The intense media and police focus on the suspicious deaths of billionaire couple Barry and Honey Sherman contrasts sharply with the fleeting attention given to those that occur in marginalized communities, says Toronto criminal lawyer
Jordana Goldlist. “I think that if the public was equally concerned with the lives of some of the more unfortunate individuals, then perhaps the police would dedicate their resources accordingly,” Goldlist tells
AdvocateDaily.com.
Barry Sherman, 75, founder of generic drug company Apotex and his wife Honey, 70, a prominent philanthropist, were found dead in their North York mansion in mid-December, the
Toronto Star reports. Both died of “ligature neck compression” and police have characterized their deaths as suspicious.
Speculation has been rife in the media about the cause of their deaths.
Goldlist, principal of
JHG Criminal Law, says she is not in any way suggesting that the deaths of the prominent couple are not a tragic loss for their family and the community, but she doesn’t understand “why society and the media were so obsessed with the case for weeks on end."
High-profile cases such as these put extra time pressure on investigators, Dave Perry, a former veteran Toronto police detective, tells
CBC News. “It's not just the police, it's the public, it's the media, and it's of course the victims' families who want answers, and they want them right now,” he says.