Canada - Barry, 75, & Honey Sherman, 70, found dead, Toronto, 15 Dec 2017 #10

[dotr]

Why has a $10 million reward not resulted in a POI?

I think that amount would be a nice amount for most people.

Perhaps it is a lone wolf killer. It seems impossible to believe there is nothing on cameras anywhere. Even if the perp got into Honey’s car where it was parked somewhere not at their home, the perp had to leave the house.

rbbm.
In the opinion of JW, the reward money will help.
@2:05

 

[MistyWaters]

What are the chances that the culprit(s) is/are on the hours of video (surveillance) footage the police are reviewing?

I think there’s a strong likelihood there’s video of someone on the street or road resembling who LE believe is the suspect. But that’s not sufficient evidence to base a conviction upon, especially if video doesn’t show a readily identifiable suspect actually entering and leaving the Sherman residence. However it could support search warrants to seek further evidence.

Given a year has already passed, at this point in time probably the best hope of prosecution will be a mountain of circumstantial evidence such as DNA or fingerprints in the home, video, incriminating data (stalking) or threats, along with motive, assuming the investigation lacks any direct evidence. If anyone has stepped forward considering the 10 million dollar reward, unusual behaviour, activity, or comments would also strengthen the case.

The worst that can happen, in a case involving insufficient and weak circumstantial evidence, it goes to trial and the defendant/s builds a defence on an alibi to create reasonable doubt they were in the house during the time of the murders, or it was somebody else entirely who had cause to have done it. As a result, a not guilty verdict, guilty or not.

 

[WINDSOR]

We do not know if somebody has come forward with information in response to the reward offering. If someone has provided information on the perpetrators to the Police, the public will not likely know about it until a trial takes place.

The TPS could be watching a prime suspect(s) in the Sherman case. The TPS were watching Bruce McArthur for weeks. He was the TPS's prime suspect, and they only arrested him when they feared he was going to kill again. They often keep prime suspects under surveillance for considerable amount of time, collecting evidence.

 

[JayFriend]

Why has a not resulted in a POI?

I think that amount would be a nice amount for most people.

Perhaps it is a lone wolf killer. It seems impossible to believe there is nothing on cameras anywhere. Even if the perp got into Honey’s car where it was parked somewhere not at their home, the perp had to leave the house.

Oh I'm pretty confident there have been lots responses. Probably an overwhelming number. If there is a POI, LE would have to have a solid case before making an arrest and announcing it, then the family's team would have to evaluate the information to determine how much it's worth. Remember, it's for information leading to the arrest of the killer or killers. We'll know when there's an arrest.

 

[MistyWaters]

We do not know if somebody has come forward with information in response to the reward offering. If someone has provided information on the perpetrators to the Police, the public will not likely know about it until a trial takes place.

The TPS could be watching a prime suspect(s) in the Sherman case. The TPS were watching Bruce McArthur for weeks. He was the TPS's prime suspect, and they only arrested him when they feared he was going to kill again. They often keep prime suspects under surveillance for considerable amount of time, collecting evidence.

Maybe it’s a result of increased expectations due to movies and TV shows but I agree, even if someone came forward by the offering of the reward, verbal information alone could never result in an immediate arrest.

LE have various means to strengthen an ongoing investigation, while surveillance is taking place. Included in Canada, we also have what’s commonly referred to as Mr Big operations, or appointing citizens as police agents (mentioned in the link below).
RCMP used civilian as police agent in triple-murder investigation | CBC News

 

[WINDSOR]

Maybe it’s a result of increased expectations due to movies and TV shows but I agree, even if someone came forward by the offering of the reward, verbal information alone could never result in an immediate arrest.

LE have various means to strengthen an ongoing investigation, while surveillance is taking place. Included in Canada, we also have what’s commonly referred to as Mr Big operations, or appointing citizens as police agents (mentioned in the link below).
RCMP used civilian as police agent in triple-murder investigation | CBC News

Misty, I believe you are right regarding expectations based on movies and TV shows. Cases that fictional investigators solve in a matter of hours, can take years of work for investigators in real life. Some people in the public begin to believe, based on no apparent progress, that Law Enforcement is either incompetent or there is a cover-up/conspiracy. Those feelings have been expressed on this site already.

Even when the police know who committed a crime, for example based on solid information, there may not be enough corroborating evidence to lay charges and proceed with a trial to conviction.

This became very apparent in a number of cold cases solved recently with DNA evidence. The police had body fluids from a crime 20 years ago, they had a suspect who they felt who committed the crime, but only with breakthroughs in DNA forensics, could they match the POI with the crime and proceed to trial.

 

[juli99]

Wow, I have a lot of catching up to do! I've read about this case but not been through everything here so it will take me some time.

 

[MistyWaters]

Wow, I have a lot of catching up to do! I've read about this case but not been through everything here so it will take me some time.

Welcome to the thread! The one year anniversary, with quite a lot of media articles also summarizing the happenings, is an excellent time to become familiar with this intriguing and yet unsolved homicide case.

 

[Lexiintoronto]

Hi Juli!

This article has a lot of information and is written by a journalist whose family knew the Shermans:

THE SCENE OF THE CRIME


Last Dec. 15, two real estate agents arrived at a sprawling modern house near the northern edge of Toronto. They were accompanied by a couple who were considering buying the 12,000-square-foot mansion at 50 Old Colony Rd., recently listed for just shy of C$7 million. With five bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a gym, a sauna, a tennis court, and underground parking for six cars, it was one of the more impressive properties on a street lined with grand homes. The sellers, pharmaceuticals billionaire Barry Sherman, 75, and his wife, Honey, 70, had lived there for more than two decades but were preparing to build a house closer to the center of the city.

The Shermans weren’t supposed to be home that day. It was midmorning, and a housekeeper was doing her semiweekly cleaning while another woman watered the plants. The tour took in the hexagonal entrance foyer, with its chandelier and black tile floors, and the spacious kitchen, soaked in natural light from a broad conservatory window over the sink. In the basement, the Shermans’ agent had something more unusual to show off: a lap pool and hot tub, handy in a city where winter weather can drag into April.

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

 

[human]

The crossed ankles of Barry to me indicate murder. There is no way there could be casually crossed ankles in a suicide

 

[andreww]

The crossed ankles of Barry to me indicate murder. There is no way there could be casually crossed ankles in a suicide

You know this how? From TV?

 

[andreww]

From the Warmington article;

The protests came loud and fast — even before outrage expressed at the funeral.

“No way,” said a family friend. “They were just going to Florida, building a new house and had everything to live for.”

A grandchild was on its way in the new year and a holiday luncheon and charity plans had been finalized.

It didn’t add up.

Their son Jonathon rocked the country when he said in his eulogy that his mom and dad would never leave anybody behind.

These are all great reasons as to why this was not a double suicide, but have absolutely no merit when pertaining to a murder/suicide.

 

[juli99]

Looking forward to catching up! I'm only about 10 pages in but I'm starting to make a timeline for myself to keep things straight. My initial impression is murder suicide but I'm sure that could change. Nice to see lots of familiar names in this thread!

 

[dotr]

Hoping this interesting, imo link is fine to post.
Regarding crossed legs in death, fwiw.
The History Girls: CROSS YOUR LEGS AND HOPE TO DIE: What those effigies are really telling you by Elizabeth Chadwick


Cross-legged effigy of William Marshal II in the Temple Church (he didn't go on crusade)
Late 13th century effigy of Robert Curthose, son of William the Conqueror (d.1134) He did go on
crusade which may have helped to promulgate the idea that crossed legs = crusader


Southwark Cathedral wooden effigy. Possibly a de Warenne.
Late 13th century. Relaxed pose.
Why do Jews from Islamic lands object to sitting with crossed legs in a synagogue?
"This is what Rabbeinu Peretz wrote in his Gloss to Sefer Mitzvot Kattan (No. 11, subparagraph 2, Satmar, 1935, p. 9):
When you pray while seated [i.e., not during the Amidah], do not lean back, and do not lean to the sides,

Do not stretch out your legs, and do not put one leg on the other,

For all of these are haughtiness.

Rather sit with your head bowed, so that you don’t see the face of the person sitting opposite you outside of four cubits [= two meters],

And put your hands under your cloak, the right on top of the left, and sit in fear and trembling.

Rabbeinu Peretz is of the opinion that a person who sits and prays in the synagogue must sit in a dignified fashion without leaning back or to the sides, without stretching his legs out or crossing his legs, but rather to sit with his head bowed in order to avoid looking at the other worshippers. He does not want the worshipper to sit in “haughtiness”, but rather “in fear and trembling”. And as for his opposition to sitting with crossed legs, it is possible that he was influenced by French etiquette in his day, as we have seen in connection with other customs.(5)"

 

[Lexiintoronto]

Hoping this interesting, imo link is fine to post.
Regarding crossed legs in death, fwiw.
The History Girls: CROSS YOUR LEGS AND HOPE TO DIE: What those effigies are really telling you by Elizabeth Chadwick


Cross-legged effigy of William Marshal II in the Temple Church (he didn't go on crusade)
Late 13th century effigy of Robert Curthose, son of William the Conqueror (d.1134) He did go on
crusade which may have helped to promulgate the idea that crossed legs = crusader


Southwark Cathedral wooden effigy. Possibly a de Warenne.
Late 13th century. Relaxed pose.
Why do Jews from Islamic lands object to sitting with crossed legs in a synagogue?
"This is what Rabbeinu Peretz wrote in his Gloss to Sefer Mitzvot Kattan (No. 11, subparagraph 2, Satmar, 1935, p. 9):
When you pray while seated [i.e., not during the Amidah], do not lean back, and do not lean to the sides,

Do not stretch out your legs, and do not put one leg on the other,

For all of these are haughtiness.

Rather sit with your head bowed, so that you don’t see the face of the person sitting opposite you outside of four cubits [= two meters],

And put your hands under your cloak, the right on top of the left, and sit in fear and trembling.

Rabbeinu Peretz is of the opinion that a person who sits and prays in the synagogue must sit in a dignified fashion without leaning back or to the sides, without stretching his legs out or crossing his legs, but rather to sit with his head bowed in order to avoid looking at the other worshippers. He does not want the worshipper to sit in “haughtiness”, but rather “in fear and trembling”. And as for his opposition to sitting with crossed legs, it is possible that he was influenced by French etiquette in his day, as we have seen in connection with other customs.(5)"

That is interesting- thank you. I have seen those effigies but didn’t know the significance of the positioning.

ETA: the parts you highlighted fit the staging of BS.

 

[MistyWaters]

Interesting, the many shades of media reporting. It’s all in the words I suppose but this description of the failed lawsuit is the least sympathetic toward the “orphans” that I’ve noticed.

“......Shortly before the deaths, Sherman won a bitter lawsuit launched by cousins who had wrongly accused him of freezing them out of the profits from a business Sherman had sold many years earlier.

Sherman had bought a small drug company from his uncle's estate after his death in 1965. He sold the company and used the funds to help launch Apotex, which in turn became a global player in the generic drug industry.

Kerry Winter, Sherman's cousin, claimed he was shortchanged in the sale and demanded a 20 per cent stake in Apotex.

A court disagreed.

Winter has told CBC News he had thoughts of killing Sherman, but denies he actually followed through....”
A year later, police still struggling to solve deaths of Honey and Barry Sherman | CBC News

 

[andreww]

Well, thats probably that. I doubt we will hear another word about this case until next December.

 

[andreww]

Quick question. Were all the doors in the house locked? I'm assuming so, just want to be certain.

 

[dotr]

Back in the news..fwiw, rbbm.
Dec 16 2018
Sick Kids orders ‘systematic’ review of Dr. Gideon Koren’s published works | The Star
"Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children has announced a wholesale review of the vast body of published work by Dr. Gideon Koren, the former director of the discredited Motherisk lab, amid a Star investigation that identified what appear to be problems in more than 400 of Koren’s papers.

Sick Kids reacted after the Star presented the hospital with the results of the newspaper’s review that found these papers had been inadequately peer-reviewed, fail to declare, perhaps even obscure, conflicts of interest and, in a handful of cases, contain lies about the methodology used to test hair for drugs."

Sick Kids doctor breaks his silence
Published January 7, 2000 Updated March 23, 2018

"Dr. Gideon Koren has a story to tell.
The Hospital for Sick Children pediatrician, a man with a 90-page résumé who is a leading authority on how drugs affect children, has been mostly silent while a controversy brews over anonymous poison-pen letters he wrote calling his colleague and former friend Dr. Nancy Olivieri "unethical" and a "pig."

In an interview with The Globe and Mail, his first in the long-running affair involving Dr. Olivieri, the Hospital for Sick Children and the drug she was researching for Apotex Inc., Dr. Koren gave his version of events -- including why he wrote the letters that landed him in so much hot water.

Ever since Dr. Koren disagreed with Dr. Olivieri's negative research findings on a controversial drug three years ago, he said he has been publicly defamed and vilified by her and four other doctors at the hospital who support her."
Scientific Misconduct Blog: Ethics test - conflicts of interest at Toronto University
"It ends with something that sounds like a command...

"We urge you to immediately contact the Prime Minister"

 

[Lexiintoronto]

Quick question. Were all the doors in the house locked? I'm assuming so, just want to be certain.

We don’t know. ‘No signs of forced entry’, but there was a realtor’s lockbox with a key.

My realtor put one on the last home I sold, and told me the combination was ‘1,2,3,4’. I would then change the code periodically.

I would think Honey or Barry might be changing the code. Or if the realtor was a close friend, maybe they would do that for them.

The boxes themselves are pretty standard.

Lock boxes that firemen used have been shown to be vulnerable to hacking:

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSBRE92004T20130301

I don’t think it’s a stretch that an inferior realtor lockbox would be difficult to pick if the person knew what they were doing.

ETA: Were all the keys to the home accounted for? We don’t know.