Toronto police have released video of a suspect in the double murder of billionaire pharmaceutical tycoon Barry Sherman and his wife who were discovered strangled in their mansion four years ago.
The unidentified man – the first to be named a suspect in the case – was seen walking close to the couple’s home in the leafy North York neighborhood on December 13, 2017.
Sherman, 75, chairman of global drug giant Apotex, and his wife Honey, 70, were found fully clothed with belts around their necks in the basement pool area of their home two days later.
‘This individual’s actions are highly suspicious,’ Detective Sergeant Brandon Price told a news conference on Tuesday.
The unidentified person – the first to be named a suspect in the case – was seen walking in the area of the couple’s home on December 13, 2017. ‘This individual’s actions are highly suspicious,’ Detective Sergeant Brandon Price told a news conference.
Asking the public for help in identifying the suspect, Price pointed out the individual’s gait, ‘the way in which they kick up their right foot with every step.’
Barry Sherman, 75, chairman of global drug giant Apotex, and his wife Honey, 70, were found dead in the basement pool area of their mansion in the leafy North York neighborhood on December 15, 2017
The Sherman mansion surrounded by police tape in the leafy North York area of Toronto
Police had initially suspected a murder-suicide.
Their couple had been tied to a metal railing that surrounded their indoor pool.
Sherman was in a semi-seated position, while his wife was lying on her side, with a bruise on her face.
An autopsy concluded they died by ‘ligature neck compression,’ a type of strangulation.
Investigators later ruled both deaths ‘targeted’ murders.
A window in the house had been left open to air out a room a freshly painted room, and a basement door was unlocked, which was normal practice for the couple.
This could explain why police discovered no signs of forced entry to the property.
Price said the suspect caught on video entered a ‘well-defined area, tight around the Sherman property … and remaining in that area for a period and then leaving.’
The detective said ‘we have been unable to find a purpose’ for the suspect being so close to the Sherman mansion, adding that his actions were ‘very suspicious.’
Price said police reviewed ‘a very large amount of security video footage’ from the neighborhood, and through analysis of the images, as well as data collected from nearby cell phone towers and canvassing of neighbors were able to eliminate as suspects ‘the vast majority of people captured on the videos.’
‘We are left with one individual whom we have been unable to identify,’ he said.
‘Through our investigation, we have been unable to determine what this individual’s purpose was in the neighborhood,’ he said.
‘The timing of this individual’s appearance is in line with when we believe the murders took place. Based on this evidence we’re classifying this individual as a suspect.’
Asking the public for help in identifying the suspect, Price pointed out the individual’s gait, ‘the way in which they kick up their right foot with every step.’
He also said the person is estimated to be about five feet, six inches to five feet, nine inches tall.
But as the suspect was wearing a parka and a cap, police could not determine the individual’s sex, age, weight or skin color.
The couple was among Canada’s most generous philanthropists, and their deaths shocked Canadian high society and the country’s Jewish community
Barry Sherman founded Apotex in 1974 and turned it into one of the largest generic drugmakers before stepping down as chief executive in 2012
The couple was among Canada’s most generous philanthropists, and their deaths shocked Canadian high society and the country’s Jewish community.
They made numerous multimillion-dollar donations to hospitals, schools and charities and had buildings named in their honor.
They hosted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a Liberal Party fundraiser in 2015.
The day after the bodies were found, some prominent news media outlets quoted unidentified police officials as saying the deaths appeared to be a murder-suicide.
That upset the couple’s four adult children, who then hired their own team of investigators and a pathologist, who conducted second autopsies on the Shermans.
Barry was known for litigiousness and aggressive business practices as he developed Apotex, which had a global work force of about 11,000. In ‘Prescription Games,’ a 2001 book about the industry, he mused that a rival might want to kill him
The family have also put up a $10 million reward for information.
Police later said publicly they believed the Shermans were murdered.
Friends and family say the couple had been making plans for the future.
They had recently listed their home in Toronto for $5.3 million and they were building a new home in the city.
Sherman faced legal action from cousins who said they had been cut out of the company over the years.
A judge dismissed the claim just months before the couple was found dead.
Source: Daily Mail
