The trial of an Ontario man accused of selling lethal substances online to people who later used them to take their own lives has been postponed until next year.

Kenneth Law will now stand trial on 14 counts of first-degree murder and aiding and abetting suicide beginning in January 2026, and the trial is expected to last eight weeks.

His trial was originally scheduled to begin in September, but court documents say it was delayed this week in light of an upcoming appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada in a separate case that has a “direct bearing on this prosecution.”

The Supreme Court agreed to expedite the appeal, a move prosecutors had sought given the implications for Law’s upcoming trial.

The Crown is appealing an Ontario Supreme Court ruling that suggests a person can only be held liable for murder if they administered a lethal substance to the suicidal person and “exaggerated the victim’s free will in choosing to commit suicide.”

Police alleged that Law ran several websites that were used to sell sodium nitrite and other items that can be used for self-harm, delivering them to people in more than 40 countries.

They said that all the charges against him refer to the same 14 people, who were between the ages of 16 and 36.

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, support is available 24 hours a day by calling or texting 988, Canada’s national suicide prevention helpline.