Barry Sherman

Canadian police are investigating a possible murder-suicide in the mysterious deaths of pharmaceuticals billionaire Barry Sherman and his wife Honey.

Toronto authorities were conducting post-mortem examinations on Saturday and treating the deaths as suspicious.

Two Canadian newspapers reported that police were investigating the deaths as a possible murder-suicide, citing unidentified police sources.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The bodies were found hanging from a railing on the edge of a basement swimming pool, the Globe and Mail and Toronto Sun reported, citing police sources.

The newspapers reported that investigators were working on the theory that Barry Sherman, 75, killed his wife, hung her body and then hanged himself at the pool’s edge.

The Sun reported that police had not found a suicide note and were searching the mansion for evidence.

Sophie and I are saddened by news of the sudden passing of Barry and Honey Sherman. Our condolences to their family & friends, and to everyone touched by their vision & spirit.

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) December 16, 2017

The Shermans, who had four children, were major donors to hospitals, universities and Jewish organizations.

Honey Sherman sat on the boards of several hospital, charitable and Jewish foundations, and last month was awarded a Senate medal for community service.

She immigrated to Canada as a child when Jewish Immigrant Aid Services relocated her family shortly after the Holocaust, according to a profile of the couple on the Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto’s website.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount