CANADA Canada - Barry, 75, & Honey Sherman, 70, found dead, Toronto, 15 Dec 2017 #17

[MistyWaters]

Learning fun new words everyday, lol! rbbm.
Incaprettamento: An Unusual Homicide by Ligature Strangulation | Office of Justice Programs
"The victim was found hogtied and hanged by a cord that was suspended from an iron staff situated between two concrete electrical poles. This method of killing is known as "incaprettemento." It is an unusual type of strangulation whereby a rope is passed around the victim's wrists, ankles, and throat causing suffocation. This results in a very slow and painful death. Typically, it is a method employed by Italian organized crime groups, but it has also been used in the execution of war crimes. This means of killing is meant to impart a particularly degrading and humiliating revenge on the victim. It may also serve as sign of intimidation and a warning to others. There is very little written about incaprettamento in the literature, but it has, nonetheless, important psychological, anthropological, and cultural implications in the field of criminology''

As the bodies weren’t found in that position, nothing about it represented a warning to others. Both sitting upright, Barry’s legs crossed, IMO for whatever reason that pose projects a fairly comfortable position, other than what naturally occurs to a body after death, ie bloating, discolouration. This was probably why the deaths might’ve been visually deemed to have been caused by m/s prior to the autopsy.

I continue to believe the perp expected the m/s staging to successfully deceive everyone.

 

[JayFriend]

A simple Faraday cage for your phone can be bought on Amazon. Some work, some don't, but the ones that work do a very effective job of blocking all signals.

Or you can just turn it off, even remove the battery.

 

[Sphinx]

Or you can just turn it off, even remove the battery.

My understanding is that your cell phone can still be tracked even if it is off, or the battery is out. Best to just not carry one, or use a burner phone maybe.
IMO

 

[Gina20]

Or you can just turn it off, even remove the battery.

As for making a call from a burner phone, why wouldn't the killer wait until he returned to a more populous location? Easy strategy.

 

[MistyWaters]

Question for those of you who believe this was a professional hit - What is the purpose of hiring a hit man to murder a couple, insisting it not appear as a murder?

What I mean is what does that accomplish, to have Barry blamed for murdering his wife, then taking his own life? Why would the assassinator not just leave the bodies lying in the place where their lives were taken?

 

[dotr]

Endless court battles, angry relatives and shady players: the truth about Barry Sherman
By Anne Kingston and Michael Friscolanti April 5, 2018
''Two decades ago, Sherman himself admitted he could be a target for murder. “For a thousand bucks paid to the right person, you can probably get someone killed. Perhaps I’m surprised that hasn’t happened,” he told author Jeffrey Robinson in the 2001 book Prescription Games: Money, Ego and Power Inside the Pharmaceutical Industry. After that, his list of adversaries only grew, as privately held Apotex expanded into more than 100 countries, including Mexico and India, and began developing a cannabis-based pill. Sherman’s wealth saw him cross paths with high society and low—from business and political elites to shady characters out of a Coen brothers movie. His investments outside of Apotex were both extensive and, at times, perplexing—a list that includes a failed casino bid, a money-losing gold mine, an outfit that produced therapeutic pads for horseshoes, a stake in the hottest commercial real estate venture in the country, a now-bankrupt jewellery company that dealt in “loose diamonds,” an investment in a yacht named The Great Gatsby that never existed and his backing of B movies Real Gangsters! and Sicilian Vampire.''

''But of all his audacious attempts to influence the system, no example made Sherman appear more vindictive—or more exposed his backroom power—than his treatment of Dr. Nancy Olivieri, a respected hematologist at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, in what would become the country’s most shameful medical research scandal.''

''Was Sherman’s murder somehow related to Apotex? As police comb through records, there’s much to decipher. As Maclean’s first reported, Apotex fired—then sued—Mulazim Hussain, a company chemist, 11 months before the murders because Hussain allegedly stole millions of dollars’ worth of drug formulations from two laboratory computers in hopes of building a rival factory in his native Pakistan. Hussain has denied any wrongdoing. Six months later, Apotex was slapped with its own accusations of corporate espionage by the U.S. division of Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., the world’s largest generic drug-maker.''

 

[Betty P]

Question for those of you who believe this was a professional hit - What is the purpose of hiring a hit man to murder a couple, insisting it not appear as a murder?

What I mean is what does that accomplish, to have Barry blamed for murdering his wife, then taking his own life? Why would the assassinator not just leave the bodies lying in the place where their lives were taken?

JMO, if the motive for the murders is monetary, the killer or person who hired them would have likely been on a short list of suspects. There were a limited number of people who stood to benefit from the deaths of the Shermans. The guilty party probably thought staging it as a murder/suicide would cast suspicion away from those close to the couple. JMO

 

[Satchie]

JMO, if the motive for the murders is monetary, the killer or person who hired them would have likely been on a short list of suspects. There were a limited number of people who stood to benefit from the deaths of the Shermans. The guilty party probably thought staging it as a murder/suicide would cast suspicion away from those close to the couple. JMO

I agree that's a good possibility of what happened. But it's a very peculiar decision, IMO. Wouldn't more obvious possibilities come to mind: staging it as a robbery gone wrong, or an accident such as died in a fire, or just a plain unsolved disappearance. These are the strategies innumerable people have used. Staging a single suicide has also often occurred. But staging a murder-suicide...that's pretty bizarre, IMO.

 

[ldlager]

'He shared a photo he had taken of his hand on his phone that night, which was dated and had a timestamp of 7:17 p.m. The report noted that the location of his home was also visible in the photo.'

Who does that? Taking that picture prior to the time your parents are murdered. What a coincidence.
I guess if JS took a photo of his hand with a time stamp everyday it could be considered normal behavior. I have a feeling he did not though.

Secondly if the time stamp was for 7:17pm, would he have enough time to drive to or near the Old Colony residence?

From his house he could have driven t9 his parents house in less than an hour at that time of night.

 

[ldlager]

Thant's exactly how I feel. Apotex had dealings all over the world and mob usually runs through big money like pharmaceuticals one way or another. I feel this was business and not personal. JMO

If the murder related to business, why murder HS? IMO this was personal, and driven by $. MOO

 

[Window21]

This is a photo of the statues in the Sherman home that the press say BS and HS were staged like.
The scene was "staged". The police said it was M/S but made a huge mistake with this statement. Maybe the killer never tried to make it look like a M/S and the police just screwed up? In the long run I don't think it really matters. Dead is dead regardless on how the killer tried to do things. The outcome is still the same.

Edit: forgot to add the source:
Barry and Honey Sherman’s bodies were found posed like the sculptures in their basement

 

[MistyWaters]

JMO, if the motive for the murders is monetary, the killer or person who hired them would have likely been on a short list of suspects. There were a limited number of people who stood to benefit from the deaths of the Shermans. The guilty party probably thought staging it as a murder/suicide would cast suspicion away from those close to the couple. JMO

Everyone who inherited also adamantly disputed the Barry and Honey died by m/s, also close associates. So what would be the point of staging a crime scene in such a way, then go on to blow the cover?

 

[MistyWaters]

I agree that's a good possibility of what happened. But it's a very peculiar decision, IMO. Wouldn't more obvious possibilities come to mind: staging it as a robbery gone wrong, or an accident such as died in a fire, or just a plain unsolved disappearance. These are the strategies innumerable people have used. Staging a single suicide has also often occurred. But staging a murder-suicide...that's pretty bizarre, IMO.

I agree. There were known breakins in the neighbourhood and the Sherman’s security was known to be lax. If the killer was someone closely involved with the Shermans’ private lives, they would surely know a staged violent home invasion would’ve been much more difficult to detect.

 

[MistyWaters]

This is a photo of the statues in the Sherman home that the press say BS and HS were staged like.
The scene was "staged". The police said it was M/S but made a huge mistake with this statement. Maybe the killer never tried to make it look like a M/S and the police just screwed up? In the long run I don't think it really matters. Dead is dead regardless on how the killer tried to do things. The outcome is still the same.

Edit: forgot to add the source:
Barry and Honey Sherman’s bodies were found posed like the sculptures in their basement

I have to disagree. The reason a crime scene is staged is to deceive investigators and displaying the bodies by the pool was done intentionally. The significance of Barry appearing to have murdered his wife can’t be overlooked. IMO the obvious intent was posthumous to cast shame upon him, destroying his reputation. Domestic violence would forever darken his name. In no way can that be compared to one who’s a victim of an assassination.

 

[juli99]

I have to disagree. The reason a crime scene is staged is to deceive investigators and displaying the bodies by the pool was done intentionally. The significance of Barry appearing to have murdered his wife can’t be overlooked. IMO the obvious intent was posthumous to cast shame upon him, destroying his reputation. Domestic violence would forever darken his name. In no way can that be compared to one who’s a victim of an assassination.

I agree. I was thinking earlier today that BS was kind of a cool guy with his beatup old car and Canadian Tire belt even though he could afford better. But then I thought, he also was not a cool guy at all, because someone felt the need to murder him and stage it to look like he killed his wife. Someone hated him enough to do that. JMO

 

[kiwi50]

Did JS ever give a plausible explanation for that time stamp which just happened to be the night his parents were killed?

 

[FromGermany1]

I think it's even possible that the person who wanted the Sherman's dead was present during the murder, not to actually get their hands dirty but to choreograph the circumstances they were subjected too.

I envision a scene where someone was already in the home when Honey arrived. She may have been surprised but not shocked they were there because there was a relationship there.

I don't think they did the actual killing but they choreographed events that led up to them being in the pool area and posed like those unusual sculptures.

Who hated the skulptures: the children. Who had to fear, HS would take over the business/managing the money after BS' death: at least some of the children/partners. Who may have thought about the future home, it would be totally unnecessary for people that age (70/75) to build it so large for so many millions: the children/relatives.
So, to me it seems to be personal and with some baaad feelings about the past. IMO
ETA: Enough money for hiring a hitman certainly was available, in the face of inheritance anyway. Enough money for special wishes (staging, creating the murder scene slightly like M/S) was easy available also, I think.
ETA II: Perhaps JS granted it to his father, to be a suspect for murder for at least 6 weeks. He seems to be the most ruthless of all siblings, who didn't feel sorry for his father one bit, even when the father seemed to need money/payback because of a monetary crisis.

 

[Sphinx]

Everyone who inherited also adamantly disputed the Barry and Honey died by m/s, also close associates. So what would be the point of staging a crime scene in such a way, then go on to blow the cover?

IMO to create plausible deniability, and still inherit one billion or so.

 

[Sphinx]

This is a photo of the statues in the Sherman home that the press say BS and HS were staged like.
The scene was "staged". The police said it was M/S but made a huge mistake with this statement. Maybe the killer never tried to make it look like a M/S and the police just screwed up? In the long run I don't think it really matters. Dead is dead regardless on how the killer tried to do things. The outcome is still the same.

Edit: forgot to add the source:
Barry and Honey Sherman’s bodies were found posed like the sculptures in their basement

There is always the chance that the police were watching someone, and they wanted to make them think they got away with it, so they would let their guard down, and do or say something that would lead to evidence. IMO

 

[Sphinx]

I agree that's a good possibility of what happened. But it's a very peculiar decision, IMO. Wouldn't more obvious possibilities come to mind: staging it as a robbery gone wrong, or an accident such as died in a fire, or just a plain unsolved disappearance. These are the strategies innumerable people have used. Staging a single suicide has also often occurred. But staging a murder-suicide...that's pretty bizarre, IMO.

Probably simpler to stage two people in a murder suicide, than the other staging options -- easier to get in, get the job done, and get out than staging a robbery, or unsolved disappearance -- also probably more chances of leaving evidence behind with the other scenarios. I think the M/S staging was requested by whoever hired the assassin(s). Barry had his glasses on, and his legs crossed in a peaceful pose, whereas Honey had marks on her face, and her blood underneath her. The similarity to the statues may have not even occurred to the killer. As has been discussed here already, this would stop the police from carrying out a homicide investigation, and maybe finding the real killers. IMO