The Billionaire Staging: Who Killed Barry and Honey Sherman?

The discovery

On Friday, December 15, 2017, a real estate agent arrived at a house for sale in North York. Downstairs, beside the indoor pool, she found the owners.

Barry Sherman was 75. Honey Sherman was 70. Both were dead. Belts had been looped around their necks and tied to a low railing by the pool.¹

Who they were

Before the case, there were the people.

Barry Sherman founded Apotex, one of the biggest generic drug makers in the world. Honey Sherman was a fixture in Toronto’s community and charity world. Together they gave millions to hospitals, schools and causes across the city. They had four children.

The first story

Within a day, reports citing police sources said investigators were looking at a murder-suicide.

The family rejected that, publicly and fast. They hired lawyer Brian Greenspan, who put together a private team of retired homicide detectives, and they commissioned a second autopsy.

The turn

On January 26, 2018, Toronto police said it plainly. Both deaths were homicides, and the couple had been targeted. Police said there was no sign of forced entry.¹²

Six weeks had passed since the bodies were found.

The staging question

The person on the sidewalk

In December 2021, on the anniversary of the deaths, police released a short security video. It shows one person walking through the snowy neighbourhood near the Sherman home, around the time detectives believe the couple was killed.³

Their face can’t be seen. Police estimated their height at about 5’6” to 5’9.5” and pointed to an unusual walk: the right foot kicks out with each step. Detectives said this person spent “a very suspicious amount of time” near the home, and was the only person on the footage they could not identify and rule out.³

The rewards and the silence

The family offered a reward of up to $10 million in 2018. In December 2022, their son Jonathon added $25 million, bringing it to $35 million.⁴

The estate also went to court to keep its files sealed. In June 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the files should be open, because the family had not shown a serious risk that outweighed the public’s right to see them.⁵

Where it stands

No arrests. No charges. The case is open.

Our theory

What do you think happened? Tell us on the full episode.

Footnotes

1. BNN Bloomberg, “Barry and Honey Sherman deaths ruled double homicide,” January 26, 2018. ↩ ↩² ↩³

2. Bloomberg, “Billionaire couple were victims of targeted murder, Toronto police say,” January 26, 2018. ↩

3. CTV News Toronto, “Police release video of suspect in murders of Toronto billionaires Barry and Honey Sherman,” December 2021. ↩ ↩²

4. FOX 7 Austin, “Canadian billionaire offers $35 million for information,” December 2022. ↩

5. Supreme Court of Canada, Sherman Estate v. Donovan, 2021 SCC 25. ↩

Sources

1. Barry and Honey Sherman deaths ruled double homicide (opens in new tab) · BNN Bloomberg · January 26, 2018
2. Billionaire couple were victims of targeted murder, Toronto police say (opens in new tab) · Bloomberg · January 26, 2018
3. Police release video of suspect in murders of Toronto billionaires Barry and Honey Sherman (opens in new tab) · CTV News Toronto · December 14, 2021
4. Sherman Estate v. Donovan, 2021 SCC 25 (case summary) (opens in new tab) · Supreme Court of Canada · June 11, 2021
5. Canadian billionaire offers $35 million for information on parents' killer (opens in new tab) · FOX 7 Austin · December 2022

This is Case Theory.

Last updated October 9, 2026. Spot an error? Email info@truecitytourism.com.

Have information about this case? Contact police, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

We cover real people. Every fact is sourced. Theories are labelled as theories. If a family asks us to correct or remove something, we listen.