Deaths of wealthy Toronto couple ruled double homicide

Toronto Billionaire and his Wife Found Dead at Their Mansion

The December deaths of a billionaire couple from Toronto are being treated as a targeted double homicide, CTV reported.

Barry Sherman, 75, the founder and former CEO of the drug company Apotex, was found dead in his mansion on Dec. 15 along with his wife, 70-year-old Honey Sherman.

Det. Sgt. Susan Gomes said at a news conference Friday that investigators spent “thousands of hours” sifting through evidence.

“Both Honey and Barry Sherman were in fact targeted,” Gomes said.

Gomes said the bodies were hanging by belts from a poolside railing inside the home, and the couple was found wearing their clothing in a “semi-seated position,” CTV reported.

There were no signs of forced entry anywhere around the home, Gomes said.

Detectives took six weeks to sort through evidence and have collected 150 items for forensic analysis and 127 witness statements, CNN reported.

Police said an autopsy showed the Shermans died from “ligature neck compressions.”

Gomes said police considered three possibilities: that the Shermans’ deaths were a double suicide, a murder-suicide or a double homicide. She said the evidence pointed to a double homicide.

Honey Sherman was a member of the board of the Baycrest Foundation and the York University Foundation. She also served on the boards of Mount Sinai's Women's Auxiliary, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the International American Joint Distribution Committee.