Alleged Kenneth Law victim says suicide website was ‘like shopping on Amazon’

EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes a discussion of suicide.

A woman who says she was a victim of Kenneth Law is speaking out, saying she hopes to see the Mississauga man found guilty on the 14 counts of first-degree murder he faces.

Law was arrested by Peel Regional Police in May 2023 as part of an ongoing, multi-country investigation into the widespread sale of chemicals online to help people commit suicide.

Police alleged Law ran a series of online operations selling sodium nitrite, which can be lethal if ingested in large quantities.

He faces 14 counts of counselling suicide and recently saw additional charges of murder upgraded to first-degree. Investigations in other countries, including Italy, the United States and the United Kingdom are ongoing.

Law’s lawyer said he plans to plead not guilty.

Emma Morrison, a 23-year-old woman living in Dundee, told Global News she bought sodium nitrite from one of the websites Law allegedly ran.

Morrison said she was using an internet forum which discussed how to commit suicide when she was approached by someone calling themselves Greenberg.

“I was looking for suicide methods and things like that,” she said. “It wasn’t a good time of my life, I’ve since got treatment and gotten a lot better and I regret that I ever even went down that path.”

She said the anonymous account talked to her about sodium nitrite, telling her it was a “quite easy and quite cheap” way to end your life.

“And that’s when they linked me to their websites that sold sodium nitrite,” Morrison said.

She said the website the account linked to posed as an account for cooking. The web address Morrison shared was one of the accounts Peel police said Law operated.

The Greenberg profile Morrison said she conversed with didn’t give away any clues as to who might be behind it.

“He was completely anonymous, he didn’t give any information on himself,” she said.

Morrison said the link she was sent was for a website that was dressed up to look like it supplied products for the cooking and catering industry, she said. She said it had a range of other products “to make it look legitimate” but they were always sold out.

“The only thing that was ever in stock was the sodium nitrite,” Morrison said.

She said that talking to the account on the forum she had the impression its owner was “reputable” in how to end your life. The package she ordered cost around £44 ($75), according to Morrison.

“It was like shopping on Amazon,” she said. “It was just a full site setup for it and shipped off — I had a tracking number and everything. It arrived in about a week.”

Morrison said the account that had linked her to the sodium nitrite told her to contact them. “He did want me to tell him before I took it,” she said.

She said she ingested the substance and began having seizures. Morrison said her partner found her, called an ambulance and she was rushed to hospital, where she eventually recovered.

Years later, she’s studying veterinary science and “doing really well” after the near-death experience.

“I’m very well now,” she said. “I’m very happy, I’m studying I’ve got a nice job, I’ve got a boyfriend that I love.”

Morrison said she suspected the account she had messaged on social media belonged to Law when she was visited by local police officers.

She said she handed Police Scotland screenshots and messages from the account, as well as the packaging the sodium nitrite had arrived in.

“They made me aware of the fact that (he was) arrested and this was a much larger case than I thought it was,” she said.

Morrison said she also saw news stories about Law’s charges in Canada. “And that’s when I knew Kenneth Law was Greenberg,” she said.

Police Scotland said it does not comment on the total number of investigations into Law in Scotland or individual cases. The total number of investigations related to Law in the United Kingdom overall is 90, according to the force.

“We are liaising with partner agencies in relation to this matter. Our investigation is at a very early stage,” the spokesperson said.

Global News could not independently verify whether police are investigating links between Morrison’s experience and Kenneth Law or if charges are pending.

Law appeared in court Tuesday by video link as prosecutors confirmed the attorney general had decided to proceed by direct indictment, sending the case directly to trial in Superior Court without a preliminary inquiry.

A preliminary inquiry is typically used to determine whether the Crown has assembled enough evidence against an accused to proceed to trial.

Morrison said she is relieved to see Law charged.

“I’m incredibly happy he’s getting charged,” she said.

“If I had words to say about him I don’t think I’d be able to say them, just absolutely disgusted by him. He’s a monster in my opinion.”

None of the charges against Law have been proven in court and no charges have been laid for cases outside of Canada.

— with files from The Canadian Press

If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs help, resources are available. In case of an emergency, please call 911 for immediate help, For immediate mental health support, call 988. For a directory of support services in your area, visit the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention at suicideprevention.ca. Learn more about preventing suicide with these warning signs and tips on how to help.