Hampshire victim of poison seller 'died in the company of a stranger' court told
“She died in a strange place, in a strange city, in the company of a stranger,” Aimee’s sister told the court.
A Hampshire victim of a Canadian national who shipped lethal substances to people across the world “died in the company of a stranger met online”, her sister has told a court.
Aimee Louise Elif Walton, from Southampton, was found dead in a hotel room on October 14, 2022. The 21-year-old is one of 79 victims from the UK known to have died as a direct result of purchasing poison from Kenneth Law, who sold 1,200 packages to 40 countries across the world from Canada-based websites.
Law, 61, previously pleaded guilty to 14 counts of aiding suicide, all relating to Canadian victims. Although Law was not formally charged with the deaths, the 79 UK victims also form part of the wider Canadian case into his offending.
At a courthouse in Newmarket, Ontario, Law is being sentenced for his heinous crimes - with grieving families getting the chance to address him directly before he learns his fate.
Ms Walton’s sister, Adele Walton, recorded her victim impact statement in a video which was played out in court on Thursday, September 24.
She told Judge Michelle Fuerst that her sister was not found by a friend, but died in the company of a stranger she had met in an internet forum where people discussed ending their own lives.
The man “had flown from America to be with her when she died”, and had been staying with her for 11 days prior to her death, Ms Walton informed the court.
“She died in a strange place, in a strange city, in the company of a stranger,” she said. “You only need to listen to the recording of the emergency call to know how much she suffered during the last moments of her life.”
Aimee Walton purchased poison from Law for a total of £203 on several occasions between June 2022 and September 2022. She had been struggling with her mental health since the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in her delaying her studies.
It has been established Law sent a total 330 products to the UK, with 286 individuals receiving the products, according to the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Two others in Hampshire, Joshua Warner and Michael Dunham, were also among Law’s victims. Mr Warner, 21, died in January 2023 at Rosalind Franklin Halls in Guildhall Walk. He was a student at the University of Portsmouth at the time, studying psychology.
Mr Dunham was found dead at a hotel on the Isle of Wight in October 2021.
The maximum sentence for aiding suicide in Canada is 14 years – the same for encouraging suicide in the UK.
It is understood that the sentence in this case is likely to be more than 14 years because of the number of victims and the nature of the offences.