Morbid
Morbid

The Unsolved Murders of Barry and Honey Sherman

August 03, 2026 • 1h 6m

Summary

⏱️ 7 min read

Overview

Elena and Ash cover the unsolved 2017 murders of Barry and Honey Sherman, a billionaire pharmaceutical CEO and his philanthropic wife found dead in their Toronto mansion. Despite extensive investigation, the bizarre staged crime scene and lack of evidence has left this case cold, with theories ranging from business rivals to disgruntled family members.

Discovery of the Bodies

On December 15, 2017, two workers arrived at the Sherman mansion for their regular Friday cleaning. After entering through a lockbox, they initially found nothing unusual until real estate agent Elise Stern arrived with prospective buyers. In the basement pool room, they discovered Barry and Honey Sherman in a disturbing staged scene - sitting upright with belts around their necks tied to the pool railing, wearing their jackets with arms pinned, seemingly positioned to look like they were meditating. Nearly 90 minutes passed before police were called.

  • Workers arrived at 8:30am every Friday to clean the 12,000 square foot house
  • House was locked with no signs of forced entry or disturbance
  • Real estate agent Elise Stern initially thought the couple were doing yoga or meditation
  • Bodies were found seated by the pool with leather belts around their necks, secured to the railing
  • Nearly 90 minutes passed between discovery and when police were called
" perhaps I'm surprised that hasn't happened "

Initial Investigation and Murder-Suicide Theory

Police arrived to find the bizarre crime scene completely clean with no evidence of struggle or forced entry. The couple appeared to have been dead for at least a day with rigor mortis already passed. Within days, police sources leaked a murder-suicide theory to the press, suggesting Barry killed Honey then himself, despite no evidence supporting this conclusion. The Sherman children forcefully rejected this theory as completely inconsistent with their parents' 47-year marriage.

  • Bodies held in sitting position only by leather belts wrapped around their necks
  • Security camera in pool room had never been set up and was useless
  • Cleaning woman had wiped away potential fingerprints while doing her regular job
  • Nothing appeared to be missing from the home despite $4.6 billion net worth
  • Toronto Star reported police were investigating murder-suicide possibility
" I'm shocked and think it's irresponsible that police sources have reportedly advised the media of a theory which neither their family, their friends, nor their colleagues believe to be true "

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