Hi, Shannon, Hello Tanya.
How you doing today?
I'm doing pretty good? How about you? I'm not bad.
I have a weekly episode, so I wait, hold on, let me think what else to say. Joe will have to Hi Joel, this is Shannon story for anyway. Okay, I have a new story for everyone today. But before I get into it, I would just like to remind everyone to hit the subscribe or follow button on whatever podcast app that you're listening to. And Shannon, are you ready to hear this week's story?
I've been ready since yesterday.
Okay, just yesterday, specifically yesterday.
All right. So this story takes place in December twenty seven teen, and in that during that time, the tranquil affluence of Toronto's North York neighborhood was shattered by a discovery that would captivate Canada and spark one of the
nation's most perplexing criminal investigation. Barry Sherman, who was the billionaire founder of a generic drug giant company called Apotax, and his wife Honey were found dead in their mansion and their bodies were positioned just kind of like a weird The way that they were left was just kind of odd, unnatural. Yeah, unnatural. Barry Sherman. I'm gonna tell
you a little bit about Barry. He was born in Toronto in nineteen forty two, the son of hardworking Jewish parents who instilled in him a strong work ethic and a drive for success. From an early age, Barry showed a keen intellect and an entrepreneurial spirit. He excelled in his studies, graduating from the University of Toronto's Engineering physics program.
Like Nice, he was smart, smart, Yary.
And he later earned a doctorate in astrophysics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT. Oh my goodness, but it was in the world of pharmaceuticals that Barry made his fortune. In nineteen seventy four, he founded Apotax, which, like I said, was a generic drug company, and Barry's business acumen and aggressive tactics in challenging drug patents made patents made apo Tax a major player in the industry, and like I said,
he became a billionaire. Right At the time of his death, it was estimated that he was one of the wealthiest people in Canada, with a net worth of approximately four point seven billion dollars.
Shut off. By my gosh, the money is in the drugs.
Yeah, the pharmaceutic calls. Man. Of course, we know how shitty healthcare exactly.
Pharmaceuticals and drugs.
Yeah, I think the afortune for my drugs, my legal drugs, colts, let's throw some quote pharmaceutical drug.
I'm gonna tell you a little bit about his wife, Honey. Honey was born in nineteen forty eight. She was also born to Jewish immigrants in Toronto. She met Barry while she was still a teenager, and they married in nineteen seventy one. Honey was known for her vivacious personality and her dedication to philanthropic causes, because the Shermans used to donate a lot of money to various charities together. They were, yeah, they were. They spent their money that way, this wonderful
power company. They were this wonderful power couple in Toronto's social and charitable circles, and they donated to places like hospitals, universities, and various Jewish organizations. Oh nice, Yeah, so their life seemed pretty charmed from the outside. Yeah. They had four children, They lived in a big, beautiful mansion, and they were
celebrated for their business success and their charitable giving. Barry was appointed to the Order of Canada in twenty seventeen, which is very similar to the Congressional Medal of Honor that's given in the United States. So the Order of Canada is for people who make extraordinary contributions to Canadians, right, okay, And he got this medal just months before his death,
and it was in recognition of his entrepreneurship and philanthropic work. However, beneath the surface of their seemingly perfect lives, there were applications. Barry was known for his extremely litigiousness. His extreme litigiousness, so he was suing every fucking body who engaged in numerous lawsuits, both personal and professional. They were also embroiled in a long running family dispute with Barry's cousins, who claimed that they owned a stake in Apotax, dating back
to a supposed business arrangement from decades earlier. So he's always caught up in court. But despite these challenges, nothing in the public eye really suggested of what was to come. They were at the time of their dusk, they were planning a trip to Florida. You know, they had these plans in place. So the last known sighting of Barry
and Honey Alive was on December thirteenth, twenty seventeen. Late that afternoon, the couple met at Barry's office at Apotax, at their headquarters, and they were discussing design changes for their new home. They were selling the home that they currently lived in. In that house they had been in for almost thirty years, but Honey wanted to be closer
to Toronto's downtown area. Okay, they were building a new twenty five million dollar mansion in the Forest Hill neighborhood of Toronto, and that place is one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Toronto rarely, so she was there, you know, wanting
to discuss these design changes with Barry. Yeah, and at the time, she was preparing to leave for a holiday vacation to Miami because it's close to Christmas, it's like, you know, the thirteenth, So she was planning to leave to go to Miami in a few days and then Barry was supposed to join her in Miami the week the next week.
Okay, so they're trying to sell their house that they've had, their mansion of thirty years, so they can move downtown to the exclusive and they're getting ready to fly out. Are they like snowbirding it or something.
I think it was just for a vacation, yeah, okay, for a few weeks. But I don't think they had a permanent residence or even a vacation they probably okay, I don't think they spent like months and months there their lives. You know, Barry still worked at Apotex and yeah, you know, on a regular basis, so I believe.
They get away.
Yeah, it was just for the holidays.
Right.
That evening, from home, Barry sent a routine email to his Apotex staff regarding a drug that was in development, but unusually, he didn't make any phone calls that night, which was really out of character for him, because he suffered from insomnia, so he would make phone calls late into the night, but he didn't make any that night. The following day, December fourteenth, Barry did not arrive for work at Apotex, which raised the eyebrows of the staff.
It was really unusual for him to miss work like especially without telling anyone. Right, However, it doesn't appear that anybody really did anything like didn't call the check or didn't call the police or do a welfare check or anything like that.
Wow, no one started the ball rolling.
No, not two things, right, So it was only until the following morning, December fifteenth. So the thirteenth is the last time they were found or their last scene alive. And now on the fifteenth their home. They weren't expected to be there, so the cleaning staff had already arrived and they entered using a lock box which was left by the real estate people were showing who were going to be showing the house, And around mid morning, two real estate agents arrived with a couple that was interested
in possibly purchasing this house. Right, So, after showing the potential buyers the main floor, the agents led them downstairs to view the lamp pool and hot tub area. And it was there then, and it was there that they made this horrific discovery. Can you imagine you're going to see a house, you're just gonna go, and you find the owner's dead, Like.
This is like a scene in a movie. Chit chatting down to the indoor pool and blah blah, blahl's so good and you're like, right, god, exactly.
Their bodies were found on the ground next to the pool. They both had leather belts around their neck which were tied to a metal railing that was a little over a meter high, and this railing surrounded the pool. Barry was seated on the pool deck with his legs crossed like like you're sitting up and your legs are you know, your ankles are crossed. Honey was laying on our side and her face showing obvious bruising. Their coats were pulled down over their shoulders, so like you know, you think
you pull it down like from behind on someone. So their rooms were restrained. And other than that, they were both fully clothed and they were facing away from the pool right and one of the real estate agents later described how they were laying was sort of like a meditation or a yoga pose, is how it looked to that person. Honey's cell phone was found in a bathroom that she reportedly never used, and that suggested that maybe she tried to call for help before she was overpowered
by someone. Berri's gloves and paperwork that was related to a house inspection were discovered on the ground just outside the garage door, which was on the path to the basement pool, so maybe he was accosted like near the garage door, you know, so you know, and dropped his gloves and his paperwork. Investigation investigators noted that a window had been left open to air out a freshly painted room, and a basement door was unlocked, which apparently was normal
for the Shermans. They often left this door unlocked, so that led initially to speculation that maybe the perpetrator or perpetrators might have been familiar familiar with the shout and the couple's habits, you know, presser after they committed this crime past week, escaping through the neighboring backyards. But and so now you have this crime, and this discovery sends shockwaves through trying. You know, they are these this billionaire couple.
Spread and the question on everyone's lips was, you know what happened? They were in their home. You know, you think there's like security systems and things like that.
Who would do this to the right.
Who would do this to them? It sparks, you know, just this, you know, just this wondering, oh this. The Toronto Police Service quickly took charge of the investigation, but their initial approach would later come under intense scrutiny. Early statements from the police suggested they were leaning toward a theory of murder suicide, which was a stance that infuriated the Sherman's family and friends, who insisted, you know, such a scenario was just inconceivable, like that would never happen.
Right and Over the following several months, this case did not appear to make much progress. In October of twenty eighteen, which was nearly a year after the bodies were discovered,
the Sherman family took an unprecedented step. Frustrated with the perceived lack of progress in the police investorgation, they announced a staggering ten million dollar reward wow right nice for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of a suspect in This move not only underscored the family's determination really to find justice for their laws, but also sort of highlighted their dissatisfaction with the official police us.
Thank you exactly.
Brian Greenspan, who was a high profile lawyer representing the Sherman family, he didn't mince words when discussing the police's the police's efforts because the investigators had failed to collect crucial evidence, which was a serious allegation that really put additional pressure on the Toronto Police service. The family's decision to offer such a substantial reward and publicly criticized the investigation marked a real turning point in the case. Police
Chief Marks was quick to defend his department's work. Really yeah. He revealed that forensic that a forensic pathologist had been dedicated to the case, working alongside more than fifty officers. He insisted the investigation was thorough and it was ongoing. He cited impressive numbers. He said that over two hundred witnesses were interviewed and over two thousand hours of video
surveillance were collected from neighboring homes. And these figures were meant to reassure the public that you know, no stone was yeah, yeah, they're on it, and you know they were serious about trying to find who these killers, the killer or killers were. The tension between the family's private investigators and the police were palpable. When asked if the police would be willing to collaborate with the independent experts hired by the Shermans, the police chief gave a cautious response.
He said that such cooperation would be possible only if the private investigative team were to be accepted in a court proceeding, which I guess means like, would they be able to testify? I don't know what would prevent them from it, but it seems kind of I don't know, it seems.
An odd question. Yeah, you know.
And as the investigation progressed, like the official one, the scale of the police effort became more clear. By October of twenty eighteen, the police had obtained thirty seven warrants related to the case, but despite these efforts, concrete breakthroughs remained elusive.
Oh my gosh, I know.
In a significant development, the police announced in April of twenty nineteen, so six months later, that they had developed a working theory of the case and they had an idea of what happened, quote unquote, they didn't share it, but you know, oh.
They had a working theory, okay, but at.
A working theory and kind of you know, had this idea of what happened, but they didn't share it. And a few months later, in June of twenty nineteen, it was revealed that Barry had planned to give to charity or invest much of his fortune. So this information added new dimension. This information added a new dimension to the case, highlighting maybe the potential impact of their death on her
causes that they contributed to. However, there was a revelation at the end of twenty nineteen, so now it's been almost two years since their death. They kind of shook up the established narrative. There was a reporter for the Toronto Star. His name was Kevin Donovan. He had just published a book called The Billionaire Murder The Billionaire Murders about the case. In that book, he disclosed that investigators
had revised their timeline. It was believed the Shermans had been killed early on December fifteenth, like that was the actual No, that was the assumed narrative. They had last been seen on the thirteenth. Barry doesn't go to work on the fourteenth. Then on the fifteenth is when the real estate agents showed up and everything. So police had been going on the timeline that you know, they were
killed maybe earlier that same day. However, the new theory suggested that they the murders had occurred two days earlier, on December thirteenth, So it could be like when Barry was not making those phone calls, yes, because he was on head right. Yeah, they're thinking maybe it was within
a couple hours of when they got home. This revised timeline now has raised new questions and possibly opened up new avenues and investigation, and you know, it's it also really highlights the trouble that in these investigators are having, like really trying to you know, I'll come up with suspects and things like that.
Yeah, to start off with a bad day, like who brought them home? That would be like the who saw them last?
Right, because those phone.
Calls, that's a that's the if. That's the first red flag. That's where you start, not not on the fifteenth right when people.
Are acting out of character, yes the first time. Yeah, not doing like their normal routine type things. You know, it just seems and it.
Just sounds like a guy that had such a presence, I mean not just because of his wealth, you know, just if he's always in litigation, you know, he's I just picture him a fire.
Sign, yeah, you know, yeah, yeah, it probably was. As time passed, the hope for a quick resolution of the case really began to fade. In April of twenty twenty two, which now it's been over four years after murders, the Toronto Police made a sobering statement. They described the case as quote unquote unfortunately old, and they were saying it's
still in the investigation phase. No charges had been filed against anyone, and the police took the unusual step of asking the court to seal the case documents from the press to protect the integrity of this ongoing investigation, so they didn't really want like anything leaked to the press any further. This move to seal the documents suggested they might have some sensitive information that they did not made public, either to protect potential witnesses or prevent the perpetrator or
perpetrators from knowing how much the authorities had uncovered. It also fueled a lot of speculation and conspiracy theories among those who followed the case closely. Despite the passage of time an apparent lack of progress, the Sherman's family determined we had determination to find the answers. That determination didn't waiver. December of twenty twenty two, five years after the murders, the Sherman's son increased the reward to to an astounding
thirty five million dollars. That reward, Oh my gosh, I know, right.
That is the ten million I you think for sure that's gonna make someone inspire, motivate. But now thirty five.
Yeah, I would think I would have it.
You know what, if you have it and you love them, do it? Yeah.
Yeah.
How do I find fault in that they did that? You know, oh, just because they had money? Good for them?
Yeah, because if it was I might have to turn you in for thirty five million dollars.
I would never look at myself as being Yeah, thirty five for sure, that's all. I mean.
He turned me in to get a thirty five million dollar reward. I don't think I could be mad at that.
Oh my god, I know it's tip my hat, Milady, well played exactly.
I mean I might have done it for the ten million. I'm just saying, but I do it like you.
Yeah, that was all Oh easy, peasy, lemon squeezy. Yeah right, I'm going to Miami. Mmm.
So, given Barry Sherman's vast business empire and the sometimes cutthroat nature of the pharmaceutical industry, who fucking knew? I had no idea?
Oh I bet those those are things are drug lords, Tanya, just with the white coats. Don't let the fancy pH miss lead. Yeah, exactly.
So there's the speculation about potential suspects had been rife from the beginning. Barry himself had acknowledged the dangers that came with his position at Apotex, once telling an interviewer quote, for a thousand bucks paid to the right person, you can probably get someone killed. Perhaps I'm surprised that hasn't happened. End quote. So he kind of knew.
No, Oh, it's probably what he's seen and heard.
I mean, people get nuts when it comes to money.
Many truths are uttered in jest.
Isn't that the truth? So one early theory centered on
Barry's cousin named Carrie Winter. At the time of the homicides, Barry had just won a ruling that Carrie Winter owed him three hundred thousand dollars in legal fees related to a dismissed lawsuit, and Carrie himself fueled speculation by admitting to having both motive and opportunity given his flexible work schedule as a construction supervisor, even confessed to imagining killing Barry, but he maintained his innocence, claiming he was watching Netflix
and attending a cocaine anonymous meeting on the night of the murders.
Oh yeah, I was at my cocaine anonymous meeting. Yeah, and I was watching some but whatever, whatever, Yeah, watching some Netflix. Another potential suspect involved Barry's son, Jonathan Sherman.
Two weeks before the murders, Barry had asked Jonathan to repay tens of millions of dollars that were borrowed for Jonathan's storage business. However, Jonathan explained that this was just a temporary measure to help his dad through a difficult financial situation, and he emphasized that they had a close personal and professional relationship, so that one really didn't go anywhere.
Turned out to be correct, Like, yeah.
I think that was true, Yes, as I did.
Wonder my immediate was siblings and then no kids.
Yeah, yeah, that's all I know, because who would inherit all that money?
Yeah, who's going to benefit the most?
So the Sherman family's efforts to keep details of the estate's secret, like because they have this huge estate, and that became a legal battle in itself. In Canada, court documents and related proceedings, which include files that dealt with an estate after death, they are typically public, just like they are in the United States and Ontario. Super An Ontario Superior Court judge initially applied a protective order to the file, which meant, you know, it was kind of
under wraps, right. But the Toronto Star, the newspaper, appealed that and they won. The family's subsequent appeal to the Supreme Court was unsuccessful, with the court upholding the unsealing of the documents in June twenty twenty one.
Really, mm hmm.
Despite the ongoing mystery surrounding their parents' death, the Sherman children have continued their family's legacy of philanthropy. Philanthropy.
Mm hmm, philanthropy, Yes, thank.
You, let me say that.
Despite the ongoing mystery surrounding their parents' death, the Sherman's children have continued their family's legacy of.
Philanthropy.
Say it with me, Danya philanthropy, philanthropy. In twenty twenty Sherman the Sherman's daughter. Her name is Alex. She established the Honey and Berry Sherman Legacy Foundation to honor her parents memory and further theyrefit unfilled unfinished philanthropic aims. Alex is a registered nurse and philanthropist, and she leads two charitable foundations. One is her married name, which is Krasin's prose. It's it's k r aw Czyk.
Okay, c z y k. I think that's Check.
So Krawcheck Family Foundation and the Honey and Barry Sherman Legacy Foundation.
Oh nice.
Yeah. So there's another suspect that I haven't mentioned yet. His name is Frank DeAngelo. He was a long time associate of Barry Sherman with a checkered legal history, but he denied any involvement, stating that Barry's death was quote the worst thing that could have happened to him unquote. In November twenty twenty, Toronto Police announced that they had identified a person of interest, but they later clarified that this could refer not only to one person, but to
multiple people. So at this point November twenty twenty, we haven't arrested anyone. And now because the police have said, oh, we have a person of interest, it's now sparked this new interest in this case, but the details of what's going on remain scarce. A year later, in December of twenty twenty one, police released security camera footage of a suspect. The video was twenty seconds long and it showed a person dressed in dark clothing walking down a snow covered
sidewalk in the Sherman's neighborhood. Detective Brandon Price stated that the timing of this individual's appearance seemed to align with when they believe that the murders took place, and it led them to classify this person as a suspect. This release of footage was a significant development, offering the public the first glimpse of a potential perpetrator. It also indicated that the police had been holding onto crucial evidence, perhaps
waiting for the right moment to make it public. So I told you there were court documents being released, So there were more that were released in January of twenty twenty two, and it included a statement from Honey Sherman's sister, Mary Sheckman, and that introduced a new and controversial angle to the case. Mary suggested that the motive for the killings might have been related to religion, because I told you they were Jewish, and she pointed out they were.
The Shermans were strong supporters of Israel and that Honey
was vocal about being Jewish. Her statement to police included a startling claim, and she said that six months before the murders Honey had attended a lecture about stopping money from getting into Muslim fundamentalists' hands, and according to Mary, Honey believed that cutting off funding to these groups could bankrupt them and that money from being used for terror, like you know, terrorist type activities, right, And she Mary told police that she believed Barry was providing funding for this,
like he was the one that was funding these things. So I don't know, you know, I don't know. The theory really didn't go anywhere, but it's suggesting now maybe that their murders were political.
All trying to put that facet on.
The you know, it's not necessarily maybe a business issue or as issue. It could be like political or ideal Yeah, yeah, right. The same court documents that were released in twenty twenty two revealed that Barry owned a staggering one He owed a staggering one billion dollars to other companies leading up to his death, a debt that he stated he wasn't
going to pay. So this financial pressure added another layer of complexity to the case, expanding again this pool of potential suspects with a motive, Because if he's owing a lot.
Of money, a lot of money, a billion dollars. That's not going nowhere.
No, the Sherman's family offer of the thirty five million dollar reward that stands as the largest in history for a criminal case, and the case has far yeah wait a minute, sorry, hold then, the case as it stands today hasn't been solved. I'm sorry to break it to everybody after telling you this story, it still remains unsolved. And Coley and I always hated unsolved cases. Yes, but I I the thing that intrigues me about in self cases is just the mystery of it. Like, you know,
like everyone enjoys a good mystery. And unfortunately, I mean, you know, two people were murdered in this case, but right, see, the mystery of it is so interesting, Like there's just so many facets to this story. It's like, who could possibly have done this to these people?
Oh my gosh.
Yeah, So you.
Know I hate, yes, I absolutely hate. And they're so frustrating mm hmmm because to me, the money should have been easily to fluff out. Oh oh hmhmm. You know you think the money should be easy to fluff out, maybe lower thinking energies, you know, money, you know, if you're.
Like like a hit man was hired, yeah, or you know somebody's you know, somebody is a business his business dealings with the Shermans, and you know, he goes home and tells his wife, Oh, I hate that motherfucker or something like that.
Who can't use ten million dollars?
Who can't use thirty five million?
Right?
I mean who? But then that must mean it must be something real deep. It must be something, right.
Yeah, it's not like, oh, their kids hired somebody.
Yeah, we want to inherit tense. This is.
There's something some deep shit going on in this one.
There's some like abalas or something. I don't know.
So, oh my god, well tyya think I'm done?
Girl, Shut up. There's just there's a few other things.
Please tell me my bad Can he edit that out?
Oh yeah, Joe edit that, jo.
I did have an edible. Yeah, all right, it's another minute or two.
The house where the murders took place was demolished in May of twenty nineteen. So the land was purchased in twenty twenty by a woman that lived nearby, who put it on the market in twenty twenty three, like after the house was demolished, and so you know they I think it I think it was probably in a really great neighborhood. So it's kind of like a sybolic move to discuss Yeah, property from its dark past, and even the address of the property has changed since the tragedy.
Yeah, it's like a portal that's so violence there. To be honest, I would never buy. I mean, I'm no real estate agent.
Yeah, I'm no real estate mogul.
And I love Toronto. You and I have been there, Yeah, we love it. I would love to live there.
I loved Toronto is a great place.
But when something violent like that happens, you know, I'm glad that I was demolished, and I'm glad that was purchased. I'm thinking, did she just plan it up with Sage?
Yeah?
Have us have a ceremony.
You don't want to tell your property with sage?
Right, you know how the carry is you gotta glad, you gotta cleanse.
That ye right. So you know, today, like I said, it remains unsolved. The the public has criticized the police and the family is criticized, but there has never been an arrest made and the case has become one of Canada's most notorious unsolved crimes. And I hope someday it does get solved. I hope there's a break in the case. You think that thirty five million dollars.
We do a lot of talking, yeah, a lot of but it's and deep it is. Yeah, it's like so you know, like, yeah, you know, I did, I already said Cabala, but you know, it's just like, I don't know if that amount can't solve it. It's definitely what's higher than money that can't you know what I'm you know, now, I think we're in the spirit realm.
Yes, I think there's got to be some there's something.
Yeah, but I love that. It really is jaw dropping thirty five million.
Yeah, that's not like, oh, there's fifty thousand dollars out there waiting, and you know, fifty thousand dollars a lot of money.
And the probably exposed so much, right, you know, it reminds me just off topic a little bit. I remember Shark Tank and this woman had brought this product that could kill bed bus and it was so good that like all hotels would want it, and motels hotels. From what I remember, the guy in the middle, you know, the guy with the bald head. I can't think of his name.
But you know he always tries to be wonderful.
Wonderful. Yes, I believe the whole panel went in for like some great amount of a million dollars and she knew that it was so worse. And that's true. Like I'm gonna get the big cut. I've invented this that will be worldwide killing bedbugs, which is a superbug.
Yeah.
So I'm sorry. My niece is calling. Let me decline. She wants to play roadblocks with me. She is adorable. So yeah, girl, great story, I feel, I mean, Mike and Doles says yes for the family, and I yeah, pray for that, yeah something.
I hope they get closure someday, you.
Know that's important. Yeah a piece, Yeah, closure, the piece and just.
The unsolved ones are just heart wrenching, like absolutely, it's a tough one. Thank you so much Channon for listening, and thank you everyone for tuning in. Or tuning in is such an old expression. I feel old saying it, but I'm sorry I'm saying tuning in.
We're gonna look up some new terms. Yeh off time, I know.
Thank you for hitting play on your podcast.
Ass, thank you for being with us.
We appreciate you. If you haven't done so already, please hit like or subscribe and whatever app you're listening to, if you would like to go to our website, it's Crimesanconsequences dot com. There's merchandise and we will be updating it with Shannon's information you soon and let's see what else we are on social media, but we are working on getting that going more. But it's at hardcore true crime and if you subscribe, you'll know when we start
becoming more active on it. Absolutely, I think that's everything.
Is everything, I believe you.
Until our next episode, Channon.
I'm speaking with my eyebrows. Until next time.
My friends.
Yeah, until next time, we will see you.
Thank you, Bye bye, guys