the victim’s free will. That case is subject to a publication ban.

The appeal is a chance to clarify the laws around assisted suicide and homicide, Crown lawyers wrote in a submission.

"The Crown alleges that each victim consumed a substance or utilized equipment that Mr. Law sold online with the knowledge that his products were being used by individuals to commit suicide. This case exemplifies that the issues...are much more widespread and is potentially determinative of one of the largest murder cases ever charged in the province of Ontario," wrote lawyers Deborah Krick and Katie Doherty.

Because Law’s case was directly brought up in their arguments, Law should be granted intervenor status, his lawyers wrote.

A lot is riding on the Supreme Court’s decision whether to grant leave to appeal, or a final judgement, said Ingrid Grant, a Toronto-based criminal defense lawyer who is familiar with this case.

She said as the Court of Appeal case stands now, there is only a narrow possibility to convict someone assisting with suicide of murder – and the Law case might not meet the test.

“They didn’t close the door entirely to a situation where possibly assisting a suicide could also be a murder if you have something more, such as encouraging a person to commit suicide and taking a more active role in it,” Grant said in an interview.

The 14 murder charges are at stake, but Law is also facing 14 charges of aiding and abetting suicide. The punishment for murder is life in prison, while aiding and abetting suicide is typically less than two years in prison.

Law’s criminal case is set to be heard in September 2025.

Editor’s note: If you or anyone you know is struggling with mental health there are a number of ways to get help, including by calling or texting Suicide Crisis Helpline at 9-8-8. A list of local crisis centres is also available here.