Shocking number of Brits dead after purchasing online 'suicide kits'

TW: Mentions of suicide

These days, you can purchase anything on the internet and avoid being spotted in the shop by a nosy neighbour by having it delivered straight to your door. However, this chilling story shows there is also a much darker side to internet shopping. Find out more about the Canadian man selling so-called ‘suicide kits’ online and shipping them worldwide.

Kenneth Law, 57, was arrested and charged earlier this year for counselling and aiding suicide. He had been selling kits designed to take the lives of his customers on several now-defunct websites. These sites had very creepy names like ‘Imtime Cuisine’ and ‘Escape Mode’.

The 'suicide kits'

The products on sale ranged from flow regulators to gas masks to sodium nitrate. This substance is poisonous and can kill humans by reducing oxygen levels and impairing breathing. However, it is commonly available because it is typically used to cure meats. It’s worth noting that Law used to be a chef. An investigation by The Times caught Law on tape. He assures the reporter that ‘many, many people’ have died after taking sodium nitrate and gives advice on how best to use his deadly products.

How many people have died?

Law is accused of having sold over 1,200 kits to people considering suicide in 40 countries. The story came into the international spotlight following The Times’ investigation, and now the UK’s National Crime Agency has revealed that 232 people in the UK purchased items from Law. Out of these people, 88 have died. It is too early to determine whether their deaths were brought about as a result of Law’s deadly products, but each case is being investigated.

Read more: Water toxicity: This deadly condition could happen when you drink too much water

A mother’s loss

CP24 reported the story of a mother whose son took his own life after contact with Kenneth Law. Isabella, whose surname has not been disclosed, had just one son. Jaden was passionate about hockey and loved playing the guitar, but suffered with some dark thoughts.

Emails between Jaden and Law reveal a discussion about the potential purchase of a breathing regular. Here’s what Law wrote to Jaden:

With high demand for the Premium Stickstoff Kits, we cannot hold onto a kit for you much longer… If we don’t hear from you by the end of business day Friday, we’ll release your reserved kit back into available inventory.

After her son had died, Isabella looked through Jaden’s phone and found that he had been on a pro-suicide forum, looking for advise. She states that the forum led Jaden to Kenneth Law and his ‘suicide kits’.

They were giving him specific instructions. They were encouraging him and they were normalizing it

Isabella says she went to the police, but believes her information about Law and his shocking business was dismissed by officials. It was only two years later that the police were pushed into action by The Times’ investigation. Law is set to appear again in court today, 25 August 2023.

Read more:

⋙ Live streaming on Instagram, this girl kills her cousin then commits suicide

⋙ Love Island: These are all the suicide tragedies surrounding the show

Sources used:

CP24: Investigation into Kenneth Law reaches west as police contact B.C. mother 2 years after son's death

Sky News: Canadian 'online poison seller' linked to 88 deaths in the UK

CTV News Toronto: Here’s why the world will be watching Kenneth Law's court battle