The parents of a 14-year-old boy who died after ingesting a poison purchased online from a man in Canada have told a court the loss "shattered our lives".
Kenneth Law sold 1,200 packages to 40 countries across the world from Canada-based websites – with 79 UK victims known to have died as a direct result of purchasing his products, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and National Crime Agency (NCA).
The 61-year-old appeared in court in Ontario on Wednesday (24 September), when victim impact statements were read out for some of his 93 victims who form part of the Canadian proceedings.
Victim impact statements read in court
Among the UK families whose statements were read out in court by a prosecutor were Kate and Graham Tucker, who found their teenage son Henry dead in his bedroom in 2021.
"The death of our youngest son Henry at just 14 years old, on October 27 2021 – a tragedy facilitated by the actions of Kenneth Law – has irrevocably shattered our lives," the parents wrote. The teenager bought a lethal substance from Law for 87 dollars (£65) on October 18 2021, and received the shipment on October 25.
Henry had had difficulties which were "repeatedly and wrongly diagnosed as autism", the parents added. He was in fact suffering from Paediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (Pans) and Paediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections (Pandas). Pans/Pandas are conditions where an abnormal immune response to an infection causes brain inflammation, leading to sudden behavioural changes in children, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and severe food restrictions.
"We truly believed he was safe and finally recovering in the sanctuary of his bedroom," the parents wrote. "He simply needed one intensive course of antibiotics. The realisation that his suffering and his death could have been prevented is a weight that is impossible to bear."
Other families' statements
The parents of 21-year-old student Alex O’Donoghue, Daniel O’Donoghue and Alison Askwith, recorded their victim impact statement in a video played out in court. "Alex was our beautiful, kind, funny, gentle son, our only child together, born in our lives quite late," Mr O’Donoghue said. Alex O’Donoghue was found dead in his student room on February 24 2022 by officers from Warwick University’s Community Safety Team.
"Alex was alone when he died," Mr O’Donoghue added. "His last words, 'I’m scared', are words that will haunt us until we also die." He continued: "Without the poison Mr Law knowingly supplied, we believe our son would still be alive today. Alex was only 21 years old. He lost his future and because of that, we have lost part of ours too."
Norson Harris, father of Ashleigh Harris – who died on February 6 2023 at the age of 26, said the loss of his daughter had a "profound" impact on her family. Ms Harris died in hospital after she was seen stumbling out of a door and collapsing by a witness who called the emergency services. She had gone to a hospital at 7.30am earlier that day and told staff she was having thoughts of self-harm. According to court documents, she purchased a poison from Mr Law for 81 dollars (£61) on January 22 2023, and received it on February 1.
Mr Harris, who attended the Ontario court in person on Wednesday, said in his statement the answers Law should have given the people who reached out to him "was simply that they were loved, that they were not alone, and that help was available". "The only consolation is that Mr law has admitted his responsibility in Ashleigh’s death," Mr Harris said.
The statement of Sandy Windsor, the mother of 29-year-old Tom Windsor, was also read out in court by a prosecutor. Mr Windsor died at his home on July 10 2021, despite paramedics’ attempts at life support after he called 999 saying he had ingested a poison. "Tom was alone when he died, with just a poor call handler on the other side (of the phone)," Ms Windsor wrote. "He said on that call he didn’t want to die." She also said she was "angry" at Law, adding: "I want him to know how much it hurts."
In a statement read out in court by a prosecutor, David Parfett, father of 22-year-old philosophy student Thomas Parfett, said that he struggled to properly grieve for his son in the years following his death. "My focus was on understanding and exposing the harm caused by the internet platform that allowed Law to trade (lethal substances)," Mr Parfett wrote. Thomas Parfett was found dead by staff at a hotel in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, on October 28 2021, after taking poison bought from Law. "I am a very different person to who I was before Thomas took his own life," Mr Parfett added.
Chloe Davidson, the sister of Megan Davidson, also recorded her victim impact statement in a video played out in court. Ms Davidson, a 21-year-old maths student at Lancaster University, was found ill in her room on May 16 2022 by friends to whom she had sent a message saying she had taken "the pill", was scared and wanted help. She died in hospital the same day. "It is simply earth-shattering when, just for a brief moment, everything feels normal, and you remember that this catastrophe has happened," Chloe Davidson said. "I realise again and again and again that she has died, and the grief hits us all over again."
Legal proceedings and background
A total of 74 victim impact statements are to be read out in court during proceedings due to last four days. Last May, Law entered guilty pleas to 14 counts of aiding suicide, all relating to Canadian victims.
Although Law was not formally charged with the deaths, the 79 UK victims form part of the wider Canadian case into his offending. Authorities previously informed the victims’ families that Law would not face criminal proceedings in the UK because of the potential for the hotel cook to challenge the extradition under "double jeopardy" laws. This means a court could technically refuse extradition on the basis that Law had already been convicted of similar offences in another country. It has been established Law sent a total 330 products to the UK, with 286 individuals receiving the products, according to the NCA.
The court previously heard Law was the sole owner of four companies, with one firm’s website offering a "set of instructions" and advertising 40-minute telephone consultations for 150 dollars (£111). The court in Ontario also heard how Law would occasionally frequent an online forum where users discussed ending their lives, where he would post under the pseudonym "Greenberg" to direct people to one of his websites.
The maximum sentence for aiding suicide in Canada is 14 years – the same as for encouraging suicide in the UK. It is understood that the sentence in this case is likely to be more than 14 years because of the number of victims and the nature of the offences.
Anyone affected by this story can call Samaritans for free on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or visit samaritans.org.
