David Parfett has warned that poison sellers will continue to take the lives of young people in the UK, as sentencing hearings begin for Canadian man Kenneth Law.
Law admitted 14 counts of aiding suicides in Canada after meeting people through online suicide forums. His case has also been linked to 79 deaths in the UK.
He will not face charges over any British deaths, but those deaths will be considered during his sentencing hearings. Impact statements from the families of British victims are due to be read in court.
Tom Parfett bought poison online
David’s son Tom was 22 when he died in a hotel in Surrey in October 2021 after buying a poison tablet online from Law.
Tom had struggled with his mental health throughout childhood and had recently moved to St Andrews to study philosophy at university. He began experiencing suicidal thoughts while dealing with isolation during the Covid pandemic and anxiety about academic success.
After searching online, Tom found a pro-suicide forum that promoted a deadly substance. He bought the poison from Law’s website for around £50. Commentators on the platform encouraged him as he died after taking the tablet.
David discovered Law’s responsibility for his son’s death only after investigating what had happened and successfully ordering the poison himself.
Speaking to Metro, David said Tom would still be alive and would have overcome the problems he was facing without Law. He also said he feared Law could do something similar again after leaving prison, arguing that it would be difficult to detect.
David believes prosecutors made the wrong decision by dropping murder charges against Law, which would have carried a longer sentence.
Law’s online sales and potential sentence
Authorities said Law, a former chef, sold about 1,200 packages of toxic substances to recipients he met in online suicide forums across 40 countries. Roughly a quarter of those packages were sent to the UK.
Each count of aiding suicide carries a maximum sentence of 14 years. Experts predicted that prosecutors could seek a sentence of between 20 and 25 years for Law.
Concerns over access to the forum
In August, Metro reported that the suicide forum linked to Tom’s death could be accessed in the UK within seconds through a VPN, despite Ofcom saying it was blocked to UK users.
David said at least three new members had joined a group of relatives of people who died since Ofcom began investigating the site.
Bereaved families of young people whose deaths were linked to the forum called on Andy Burnham earlier in September to support their request for a public inquiry.
Ofcom fined the forum’s operator £950,000 in May for failing to comply with duties under the Online Safety Act. By July, the regulator confirmed it could not pursue further legal action and said changes made by the US-based forum to block access from the UK represented the fullest extent achievable under the Act.
Source: Metro News
