How police linked sales of a lethal substance and suicides to a Canadian man

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Jordan Heath Rawlings Before we begin, a content warning, this episode contains discussion of suicide. This is a story about desperate people, and the people who might prey on them. It’s a story about how easy the internet can make finding anything, even a way to end a life. The victims in this case are spread across the world, we don’t yet know how many there are or where they will be found, but we do know there are at least seven, including two in Canada. And they have left family and friends behind. Bereft, heartbroken, and asking, how exactly did this happen? Who helped my son, my daughter, my partner end their life? Who profited from this? And the answer, at least according to police in Peel, Ontario, is a local man who faces charges from counselling or aiding in suicide. So what did happen here? What do we know about the accused? And how he allegedly distributed poison through the mail. Just how common are cases like this? And how many others might we still find? I’m Jordan Heath Rawlings, this is The Big Story. Lucas Casaletto is a reporter with City News in Toronto. Who has been following this developing story. Hey Lucas.

Lucas Casaletto Hi Jordan. Thanks so much for having me.

Jordan Heath Rawlings You’re very welcome. This is an interesting story.

Lucas Casaletto It sure is. It has a lot of layers to it, if you wanna call it that. It’s very, it’s fascinating.

Jordan Heath Rawlings Why don’t we start with the substance in question. What is sodium nitrite? What is it generally used for? What does it look like?

Lucas Casaletto Sodium nitrite is a legal, but potentially lethal chemical that can cause death if taken in large amounts. So we’ll start with that. But it is most commonly used to speed up the curing of meats and it helps preserve all sorts of types of meat. When sodium nitrite is added with salts, it can develop into a red and pinkish color, which is typical when you look at different types of processed meats. Now, it closely resembles salt as it appears in a crystallized white form, and that’s what can make it challenging for normal observers to recognize it immediately without knowing that it is in fact a substance like sodium nitrite that can be lethal in high concentrations.

Jordan Heath Rawlings And we’re obviously not here to talk about curing meat. Why are we talking about sodium nitrite today?

Lucas Casaletto So, unfortunately, it’s being mentioned in a rather distressing manner, given the context that’s come to light. Last week, Peele Regional Police announced the arrest of a 57 year old Ontario man. Now this stemmed from the online distribution of sodium nitrite across the GTA that ultimately resulted in two deaths. This man in particular is suspected of selling the substance online through different companies. It could be as many as four to five different companies all online. The charges against Kenneth Law were laid following a month long investigation that ultimately began on March 31st. This came after a sudden death in which the victim was suspected of consuming sodium nitrite purchased through Law’s online business.

Jordan Heath Rawlings How would you go about purchasing something like that online and how would Law’s alleged actions or products find themselves in front of people?

Lucas Casaletto That’s where it gets very interesting, but also very, very sad. What’s rather concerning is how easily these people were able to search up sodium nitrite and ultimately order it through packages containing a legal but lethal substance. I haven’t confirmed this independently, but according to some local media outlets, Canadians that were contemplating self-harm, they would go to a website sort of like an online forum and they would post their thoughts and their intentions. And this would ultimately lead to Kenneth Law’s name being mentioned. And typically what would happen is they would use his initials. So K.L., he became so well known that on these online forums, his initials, K.L. would go up and they would lead people to K.L. You, you want K.L., check out K.L. And they would then be directed to his website where they could purchase these substances. Now, the online forum, it’s actually been blocked by governments in Australia, Italy, and Germany, and at least one internet service provider in the UK. If you search sodium nitrite online, there’s even a link that directs you to Amazon. Now, I intend on reaching out to Amazon for comment on this to see if they realize that they’re selling products that contain sodium nitrite, and if they’re aware of these allegations, and ultimately if they’re aware of this story and the charters against Kenneth Law.

Jordan Heath Rawlings what does he say to the allegations against him?

Lucas Casaletto He denies them. What I’ve actually just recently gathered, again, I have not yet independently confirmed to this, but according to CTV news, they have a source to informed them that Law was working as a chef at a hotel in Toronto. And that’s where it becomes interesting, where you can kind of connect the dots because sodium nitrite is used legally as a substance for meats and preserving meats if that checks out. And, he is in fact, or was in fact working as a chef in Toronto. He would easily have access not only to the substance, but he would know a lot about it. So that’s again, not proven and it’s worth mentioning that this is not proven yet. Peel police, when I’ve spoken to to them, they haven’t said too much other than confirming that Kenneth Law was in fact arrested. On may 2nd, he was charged with two counts of counselling or aiding in suicide. Now, this is just related to the deaths in Ontario, not overseas or in the United States, which is alleged to have happened involving products through his online business. What I have been able to gather is through the London Times in the UK. They cited an undercover buyer. Now, this buyer alleged that Law told them when he was interested in purchasing a product, that he was doing “God’s work.” Now, according to the CBC Law said, the allegations in the Times of London article were false. He denied them. City News hasn’t been able to speak with Law directly regarding these charges or allegations. It’s important to note that while none of this has been proven in court, police do allege that some 1200 packages containing, sodium nitrite have been sent from companies associated with his name and they may have been shipped to as many as 40 countries, but it is unknown how many contains sodium nitrite. So, Law has maintained his innocence. He has said that he can’t control how these products are used once they’re purchased.

Jordan Heath Rawlings How do these mail order kits work? And is this the only kind of them?

Lucas Casaletto It’s not the only kind of them, it is the most I would call it, I guess, prevalent right now that’s kind of come to the surface due to the high amounts of unfortunate individuals that have considered self-harm to my knowledge. Sodium nitrite is sold in packaging, that you would order online and you would receive by mail because it is a legal substance, it can be shipped worldwide. Right now in these alleged cases involving Kenneth Law, it’s believed that individuals contemplating suicide they would go through him directly and they would order these so-called mail order suicide kits containing the lethal substance. These people would receive the packaging. And they would ingest the sodium nitrite once they received it. Now, typically through my research, it’s absorbed in the stomach, so they would take this sort of crystallized substance. They would mix it in a liquid, or a drink, and then consume it. Now, because it is deadly in large amounts, it doesn’t take too long before the person begins to experience rather distressing symptoms, and through my research, if it’s untreated within a quick timeframe, we’re talking maybe half an hour to 45 minutes. It will ultimately result in death. And this would create a pretty unfortunate circumstance for a medical personnel if called to try to revive or help this individual that has consumed the substance.

Jordan Heath Rawlings You mentioned that these charges are directly related to two people in Ontario who have died. But you also described these packages going everywhere including overseas. What do we know about the usage overseas? You mentioned the Times of London is working on this. What do we have from other countries?

Lucas Casaletto This actually prompted the investigation by Peel Police. What actually ended up happening is the Times of London in the UK, they wrote a very detailed sort of investigative piece that ultimately mentioned Kenneth Law by name and they were referencing a man in Ontario who had been using an online platform to sell sodium nitrite to people that were at risk of self-harm. Now what ended up happening is that the Times of London, they reported on seven deaths in the UK and that also involved deaths, undocumented deaths in the US. And in the US they were also alleging that a man in Ontario had been selling products to in their case young people anyone under the age of 20. And there was a man over just over 20 years old, 22 years old, who had purchased sodium nitrite through Kenneth Law and committed suicide with the use of the the substance. Now, what’s interesting is that the Peel police investigation is not involving anybody overseas that may have passed through Kenneth Law’s products. Their focus is solely on the, the two deaths that have resulted in Ontario now. Ontario Provincial Police, right after Peel Police announced the charges against Kenneth Law. They sent out a PSA and a news release warning of packages through different companies. They listed all of the companies that were through Kenneth Law and they wanted the public to be aware. You know, if you see a package like this, if you have a family member that may be suffering, monitor these packages and take note, because as many as 12 communities in Ontario receive packages according to the Ontario Provincial Police. So the charges against Law have not been proven in Canadian court, but they’re solely focused on the Canadian deaths and not so much the the UK or anything involving anybody in the US as of right now.

Jordan Heath Rawlings How complex is it in the law to charge someone with this? And I, I really genuinely don’t know the answer to this, but you know, as we’ve talked about this this product is legally available for purchase. There’s nothing illegal about shipping it. Obviously Mr. Law is not alleged to have made these people take the substance used to kill themself. Like, I guess what I’m asking is where exactly is the crime here?

Lucas Casaletto I think where it will come down to in court with the two charges aiding or counseling in suicide is despite Law denying these allegations and these claims that he did in fact assist these individuals according to police. While he may be denying these charges, he was selling these products knowing that these individuals were at risk of self-harm. Now that might be a little bit difficult to prove in court, but because of those two charges in particular, I find those two charges very interesting. In that they have enough grounds to assume that this man in particular was assisting somebody who he knew or at least was aware that they were at risk of committing suicide or harming themselves.

Jordan Heath Rawlings I see.

Lucas Casaletto Now, if you look into the type of man that Law is, if you want to believe what the Times of London reported saying that he was doing “God’s work.” That lets you in on what his mentality may have been when he was selling these products to a large number of people. And that’s where it gets a little bit distressing. There have been two deaths in Ontario as of right now, according to Peel Police. And there might be more, that again, has not been proven. We don’t know if more charges will be laid against Law, but from what I’ve been able to gather through research and through what media outlets are reporting on, is that these individuals would contact him and would express to him that they were interested in purchasing this type of a lethal product. And he would ultimately assist them in doing so. And then they would consume these products in large amounts and they would ultimately result in death. Nothing has been proven in court. But it, we are awaiting the final decision here.

Jordan Heath Rawlings What have we heard, if anything, from families of those who have passed away this way, and what do they say about what has happened here?

Lucas Casaletto There have been a quite a few parents and people that have come forward. Nobody in Ontario through my research, I haven’t, I’ve yet to confirm independently anybody in Ontario speaking on behalf of a loved one that has suffered through this. The Times in London, they focused on people in the UK, and that their focus was on young people that had allegedly purchased sodium nitrite from companies that were run by Kenneth Law. Now, as mentioned, he’s not facing any charters for deaths outside of Canada. And again, it bears repeating that nothing has been proven in Canada’s court as of yet. But one man named David Parfett, his 22 year old son Tom died after ingesting sodium nitrite. And that’s what initially sparked the investigation by the Times of London. The Times of London piece was brought to Peel police’s attention and they have since confirmed that with me. And that is what ultimately led to them opening their investigation into this man. And that’s what led to the unfortunate discovery and confirmation that two people had died in Ontario through products purchased on his online business.

Jordan Heath Rawlings Do we know how many other examples of somebody allegedly trying this kind of businesses? You mentioned right off the top that sodium nitrite is available on Amazon. You know, how common is this type of way of providing, equipment needed to end lives?

Lucas Casaletto That’s where I think this is important to get out is that it’s becoming more common and we’ve actually seen through one of my article online and through the report that I had published is that I was able to gather quite a few number of studies through reputable medical sources that state that the consumption of sodium nitrite is, is becoming problematic and very concerning now. Kenneth Law is the first Canadian man mentioned and charged in a scheme such as this one because his alleged business appeared to be rather well known online. It sounds like the investigation as of right now, is focused solely on him through my search, I haven’t been able to track a particular individual or, or business that was behind something like this. But because sodium nitrite is a legal but lethal substance, that’s where it becomes tricky because it can be purchased online. As mentioned with Amazon, you wouldn’t have a very hard time accessing this. You know, these allegations are incredibly distressing, and if there are more cases like this, and because sodium nitrite is so easily purchased, it has to be discussed and ultimately prevented.

Jordan Heath Rawlings When we say it’s so easily purchased and it has to be discussed, are we talking about potentially regulating sales of this product?

Lucas Casaletto I do think it could, it could lead to that. I think that once if he’s convicted Kenneth Law in court and according to Peel Regional Police and subsequently confirmed by Ontario Provincial Police packages through his website have been sent across the province, and that’s not factoring in how many packages were sent in the UK and in the us and we’re talking. This is a fairly substantial business here. I did a search the other day and sodium nitrite products. It was incredibly easy to find, and of course, online and on place like Amazon, they’re being sold for what its sole purpose should be, which is to cure meats and to preserve meats. I could see regulations being placed on this, and I do think ultimately if more stories are surfaced and I believe that they will be, it will create a very interesting discussion legally when it comes to the selling of a product and substance such as this one.

Jordan Heath Rawlings So what happens next? We’re obviously waiting for Mr. Law’s trial. What are police still looking for?

Lucas Casaletto So Law made his first appearance in a Brampton courthouse on Wednesday. His case was adjourned to next week. He made a virtual appearance in his holding cell. He didn’t speak. Legal proceedings will continue. The unfortunate and upsetting reality as mentioned before, is that there likely will be more people coming forward that will ultimately and likely change the investigation in Ontario. And as we’ve seen, through other local media outlets, they’re reporting on deaths that have occurred in the United States and in the UK. And while Canada can’t charge Law based on those allegations and those alleged deaths, what they can do is expand their investigation here. And I do believe through what I’ve been able to gather, that unfortunately there will be more loved ones coming forward and speaking out, saying that their child, or you know, their cousin or their uncle, or whoever it may be, they purchased a product such as this one, either through Kenneth Law or elsewhere. And consumed it at a high dose and ultimately took their own life. So, it’s important to make mention in this case that there may be more deaths coming. That’s the unfortunate reality of all this.

Jordan Heath Rawlings Lucas thank you so much for all your work on this. And we’ll see what else comes forward.

Lucas Casaletto I appreciate it Jordan. Thank you so much for having me.

Jordan Heath Rawlings Lucas Casaletto, reporting for City News in Toronto.

If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide or depression, you can reach out to Talk Suicide Canada, which provides free, confidential, support to anyone who is thinking about suicide. You can text them at 45645, you can call them 1-833-456-4566. Or you can visit talksuicide.ca.

You can find The Big Story at thebigstorypodcast.ca or at Twitter @thebigstoryfpn. And you can email us at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca. This podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. And as you may know you can ask for it on a smart speaker by saying play The Big Story podcast. I’m Jordan Heath Rawlings, thanks for listening. We’ll talk tomorrow.