Toronto police release video of suspect in Sherman murders

Toronto police say they have identified a suspect in the Barry and Honey Sherman murders through video surveillance.

Det. Sgt. Brandon Price says they have combed through hours of video footage and have been able to exclude everyone who appears in the videos as suspect, except for one individual.

Price says they do not have a description for the individual other than their height, but is hoping someone in the public recognizes them. If the person recognizes themselves in the video, they are asked to come forward to exclude themselves as a suspect.

The individual is between five foot six and three quarters and five foot nine-and-a-half inches. Another identifier was the way the suspect walks. “It is our hope that someone will come forward with a name when they recognize the individual’s walk. The way they kick up their right foot with every step,” said Price

Price add the timing of this video is in line with their belief as to when the murders took place.

“We were able to get images from nearby on either side, kind of, around the Sherman household, and this individual walks into that area, does not continue to walk through, but remains in that area that’s not covered by video footage, and remains in there and then comes back out sometime later.”

Price said the actions of the individual in the video were “highly suspicious” and while he would not say how long the suspect stays out of view of video footage, Price said it was a “very suspicious amount of time.”

“We were able to eliminate pretty well every other person on the video footage that we’ve obtained. And so we’re left with a very glaring sort of unknown with this individual that requires an explanation if there’s a legitimate one,” added Price.

They have also not been able to determine a reason for the person to be in the neighbourhood at that time when the video was taken in the evening/night hours on Dec. 13, 2017.

Price said they have combed through four terabytes of video in the area and walking appears to be the action leading the person to and from the defined area on Old Colony Road.

When asked why the video hadn’t been released earlier, Price said, “The investigative considerations were that the cost to the investigation by releasing this early on would have outweighed the benefit of releasing it early on.”

He said they undertook exhaustive investigative steps to identify the individual in the video, but have not been able to do so. Therefore, they determined it was time to release it to the public and ask for help.

The founder of the generic pharmaceutical company Apotex and his wife were found murdered inside their Toronto mansion on Dec. 15, 2017.

The Shermans were philanthropists and well-known members of Toronto society, sparking intense interest in their deaths and the resulting police investigation.

Investigators have said autopsy results showed the pair died by “ligature neck compression.”

Police have also said there were no signs of a break-in.

Late last year, investigators said a person of interest had been identified in the case, but so far, no arrests have been announced.

The family offered a reward of up to $10 million for information that would help solve the case that made international headlines. It also hired its own team of private investigators to look into the homicides.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a trove of files related to the Shermans be unsealed and opened to public access.

The unanimous decision found that trustees of the wealthy Toronto couple’s estate failed to establish a serious risk to their safety and privacy, and that public interest and the principle of open court proceedings require unlocking the files.

With files from News Staff