TORONTO (AP) — Families of people who died after buying lethal products from a Canadian online seller investigated in connection with more than 100 deaths worldwide described lives shattered by grief Wednesday as he faced sentencing for aiding 14 suicides.
Kenneth Law, a former chef from Mississauga, Ontario, pleaded guilty in May to 14 counts of counseling or aiding suicide involving people ages 16 to 36. He sent about 1,200 packages to more than 40 countries, and prosecutors say 79 deaths in the United Kingdom will also be considered at sentencing.
Police in Canada and around the world have been investigating more than 100 suicides linked to Law. The charges against him in the Canadian court are related to 14 people across Ontario who were between the ages of 16 and 36.
Canadian police said Law used a series of websites to market and sell sodium nitrite, a substance commonly used to cure meats that can be deadly if ingested.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. The U.S. suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org. In the U.K., the Samaritans can be reached at 116 123 or www.samaritans.org.
The parents of 18-year-old Jeshennia Bedoya-Lopez described a permanent void after losing their only daughter.
Leonardo Bedoya Forero said he often feels on the verge of collapsing under the weight of his grief and watching his wife struggle with the same loss.
“As a father and as a husband, the powerlessness is devastating,” he said in a victim impact statement read by a prosecutor. “I couldn’t save my daughter from what happened. I can’t erase my wife’s pain. I can’t erase my own.”
The court is expected to hear 74 victim impact statements over several days.
Stephen Mitchell Sr. said Law deprived his 21-year-old son of the chance to recover from depression.
“Stephen Mitchell Jr. once had dreams for a future and to have meaning in his life,” he said. “That is all gone now, but you, Mr. Law, are still here.”
The court also heard from Elisabeth Belien of the United Kingdom, who survived after consuming a substance she bought from Law while struggling with her mental health.
“Kenneth Law’s actions made it a lot easier for me to act on that despair,” she said.
Prosecutors have agreed to withdraw 14 first-degree murder charges after Law is sentenced. Those convicted of aiding suicide in Canada can face up to 14 years in prison. He has been in custody since his arrest at his Mississauga, Ontario, home in May 2023.
The hearing this week is devoted to victim impact statements. Lawyers are scheduled to make sentencing arguments Nov. 27, with Law’s sentence expected to be imposed sometime afterward.
Prosecutors in the U.K. decided not to charge Law or apply for his extradition despite investigating him over 112 deaths. The decision comes in part because British authorities believe he would be able to challenge a U.K. prosecution under “double jeopardy” laws that prevent a suspect being tried twice for the same crime.
FILE - Leonardo Bedoya embraces his wife Maria Lopez outside the Ontario Court of Justice, May 29, 2026, in Newmarket, Ontario. (Christopher Drost/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
FILE - Stephen Mitchell, right, speaks to the media with Latha Mitchell outside the Ontario Court of Justice, May 29, 2026, in Newmarket, Ontario. (Christopher Drost/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
FILE - York Regional Police Inspector Simon James speaks during a news conference in Mississauga, Ontario, Aug. 29, 2023, with the image of Kenneth Law, a Canadian man accused of selling lethal substances on the internet to people at risk of self harm, displayed on screen. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
BENGALURU, India (AP) — This year's powerful El Nino and the record global heat it's driving, along with severe droughts, wildfires and shrinking water supplies, could lead to nearly half a million more deaths worldwide by the end of February, according to a research report released Wednesday.
The grim warning by the University of Chicago-based Climate Impact Lab says that as many as 451,000 more heat-related deaths between June and the end of February could be attributed to El Nino, compared with heat deaths expected in a typical year.
The heaviest toll, the group says, is expected in poorer countries, already struggling with food insecurity and high energy costs, partly due to climate change and the fallout of the war in Iran.
Michael Greenstone, a co-founder of the group and the study's co-author, said the heat danger will likely persist beyond February — even though this El Nino is expected to end by then. The fallout of the weather phenomenon could be felt well into next summer, he added.
The research, he said, shows that heat is most dangerous in places that are already hot and relatively poor.
“If you’re already in a hot place, the extra couple of degrees are going to be much more dangerous,” he said. Wealthier places, he added, generally have greater access to air conditioning, reliable water supplies and functioning health systems.
The study combined seasonal temperature forecasts with localized estimates of how high temperatures affect mortality across more than 24,000 regions worldwide.
Researchers estimated the additional heat-related deaths by comparing deaths expected under El Nino-driven high temperatures with deaths expected if temperatures remained similar to what they have been in the last three decades. The projected fatalities are for the entire El Nino period, from June 2026 until the end of February 2027.
The study by Greenstone and his colleagues also warns that the Global South — a term that isn't geographical but a reference to developing countries in general — will bear the heaviest burden of the excessive heat.
The researchers behind the report found that the Sahel region in Africa — countries along the semiarid southern fringe of the Sahara Desert — is expected to be the hardest-hit, with about 66,800 additional deaths caused by El Nino-driven heat.
Other major hot spots include South and Southeast Asia and parts of Latin America, according to the report. The researchers project about 19,400 additional heat-related deaths across the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia, as well as 19,300 in Indonesia, 15,800 in India and 13,300 in Brazil.
With such staggering numbers, there are recommended measures that governments can take, the report says. They include heat-warning systems, cooling centers, hydration stations, protections for outdoor workers, expanded hospital capacity and targeted outreach to elderly people and other vulnerable groups.
The authors also call for what they describe as anticipatory financing, so governments can move resources before dangerous heat peaks.
Abhiyant Tiwari, a heat expert at NRDC India who was not involved in the study, said the report’s projections should serve as a call to action rather than be another reason for alarm.
But while it's one thing to have well thought-out plans — as India does — implementing these plans and raising needed funds remains a challenge, he said.
"The real measure of our preparedness is not how many heat warnings we issue, but how effectively we protect people and reduce preventable deaths,” Tiwari added.
El Nino is a natural climate pattern, but this year’s unusually strong event is occurring on a planet already warmed by human-caused climate change, increasing the risks from extreme heat.
The Climate Impact Lab said global land temperatures during this El Nino could be higher by about 1.2 Celsius (2.1 Fahrenheit), producing 44% more extremely hot days than in a typical year. The report said those temperature increases may mirror conditions that climate change could make common some 20 years from now.
That's why this El Nino could offer a preview of what's ahead as the planet continues to warm, the report said. It's also an opportunity for decision-makers "to see exactly where emergency actions can be taken now to save tens of thousands of lives,” the authors say.
The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
FILE - Revelers cool off with the help of spray truck showering water into the crowd of partiers amid the extreme heat, Feb. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado, File)
FILE - A firefighter sprays water in an attempt to extinguish a wildfire burning through a peatland forest in Pulang Pisau, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Regina Safri, File)
FILE - Firefighters spray water to put out wildfires burning through peatland forest in Kubu Raya, West Kalimantan, Indonesia, Sept. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana, File)
