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WARNING: This story contains disturbing details
The British coroner on Friday asked police near London to complete an investigation into the suicide of a student in 2021, amid fresh scrutiny of a controversial website by an Ontarian.
A detective in England’s Surrey county last year reached Kenneth Law, a month before he was arrested in Mississauga, Ont., home, but the British police refused in time to pursue charges against him.
Law is accused of selling toxic substances online to at-risk individuals in several countries. Police in Ontario’s Peel Region accused Law this month with two counts of counseling or aiding the deceased in connection with the death in the suburbs of Toronto.
A Surrey coroner’s inquest into the death of 22-year-old Tom Parfett, who committed suicide, has been linked to a now-defunct website run by Law.
On Friday, detectives investigating Parfett’s death are scheduled to testify at a coroner’s hearing. His appearance was canceled at the last minute because the coroner was still waiting for evidence from police, the coroner’s office said.
“Surrey Police should be the subject of an inquiry into why they did not stop the death sooner than they did,” Parfett’s father, David Parfett, told reporters outside the coroner’s court on Friday.
His son studied philosophy at the University of St. Andrew is in Scotland and is a football fan. Her body was found in a hotel room in the London area in October 2021 near packaging marked “ImTime Cuisine,” according to an undated police statement seen by CBC News.
ImTime Cuisine is a website run by Law that sells “99.999 percent pure” sodium nitrite, a deadly compound when consumed in high concentrations.
“Even after [Law] knowing that the police were investigating him, he continued to sell the poison,” said David Parfett.
Coroner Darren Stewart asked Surrey police to complete the investigation on June 2. Stewart is expected to wrap up the inquest on June 23.
Surrey Police on Friday declined to comment.
Surrey Police Det. Const. Lloyd Ives wrote in a statement that around October 2022, he “sent an email to ImTimeCuisine … asking for information about the order,” but never heard back.
An archived version of the site suggested selling sodium nitrite packets from 2021 until last March. In April, The Times of London first reported Law has “delivered these substances to vulnerable people around the world.”
Sodium nitrite is considered a reportable poison in the UK, meaning vendors must report any suspicious sales to the authorities. In Canada, the sale of sodium nitrite is not regulated, because the substance, usually in a diluted form, is often used in food preparation.
WARNING: This story contains a discussion about suicide. Police are looking for other victims in several countries who may have bought the toxic substance online that was used in several suicide deaths. Kenneth Law of Mississauga, Ont., was charged with suicide counseling and made a brief court appearance Wednesday.
In a separate case in 2022, Surrey police apparently decided not to pursue an investigation into Law because his website did not appear suspicious.
Another Surrey coroner’s report after the suicide of Neha Raju, 23, was sent to a Mississauga post office box linked to Law. The exact cause of Raju’s death was not disclosed in the report, but the coroner noted that the substance was available online.
In a recent email to CBC News, a Surrey police spokesperson did not mention Law, but said that “officers are checking the website used to make the purchase, which is based overseas, and have contacted the seller but there is currently no evidence that the site was advertised or sold intentionally for the purpose of suicide.”
In Ontario, Peel police said they are working with law enforcement agencies around the world in connection with 1,200 packages sent to 40 countries. In late April, Canadian authorities sent their overseas counterparts the names of potential victims through Interpol.
Britain’s National Crime Agency, and authorities in Italy and New Zealand have all confirmed their involvement in the investigation.
Police in several Canadian cities, including Toronto and Regina, are also review previous sudden death investigation for any relationship with the Law.
Peel Police Const. Sarah Patten told CBC News on Friday that an update on the case is coming soon. “We appreciate the public’s patience and understanding as we continue this investigation,” Patten wrote in an email.
The law firm Henein Hutchison Robitaille, whose lawyer spoke on behalf of Law in court this week, declined to comment on the investigation abroad.
Law remains in custody pending a bail hearing. He has denied all the allegations against him. The allegations have not been proven in court. Law is set to appear in a Brampton, Ont., courtroom via video link next Tuesday.
If you have a news tip or important information related to this story, please contact CBC News senior reporter Thomas Daigle by email: thomas.daigle@cbc.ca.
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