A British woman, one of the survivors of Canadian poison seller Kenneth Law, faced him in court on Wednesday to describe how he had exploited her vulnerability. Elisabeth Belien told the four-day sentencing hearing of Law in Ontario, Canada she had been at her lowest ebb when he sold her toxic chemicals when she was just 23. Belien, who until Wednesday had not been known as one of his customers, said she had physically recovered after being successfully given an antidote by medics.
But as she faced him as he sat in the glass-panelled dock, she revealed she had suffered "survivor's guilt" after learning from police others had died. Law has admitted 14 counts of aiding suicides in Canada after meeting people in suicide forums online. But there are almost 80 deaths in the UK that have also been linked to him.
As part of a plea deal with Canadian authorities, Law will not face charges in the UK or over any British deaths. But impact statements from their families are being read during the sentencing hearing this week. Man who sold toxic chemicals should rot in hell, says mother of woman who killed herself Belien told the court: "I had struggled with my mental health for a long time before this.
Kenneth Law made it a lot easier to act on that despair. "I continue to struggle with intrusive thoughts and flashbacks of that day. However, emotionally and psychologically, the effects are far more long lasting.
"I feel guilty for surviving. Although I survived It has also impacted my loved ones. I feel like my vulnerability was exploited.
I still feel a lot of shame about what happened. "I felt like the purchasing from Kenneth Law, I enabled him to continue his business, supplying his products, to other people who might have been vulnerable, like I was. I felt guilty for surviving." Belien, who said she took the poison in January 2023, said being in court reminded her "how easily" it could have been her own parents there talking about her.
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