Sentencing hearing begins for Kenneth Law, guilty in Ontario of 14 counts of aiding suicide | CBC

A sentencing hearing for poison seller Kenneth Law has begun in a packed Newmarket, Ont., courtroom where a judge will hear evidence related to sentencing, including victim impact statements from the families. Many of the families are present in the courtroom.

Law pleaded guilty in May to counselling or aiding 14 suicides in Ontario, admitting he ran websites that sold suicide paraphernalia to vulnerable people who later died.

A CBC News investigation found Law is suspected of being tied to at least 147 deaths worldwide.

Tech giants helped Kenneth Law profit from selling materials for suicide

Police tried to intercept packages sent by accused poison seller Kenneth Law

September 2320 minutes ago'Everything to me'Michelle Song and Mark GollomJeshennia Bedoya-Lopez celebrating her 18th birthday. (Submitted by Leonardo Bedoya)The parents of Jeshennia Bedoya-Lopez sat in the back of the courtroom, behind the media. Her mother, Maria Lopez, quietly cried as the Crown read out her victim impact statement. Meanwhile, father Leonardo Bedoya looked solemn as he sat listening. Bedoya-Lopez was 18 years old when she died in September 2022. Both parents shared separate statements and both were read out by Crown lawyers. "I saw my daughter pale, bruised and cold," accord

31 minutes agoWhat was redacted from this U.K. mother's statementThomas DaigleImogen Nunn, 25, was known as Deaf Immy to her social media followers. (Deaf Immy/Instagram)A British mother who lost her daughter to suicide has been told she can't tell Kenneth Law: "you destroyed my whole world."Known as Deaf Immy on social media, Louise Nunn's daughter Imogen posted TikTok videos raising awareness about the deaf community and mental health issues in Britain. She had more than 780,000 followers on the platform.Immy died in January 2023. She was 25. Court documents show Immy had purchased a toxic s

46 minutes agoWhat we'll hear todayMark GollomAssistant Crown Attorney Katie Doherty tells court the victim impact statements will be a mixture of individuals who are here to read the statements, individuals who have done a recording that will be played in court, and some read by the Crown.Some portions of the victim impact statement have been redacted, as some comments went "beyond the scope" of topics that were permitted to be addressed.Copy the link to this update: What we'll hear today

50 minutes agoA packed courtroomMichelle Song The courthouse in Newmarket, Ont., pictured in May. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)Hi, I'm Michelle Song. I'm inside the Newmarket courtroom today, which is nearly packed with victims' families, supporters and media.The media is seated on one side of the courtroom, while families are sitting on the other. Court staff have placed tissue boxes at the end of every bench today. Copy the link to this update: A packed courtroom

57 minutes agoLaw arrives in courtMark GollomLaw has arrived into the courtroom. He's wearing khaki pants, a shirt, a black bomber jacket and glasses. He is sitting in the prisoner's box, alone.Copy the link to this update: Law arrives in court

1 hour agoHearing beginsMark GollomThe sentencing hearing has begun with the arrival of Superior Court Justice Michelle Fuerst.Copy the link to this update: Hearing begins

1 hour agoWho is Kenneth Law?Thomas DaigleAn artist's sketch of Law in a Brampton, Ont., court on May 3, 2023. (Alexandra Newbould/The Canadian Press)Before his arrest in May 2023, Law worked as a cook at an upscale downtown Toronto hotel. Public documents show Law was $130,000 in debt and filed for bankruptcy in April 2020. Civil court records from that same year show the Royal Bank of Canada sued Law for non-payment of credit card debt. A judge ordered him to pay $27,000 plus interest on the debt.CBC News previously reported Law is a licensed professional engineer but was not permitted to pr