Jeshennia Bedoya Lopez was an 18-year-old woman from Aurora, Ontario, with an infectious smile and dreams of becoming a police officer. Born in Spain on July 15, 2004, she was the only daughter of Leonardo Bedoya and Maria Lopez Ocana. After her family moved to Canada, settling first in Thunder Bay and later the Greater Toronto Area, she graduated from high school and was looking toward her future. Her mother, Maria, described her as a friend, confidante, and "my light, my everything."
Her parents remembered her as an enchanting girl, a jokester, a good student, and a good daughter.
During the social isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jeshennia's mental health declined. On September 10, 2022, her life came to a tragic end. Her father, Leonardo, found her deceased in her room, an experience he described as a source of permanent anguish. The family was left heartbroken by the loss of the young woman they cherished. It would soon become clear that Jeshennia's death was not an isolated tragedy but one piece of a horrifying global scheme orchestrated by a man from a nearby city.
The investigation into deaths like Jeshennia's eventually led police to Kenneth Law, a former chef from Mississauga, Ontario. Operating under aliases like "Greenberg" from 2020 to 2023, Law ran a number of websites selling so-called "suicide kits." These packages contained sodium nitrite, a legal food preservative that is toxic in high concentrations, along with other paraphernalia. Law actively promoted his products on pro-suicide online forums, targeting vulnerable individuals. Investigators discovered he had shipped at least 1,200 packages to 41 countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, and New Zealand. His operation was linked to at least 14 deaths in Ontario and is suspected in more than 147 deaths worldwide.
Law was arrested in May 2023. Initially, he faced 14 counts of counselling or aiding suicide in Ontario. In December 2023, these charges were upgraded to 14 counts of second-degree murder, which were then elevated to first-degree murder the following month. The case was unprecedented in Canadian law, marking the first time a prosecutor had charged the act of selling a legal substance as murder. However, following a Supreme Court of Canada decision in a separate case that impacted the legal interpretation of aiding suicide versus murder, the prosecution's case for the murder charges was weakened.
In a plea deal reached in May 2026, Kenneth Law pleaded guilty to 14 counts of counselling or aiding suicide. As part of the agreement, the Crown consented to withdraw the 14 first-degree murder charges following his sentencing. Law also admitted responsibility for 79 deaths in the United Kingdom, which will be considered during his sentencing in Canada. The decision to drop the murder charges was met with dismay by many victims' families. Leonardo Bedoya called the decision "a disgrace," stating his belief that Law is a "serial killer."
Jeshennia's parents, Leonardo Bedoya and Maria Lopez Ocana, have been left with a permanent void in their lives. In a victim impact statement, her father expressed a devastating new understanding of the world. "Now I live knowing that a person can be suffering, seeking understanding or relief and encounter someone who doesn't guide them towards hope, but instead paves a path to death," he said. In September 2024, the family filed a $2 million civil lawsuit against Law, alleging he "lured" their vulnerable daughter to her death. The lawsuit also names several healthcare providers, alleging medical negligence. As Kenneth Law's sentencing hearings continue, with dozens of victim impact statements being heard, the families of those he harmed wait to see what justice will look like for the man who operated a global business of death from his suburban home.
