Kenneth Law trial postponed to 2026

The trial of an Ontario man accused of selling deadly substances online to people who later used them to take their own lives has been postponed until next year.

Kenneth Law is now scheduled to go on trial on 14 counts of first-degree murder and aiding and abetting suicide, starting in January 2026, with proceedings expected to last eight weeks.

His trial was initially scheduled to begin in September, but court documents show it was adjourned this week in light of an upcoming appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada in a separate case that has “a direct bearing on this prosecution.”

The Supreme Court agreed to expedite the appeal, as prosecutors requested, given the implications for Law’s upcoming trial.

The Crown is appealing a ruling by Ontario’s highest court that suggests a person can only be liable for murder if they provided a person who committed suicide with a lethal substance and “overrode the victim’s free will in choosing suicide.”

Police say Law operated several websites that sold sodium nitrite and other items that could be used for self-harm and sent them to people in more than 40 countries.

They said all the charges against him involve the same 14 people, aged 16 to 36.

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, help is available 24/7 by calling or texting 988, Canada’s national suicide prevention hotline.