Noelle Ramirez.Photo:Peel Regional Police
Peel Regional Police
All was quiet at the Ramirez house in Montrose, Colo., when a knock at the door interrupted the family’s typical routine just after midnight on March 3, 2023. David, 56, a website designer, was working late in his home office after his wife, Sara, 41, had put the youngest of the couple’s three children, Matthew, 3, to bed.
The knock on the door at the Ramirez home was from a police officer who said they’d found Noelle at the park, unconscious. She was transported to a hospital, where she died shortly after arriving.
(L-R): A pack of sodium nitrite; Noelle’s ashes at her memorial.Peel Regional Police; Courtesy Ramirez Family
Peel Regional Police; Courtesy Ramirez Family
Their grief turned to anger two months later when, on what would have been Noelle’s birthday, Montrose police officers were at their door again with more distressing news: In the course of an investigation of a Canadian businessperson and hotel cook, Kenneth Law, who allegedly sold suicide kits online, police learned from the FBI that Noelle had paid for a $60 shipment of a lethal substance that she used to end her life.
The Montrose Police Department confirms that they were in contact with the FBI during the investigation.
Kenneth Law.Peel Regional Police
“It’s unbelievable that this can happen,” says David, who says his daughter was active on a “sanctioned suicide” website where users have in-depth discussions about ending their lives.
He says it’s the same website where she likely met Law and documented the process leading up to her suicide that night.
“This man is targeting our most vulnerable people with dangerous products that can kill. He needs to face justice,” David says.
David D Luxton, a behavioral science professor and suicide researcher, says even though it’s easy for people to access whatever product they want online, Law’s case is particularly “devious.“
“That liability is much more clear in this case because there was intent to help facilitate a person taking their life,” he tells PEOPLE.
Through his attorney Matthew Gourlay, Law—who has not been charged in Noelle’s death—says he is not responsible for the use of products he sells and will plead not guilty to the charges.
(L-R) Sara Ramirez, Elijah Ramirez, Mathew Ramirez, David Ramirez and Noelle Ramirez.Courtesy Ramirez Family
Courtesy Ramirez Family
As the firstborn of the Ramirezes’ children—David has two older kids from a previous relationship—Noelle distinguished herself with her strong drive and fierce intelligence.
As a teenager, she made computers at home and often gave them to friends in need. “Nothing asked for in return, just friendship,” David says.
With her parents’ support, Noelle had gender reassignment surgery in 2022.
“We did what parents should do and we loved our child and we accepted her as she was,” David says.
David and Sara had been monitoring Noelle’s mail because they feared she was at the risk of self-harm. But they didn’t monitor Noelle’s online activity, believing it to be a violation of her privacy.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’sfree True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.Nearly a year later, David remembers Noelle in the simplest things.
“Sometimes, if I wake up in the morning and there’s light coming in from the outside, I’ll go past her room and always look for shadows under the door just to see if she’s there,” he says, breaking down. “And she’s not.”
He has joined local efforts to regulate the sale of sodium nitrite.
“No other parent should have to go through this,” he says, explaining why he wants to tell Noelle’s story.
“I felt a responsibility,” he adds. “There are monsters out there.”
source: people.com
