Billionaire Canadian Couple Murdered by 'Multiple' Killers, Say Private Investigators
Private investigators believe the Canadian billionaire and his wife who were found dead in their Toronto mansion in December were murdered by multiple killers and did not die by murder-suicide as previously thought, multiple outlets report.
Citing an unnamed source with direct knowledge of the investigation into the deaths of Barry and Honey Sherman Canadian Broadcasting Corp. is reporting that private investigators found evidence contradicting a coroner’s ruling that they died from strangulation or “ligature neck compression.”
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On Dec. 15, a real estate agent found Barry Sherman, 75, the founder and chairman of Apotex, a massive Canadian pharmaceutical company that sells generic drugs, and Honey Sherman, 70, dead on the floor near the indoor pool inside their mansion, CBC reports.
Their bodies were seated in an upright position and hanging from a railing near the pool in their basement, according to the Washington Post.
Police at the time deemed the deaths “suspicious,” but were not treating them as homicides, authorities said, the BBC and CNBC reported.
Police said there were no signs of forced entry, the BBC reported.
As condolences for the prominent couple known for their philanthropy poured in from dignitaries including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario health minister Eric Hoskins, news reports began circulating saying the case was being investigated as a possible murder-suicide.
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Those who knew the couple well dismiss the claims that the couple died as a result of a murder-suicide as false, CBC reports.
“They wouldn’t do that,” neighbor Eli Kanter told the CBC. “They wouldn’t end that way.”
Wanting more answers, members of the Sherman family hired a team of private investigators who found evidence that both of the Shermans’ necks were wrapped with leather belts that were tied in knots around a handrail, CBC reports.
The investigators believe the couple was killed two days before they were found – and not on Dec. 15 – since Honey was found wearing the same clothes she wore the last time she was seen, on Dec. 13, CBC reports.
Investigators also believe Honey had been lying face-down on the floor before she was tied to the handrail in an upright sitting position and that she fought her attackers, CBC reports.
A spokesperson for the Toronto police tells PEOPLE the department has no updates at this time.
