2 days of powerful, harrowing statements from family and friends
For two days, a courtroom in Newmarket, Ont., heard more than 70 impact statements from loved ones of victims of poison seller Kenneth Law.
Family members and friends came to court to express their grief in person or provided statements to the Crown to be read out. Others, mostly those from the U.K., provided a video recording.
Court also heard from people who had taken one of Law’s products but survived.
The victims remembered in the statements ranged in age, but many were just teenagers or young adults, with the youngest aged 14.
The statements touched on similar themes, including how much families had cherished their loved ones and how their lives had been devastated by their deaths.
Family members who appeared in person often broke down in tears, with some saying their lives were now split between the time before the death of their loved one, and after.
On Thursday, court heard from one mother who described how her 21-year-old daughter lay dying in her arms after ingesting sodium nitrite from a package she received from Law.
“The only words she repeatedly said were, ‘I’m sorry, I drank it.’ Those words will remain with me for the rest of my life,” the mother said.
Another mother said her 11-year-old daughter still texts her deceased father, while another described how the toxicity of her daughter’s body forced emergency officials to wear hazmat suits in order to move her.
Family members also directed words at Law, saying they were unable to comprehend how he could deliver deadly substances to vulnerable people, and describing his actions as “despicable.”
Over the two days, Law sat in the prisoner’s box, staring ahead, not appearing to show any reaction or emotion to the dozens of victim impact statements that were heard.
Crown and defence are now scheduled to return to court on Nov. 27 for sentencing submissions.