kenneth law is set to plead guilty to counselling or aiding suicide after Crown prosecutors withdraw 14 murder charges, his lawyer said on Saturday. The case returns to a Newmarket, Ontario, court on Monday afternoon ET, where a date for the plea is expected to be scheduled. Law has been in custody since his arrest in May 2023.
Charges shift as kenneth law case heads back to court
Matthew Gourlay of Henein Hutchison Robitaille LLP said the murder charges will be dropped and that Law will plead guilty to the lesser offence. The move marks a major turn in a case that had been headed toward a lengthy trial, after several delays pushed its start date to January 2026 and then to this month. Earlier reporting had said Law was expected to plead not guilty to the murder charges.
Under Canada’s Criminal Code, second-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence, with no chance of parole for 25 years. Counselling or aiding suicide carries a maximum sentence of 14 years. The court appearance on Monday is expected to set the next procedural step, but no plea date has yet been announced.
What prosecutors are set to drop
Law was arrested in May 2023 following an investigation into his alleged conduct and was later charged with 14 counts of second-degree murder in December of that year. Peel Police also charged him with 14 counts of counselling and aiding suicide. In turn, prosecutors are now expected to withdraw the murder counts while the aiding-suicide plea moves forward.
The case has drawn attention because police say Law is alleged to have used a series of websites to market and sell sodium nitrite, a substance commonly used to cure meats that can be deadly if ingested. Canadian police say he is suspected of sending at least 1, 200 packages to more than 40 countries.
Immediate reactions from the courtroom side
Gourlay confirmed the plea arrangement to the press on Saturday. “The plea will be to the charges of aiding suicide, ” he said. The Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General did not immediately answer calls seeking comment on the next court date.
That confirmation lands after months of shifting timelines in a case that has already moved through multiple delays and repeated court scheduling changes. The latest step now puts kenneth law back before a judge in Newmarket, with the criminal exposure narrowed but the outcome still unfinished.
Background and what comes next
Authorities in the United States, Britain, Italy, Australia and New Zealand have also launched investigations tied to the broader allegations. Law has remained in custody since his arrest at his Mississauga, Ontario, home. The next appearance on Monday afternoon ET will likely determine when the plea is entered and how the case proceeds from there.
For now, the central development is clear: kenneth law is moving toward a guilty plea on aiding suicide as the murder case against him is withdrawn, with the court set to handle the next step in Newmarket on Monday afternoon ET.
