Canada - Barry, 75, & Honey Sherman, 70, found dead, Toronto, 15 Dec 2017 #3

[JDG]

Wealthier than the Shermans? They were known to be among the wealthiest people in Canada and they knew that info was out there. I just cannot believe that Barry, the winner would expose his possessions to burglars.

The Shermans home was quite modest if you're thinking about how 'regular rich people' live. As Honey said, 'we live a nice life, not a high life'.

They certainly were low key, not ostentatious by any stretch of the imagination.

Yes, you have to be well off to live on their street but you have to be much wealthier to live in the Bridle Path area.

To help put things into perspective, in Toronto, a regular run down house is $1M, more if the lot size is good.

The Shermans place was listed at ?? $7M approx. (getting tired, sorry),

 

[MistyWaters]

For most people, a lot of their net worth is tied up in their house and material possessions. House burns down, someone robs you, it's a serious financial issue. For a billionaire, someone sacking his house would be spare change even if he was a bit of a frugal guy with his cars.

I refuse to believe in this era of highly televised violent drug-ridden robberies that one of Canadians wealthiest couples would leave any door unlocked.

It's as much about personal safety as it is burglary.

 

[JDG]

Wealthier than the Shermans? They were known to be among the wealthiest people in Canada and they knew that info was out there. I just cannot believe that Barry, the winner would expose his possessions to burglars.

If he cared, he would have paid for some security cameras or an alarm system but he didn't........
Leads me to think he was a tad too frugal, just saying.

Never having been in their home, I have no idea what he was leaving for the burglars but Im sure it was nice but not expensive.

 

[MistyWaters]

If he cared, he would have paid for some security cameras or an alarm system but he didn't........
Leads me to think he was a tad too frugal, just saying.

Never having been in their home, I have no idea what he was leaving for the burglars but Im sure it was nice but not expensive.

Google is just not finding any indication that doors were found to be unlocked. Do you have a link?

Another reason I doubt it is because the home was listed. Put a real estate sign in front of any house and it invites curiosity seekers often tromping through yards, peering in windows. Unlocked doors, no way imo.

However over 30 years, someone who is frugal may not have locks changed often if ever and how many contractors, cleaners, lost or misplaced keys, friends of friends with keys....

 

[Grace.212]

You would think that when they put up their home for sale, all maintenance on the home would have been up to date and in good repair as most sale of homes hinge on building inspections. If there was a camera in the pool area, strange it wasn't operational.

Also with such wealthy clients, why would a real estate agent do an open house?

 

[Jennifer17]

The Shermans home was quite modest if you're thinking about how 'regular rich people' live. As Honey said, 'we live a nice life, not a high life'.

They certainly were low key, not ostentatious by any stretch of the imagination.

Yes, you have to be well off to live on their street but you have to be much wealthier to live in the Bridle Path area.

To help put things into perspective, in Toronto, a regular run down house is $1M, more if the lot size is good.

The Shermans place was listed at ?? $7M approx. (getting tired, sorry),

I pretty much understand the house prices. I live in Australia and Sydney has one the highest home prices in the world. A little pricier than Toronto.

 

[pamelado2]

Google is just not finding any indication that doors were found to be unlocked. Do you have a link?

Another reason I doubt it is because the home was listed. Put a real estate sign in front of any house and it invites curiosity seekers often tromping through yards, peering in windows. Unlocked doors, no way imo.

However over 30 years, someone who is frugal may not have locks changed often if ever and how many contractors, cleaners, lost or misplaced keys, friends of friends with keys....

https://www.reuters.com/article/can...emorial-after-mysterious-deaths-idUSL1N1OK2G2

"The side door of their house was always open," said the person who asked not to be named. "Anyone could just walk in."

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[Jennifer17]

https://www.reuters.com/article/can...emorial-after-mysterious-deaths-idUSL1N1OK2G2

"The side door of their house was always open," said the person who asked not to be named. "Anyone could just walk in."

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

I don't believe that.

 

[MistyWaters]

https://www.reuters.com/article/can...emorial-after-mysterious-deaths-idUSL1N1OK2G2

"The side door of their house was always open," said the person who asked not to be named. "Anyone could just walk in."

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Thanks for that. In that LE declared there was no forced entry, it would seem an unsecured home would be of equal or greater interest, unless of course the perp locked the door on their way out.

Here's some photos of the 12000 sq ft home constructed after the Sherman's bought the North York property in 1985. With six bedrooms, nine bathrooms, underground parking for six cars with heated ramp...it's not quite no ordinary hovel on a pricey lot.
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...sherman-sued-builders-of-north-york-home.html

 

[human]

But look at the number of women, who after a very long and 'successful' marriage, decide that they've had enough and file for divorce.

I think its called 'grey divorces' and its predominantly women who initiate them. The men usually do not even see it coming, as they are quite happily married.....ie their needs are getting met.

I know, it all seemed great on the outside, doesn't mean it was great behind closed doors. It doesn't have to be a new man, it sometimes is just time to walk away.

The kids were all grown, lives of their own and successful (Im assuming) and there was an article that indicated they had some friction, being so different and all. Possibly, Honey wanted to be free to do as she wished.....and he took umbrage. Could she have let him know she was done......the new house was HER new house?

Just a thought......

PS I say this for many reasons. Its not fun being married to a work-a-holic. Their absence does not make the heart grow fonder.
Her job as a mother was done and maybe it was just getting old, very old.

She had the financial resources to do as she wished. I would think at age seventy his being a workaholic had been adjusted to a long time ago.

It sounds like she did what she wanted.

I don’t know what she would gain from leaving him?

 

[MrsThreadgoode]

Happy New Year to all you WebSleuth folks! [emoji4]

There is a great deal of fascinating discussion going on in this thread. I wish to thank the many members who have posted links to a variety of fascinating articles, especially the forensics ones.

I truly find many posts to be well-reasoned, thought-provoking and enlightening. Thank you for sharing your insight and sometimes professional opinions.

However, the vast majority of posts are speculation, some quite far-fetched, imho, which is just fine, BUT, if it is not backed up by the extremely limited official findings that the police have released so far, and members are accepting statements made by “sources”, I would be very grateful if members would remember to add MOO (My own opinion) to the tail end of their posts.

I see that many new members have joined (Welcome!) and I believe that when they read a lot of the posts, they come away believing they have read “facts” when they truly aren’t official facts. That is how so much misinformation spreads like wildfire.

IMHO, if you take 2 seconds to add MOO to the bottom of your post, it would help to clear up some of the falsehoods that are snowballing in this thread.

Thank you.

MOO


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[Tortoise]

I think thats just poor reporting. There were a lot of variances, the neighbours had to be polled etc before permits could be processed.
As soon as the permits were issued, the house came down pretty quick.

I wouldn't expect them to carry on work after the Shermans' deaths.

 

[Wyle_E_Coyote]

If you mean the house on Old Colony Road, it was the lot that was worth $360,000 or so. They paid $2.3M for the house to be built, then sued everyone and got $2M back the contractors. So, in total it was just over $2.7M

I agree about why, BS was living at work and thats when the generics were really hitting the market. He didn't have time for houses.

On the $2m settlement... If there were legitimate problems with the build, there would have been costs to fix the problems. The settlement would likely have gone to reimbursement of those costs plus attorney fees.

Up thread people were talking like it was $ back from the purchase price, so they only paid 300k for the house. I don't think that's the case.

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[Wyle_E_Coyote]

Tighthead is right on when it comes to complicit title transfers but in the case of the new property title will be transferred to the Estate Trustee of BH's Estate and then to any subsequent purchaser or beneficiary as the case may be.

The existing property will be registered in the name of the survivor in the event the property is registered to both as joint tenants.

This is where it gets interesting. In order to properly administer these two estates it is necessary to determine which of the two died first ...most wills have provisions for predeceased beneficiaries and in particular provide that a beneficiary must survive the testator for a period of 30 days in order to receive under the will. Subsequent disaster clauses would then apply setting out the distribution of the Estate assets.

As of late, wealthy business owners have both a primary and secondary will. The primary will is for personal assets while the secondary will is for shares in private corporations and other assets that do not require probate . This along with shareholder agreements and trusts and other arrangements are referred to as succession planning.

IMO the circumstances of their passing at the "same" time will cause a lot of red tape and affect the ownership of shares in some of their corporations. There will also be probate filing fees and capital gains taxes payable on all of their taxable assets at the same time...onerous.

IMO the deaths are the result of a double murder for hire by someone who wanted to ruin the Sherman name, throw all of the assets into legal limbo, attract maximum tax payable and topple the succession plan. It is the ultimate revenge against the Sherman dynasty IMO ...

In the wills I've seen, there's always been a clause for "simultaneous" death, where it is specified which spouse is to be treated as dying first.


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[Tighthead]

In the wills I've seen, there's always been a clause for "simultaneous" death, where it is specified which spouse is to be treated as dying first.


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Not in Canada. Who died first is a matter of fact/legislation, the testator’s wishes can’t supersede that. It would also have no bearing on assets passing outside the estate, generally life insurance and RRSPs.

 

[JDG]

Google is just not finding any indication that doors were found to be unlocked. Do you have a link?

Another reason I doubt it is because the home was listed. Put a real estate sign in front of any house and it invites curiosity seekers often tromping through yards, peering in windows. Unlocked doors, no way imo.

However over 30 years, someone who is frugal may not have locks changed often if ever and how many contractors, cleaners, lost or misplaced keys, friends of friends with keys....

There were two links, not in my name, wayyy back in the second thread. Toronto Star

 

[JDG]

Why? I too would like to know why?

While I read the posts on this case, this song keeps popping in my head: (JMO)

[video=youtube;ETxmCCsMoD0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETxmCCsMoD0[/video]

Tanks Hazel, loving it. So very true, I suspect. :laughing:

 

[Tortoise]

There were two links, not in my name, wayyy back in the second thread. Toronto Star

The way I look at it is people over generalise sometimes. It's a turn of phrase, they never locked their side door, and probably means only the times the person used it. That wouldn't include when they were out or during the night, if the neighbour was using it to visit them. I don't accept it as a known probability when the Shermans were out.

 

[JDG]

I wouldn't expect them to carry on work after the Shermans' deaths.

Nor would I Tortoise, I thought the 'halt' was before the demolition.

 

[JDG]

I pretty much understand the house prices. I live in Australia and Sydney has one the highest home prices in the world. A little pricier than Toronto.

Oh, I know its expensive in Sydney. Wasn't sure you knew the crazy Toronto market, trying to help.