A FORMER Canadian chef accused of selling suicide kits that led to deaths in several countries was charged yesterday with 14 counts of murder related to suicides in Canada as a result of his online scheme.

The charges filed against Kenneth Law, 58, are on top of 14 he already faces for allegedly “counselling or aiding” suicides across Ontario province, according to documents.

His defence lawyer Matthew Gourlay also confirmed to AFP that Law has been charged with 14 new counts of second-degree murder.

Law was arrested in May for marketing a substance that is used as a food additive but can kill if misused. He is said to have targeted vulnerable people online.

He is believed to have sent as many as 1,200 packages to people in more than 40 countries since 2020.

Toronto police are scheduled to brief the media on the new charges today.

In Britain, at least 272 people purchased products from Law’s websites and 88 of them died, police there have said. 

Alerted by Interpol, several other countries have launched investigations, including New Zealand and Italy, where nine buyers have been identified and one victim has died.

The Canadian victims were both male and female between the ages of 16 and 36, according to police. – AFP, December 12, 2023.