A chef who wasn’t even in Britain allegedly killed 79 people. Now, victim families are angry at the refusal to extradite him

A former Canadian chef from Mississauga has pleaded guilty to 14 counts of counseling or aiding suicide, marking a major turn in a case that spans across 40 countries. Kenneth Law, 60, stood in a Newmarket, Ontario, courtroom on Friday, May 29, to enter these pleas, which come as part of a legal agreement that will see Canadian prosecutors withdraw 14 previous murder charges against him.

According to the Associated Press, the courtroom gallery was filled with grieving family members. Many dabbed away tears while a prosecutor provided a harrowing account of the final moments of nearly 100 people who died after using lethal products purchased from Law. Law utilized a series of websites to market and sell sodium nitrite, a salt typically used to cure meats that can be fatal if ingested in large quantities.

The investigation into his actions has spanned the globe. The Canadian charges focus on 14 victims aged between 16 and 36, and police have identified that Law sent at least 1,200 packages to customers in more than 40 countries: 431 to the United States, 157 within Canada, and 330 to the United  Kingdom, all shipped via Canada Post. British authorities have confirmed that 79 deaths in the U.K. were directly attributed to the products he supplied.

Law states that he thought he was helping out

The National Institutes of Health notes that while the salt is used as a preservative in products like hot dogs and sausages, it can cause acute intoxication leading to death when taken in high doses. According to Reuters, Law also sold items like masks, hoods, and regulators to assist his customers. Between 2020 and 2023, he deposited more than $215,000 into accounts associated with his businesses.

Per The Guardian, the decision by British prosecutors not to seek extradition for Law has sparked significant anger among the families of the victims. In a letter to the families, the U.K.’s National Crime Agency and the Crown Prosecution Service explained that they believed it was better for Law to be sentenced for the full extent of his crimes within a single process in Canada. 

Andrew Hudson, a specialist prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, defended this decision. He noted that a prosecution in England could have been blocked under double jeopardy principles, as the same crimes would have been punished by the Canadian courts. However, many families feel this approach is deeply inadequate.

David Parfett, whose 22-year-old son Thomas Parfett died in 2022 after receiving a package from Law feels very frustrated. “I had wanted Law to face charges in the U.K. … He really needed to face justice over here,” Parfett told the BBC. Another relative, Adele Zeynep Walton, whose 21-year-old sister Aimee died in 2022, described the decision not to prosecute in Britain as “absolutely insane” and “so insulting.”

PEOPLE reports that Law’s own defense team has maintained a specific stance regarding his actions. Attorneys Matthew Gourlay and Stephanie DiGiuseppe stated that “whatever one’s personal moral views are,” their client’s actions “did not constitute murder under Canadian criminal law.” 

They further added that Law “has taken responsibility for what he did: He sold otherwise legal products to people who chose to use them to end their lives. He has never disputed this. He has only insisted that his actions be accurately reflected in the charges. Today’s resolution accomplishes this.”

A letter discovered in Law’s home during the investigation offered a glimpse into his own perspective at the time. In the note, Law wrote, “I genuinely thought that I was helping people ​to alleviate their suffering while making a small, ​modest profit.”

This sentiment stands in sharp contrast to the descriptions provided by prosecutors in court. Their statements detailed how some victims collapsed in their parents’ arms or were found unresponsive in vehicles and hotel rooms.

The sentencing for Law is currently scheduled for September. As the legal process moves toward its conclusion, the families involved continue to push for greater accountability. As Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation, noted, “Families up and down the country have been impacted by Law’s crimes and should have the right to full justice in the U.K.”