Amara Rashida Scott was a young woman known for a warm, compassionate smile that could melt the hearts of those around her. Born on February 19, 1996, in Brampton, Ontario, the 25-year-old was the eldest of three children and cherished by her family. Amara was a graduate of Bramalea Secondary School and Sheridan College. She possessed a vibrant curiosity about the world, with a love for experiencing different cultures, foods, and languages through travel.
A person of deep faith, she was very active in Bible teaching. A former colleague remembered her as a "lovely and sweet person with a pure heart, full of dreams and dedicated to her work."
In 2021, Amara moved to Toronto, embarking on a new chapter and "meeting those life goals that she set out for herself," her mother, Sandra Scott, later recalled. However, during this time, Amara was also navigating a mental health crisis, and her family was right there with her, supporting her and "leaving no stones unturned to help her." Tragically, their efforts were cut short. On February 1, 2022, Amara Scott died after ingesting a lethal poison she had purchased online. Her mother described the moment she and Amara's friends found her as heartbreaking.
Amara was a victim of Kenneth Law, a former chef from Mississauga, Ontario, who operated a global online business from 2020 to 2023, selling poison to vulnerable individuals. Using several websites, Law shipped sodium nitrite, a legal but deadly chemical, and other items for self-harm to people in more than 40 countries. He would frequent online forums, sometimes using the alias "Greenberg," to encourage people to use his products. An investigation by law enforcement agencies from across Ontario and around the world slowly uncovered the vast and devastating scale of his operation.
The investigation began in earnest in the spring of 2023 after a London newspaper reported on Law's global operation. Police in Peel Region arrested him in May 2023, initially charging him with two counts of counselling and aiding suicide. As more deaths were linked to the substances he sold, the charges grew. Ultimately, he faced 14 counts of first-degree murder in Ontario for the deaths that occurred between 2021 and 2023, including Amara's. The victims in the Ontario cases ranged in age from 16 to 36. Worldwide, Law is suspected of being connected to at least 147 deaths.
In a development that dismayed many of the victims' families, the 14 murder charges against Law were dropped following a plea deal. The prosecution's case was complicated by a court ruling in a separate case that made it difficult to prove murder in instances of assisted suicide. In May 2026, Kenneth Law pleaded guilty to 14 counts of counselling or aiding suicide. As part of his plea, he also admitted responsibility for 79 deaths in the United Kingdom, which will be considered during his sentencing.
During Law's sentencing hearing, which began in September 2026, families of his victims were given the opportunity to speak about the immense pain he had caused. Sandra Scott delivered a powerful victim impact statement in person, describing her loss as "a living torture." She told the court, "As a mother, losing my child this way is causing me to suffer intense anger, grief, loss, endless and unforgiving pain... I am not the same person I was before losing Amara and I don't think that I ever can be that person again." She spoke of how Amara, in her most vulnerable state, made contact with the accused, forever altering their lives.
The legal proceedings are ongoing, with sentencing submissions from the Crown and defense expected in November 2026. The final sentence may not be delivered until 2027. Families of victims from Canada and abroad continue to express their anger and grief, arguing that Law preyed on vulnerable people and robbed them of the chance to recover from their struggles. For Amara's family, the loss remains a raw and ever-present wound. "It was a blessing and an honour to be Amara's mother," Sandra Scott told the court, a testament to the vibrant life that was so cruelly cut short.
