Alleged poison seller linked to 131 deaths sued by Ontario teen's parents

WARNING: This story contains distressing details.

Two years after losing her only child, Maria Lopez says she takes strength from her necklace with a picture of 18-year-old Jeshennia.

"She was an enchanting girl … a jokester, good student, good daughter, good advisor," Maria recalled. Jeshennia "was everything."

The death of Jeshennia Bedoya Lopez, a recent high school graduate from Aurora, Ont., is now at the centre of a $2-million lawsuit filed by her parents. It's the first such civil case known to have been launched against Kenneth Law, a Toronto-area man facing criminal charges of murder and abetting suicide in connection with 14 deaths across Ontario, including Jeshennia's.

"We've always been a very close family," Jeshennia's father Leonardo Bedoya said in an interview earlier this year. "Her loss has hit us very hard."

Maria and Leonardo are seeking damages from Law, as well as a Newmarket, Ont., hospital and seven doctors who they say cared for their daughter before her death on Sept. 10, 2022, according to a statement of claim reviewed by CBC News. The case was filed in Newmarket Superior Court earlier this month, two years to the day after Jeshennia's death.

The parents allege Law, 59, used an internet-based storefront to sell Jeshennia a "suicide kit," which included a "poisonous" chemical she later ingested during a mental health crisis. "Law operated this online store with the primary intent of assisting, luring and/or enabling suicide to vulnerable individuals such as Jeshennia," the lawsuit states. 

Police made similar allegations about Law when he was arrested by officers from Peel Region, west of Toronto, in May 2023. 

Jeshennia's parents also claim a family physician and several specialists failed to provide reasonable care "to prevent [her] loss of life" after she reported poor mental health and thoughts of suicide in 2020 and again in 2022. Newmarket's Southlake Regional Health Centre, the claim alleges, is also responsible "for the acts, errors, and omissions" of its staff. 

No statement of defence has so far been filed in the civil case. The allegations have not been proven in court. 

"Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of Jeshennia Bedoya Lopez," Derek Rowland, a spokesperson for the hospital said in an email to CBC. "While we cannot comment on specifics due to privacy concerns, patient care remains our top priority at Southlake."

Law's criminal defence lawyer Matthew Gourlay declined to comment on the civil case. He has said his client will be pleading not guilty to the criminal charges.

Law told CBC prior to his arrest that the allegations surrounding him — first reported by the U.K.'s Times of London — have "been very, very distressing for me." He denied wrongdoing.

Official statements, public records and interviews with families suggest Law's products may be linked to at least 131 deaths around the world, including in Italy, New Zealand and the U.S. The vast majority of those cases have been reported in Britain, where the National Crime Agency said it's probing 97 deaths.