A BRITISH university student’s death uncovered a string of suicides across the world that involved buying lethal but legal substances online.
Poisoned: Killer in the Post is a two-part documentary series on Channel 4 which exposes how a deadly poison was sold online to aid people to commit suicide.
Poisoned: Killer in the Post is a two-part documentary series on Channel 4Wonderhood
Tom Parfett died alone in a Premier Inn room after buying and using the poison often found on suicide forums.Not known, clear with picture desk
The investigations began after university student Tom Parfett died alone in a Premier Inn room after buying and using the poison often found on suicide forums.
Police in Canada have arrested and charged one man, Kenneth Law, with first-degree murder and aiding suicide in connection with providing the product to people in Ontario.
But after Tom’s father, David and The Times investigated further they found an eerily similar pattern of deaths using the same method in the UK, US, Canada, Germany and Australia.
Samantha Anstiss, from Wonderhood studios which produced the documentary, said: “This urgent and powerful series is testimony to the bravery of bereaved families determined to prevent further deaths and stop young people from being preyed upon online.”
Who is Kenneth Law?
The TimesLaw began working as an aerospace engineer before becoming a chef[/caption]
Kenneth Law is a 59-year-old Canadian from Ontario.
He holds degrees in industrial engineering from the University of Toronto, management science from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from York University.
Mr Law began as an aerospace engineer before he became a chef working at a five-star hotel in Toronto called the Fairmont Royal York.
It was there where he allegedly ran a sideline business selling poison online to people who wanted to take their own lives.
What has he been alleged to have done?
APLaw has been charged with 14 counts of first-degree murder and 14 of counselling or aiding suicide relating to 14 Canadian victims[/caption]
The 59-year-old was arrested by police in Canada in May 2023, after The Times had published a piece revealing the findings of their investigation.
Canadian police allege he sent 1,209 packages to 41 countries but cannot say how many contained poison.
The UK’s National Crime Agency has connected Law to 99 deaths in Britain.
Mr Law was originally charged with two counts of counselling or aiding suicide, but this has now been upgraded to 28 counts, including 14 of first-degree murder and 14 of counselling or aiding suicide relating to 14 Canadian victims.
Under Canadian law, first-degree murder is defined as being the deliberate and planned killing of another person.
All of the charges are linked to the deaths of people from across Ontario, aged 16 to 36.
He is intending to plead not guilty.
When is he to stand trial?
Mr Law is set to stand trial for all 28 charges in January 2026.
The trial was scheduled initially for autumn 2025 but prosecutors requested the Supreme Court of Canada give an opinion on whether assisting suicide can be charged as murder.
This request is why the trial has been delayed until the start of next year.
Mr Law is currently in prison awaiting trial. If convicted, he faces imprisonment for life with no possibility of parole for 25 years.
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