Barry and Honey Sherman were once one of the wealthiest couples in Canada, but their lives were cut short in a macabre recreation of one of Honey's favorite art pieces.
To date, their murder remains unsolved.
Join us as we discuss the crime, the real estate, and the theories surrounding this eery case.
The Real Estate: 50 Old Colony Road | Toronto, Canada
Show Notes and Sources at: CrimeEstate.com
This episode edited by the oh-so-talented Elena.
[00:00:04] At the intersection of true crime and real estate, you'll find Crime Estate. I'm Heather.
[00:00:10] And my name is Elena. As real estate agents and true crime junkies, we view crimes through
[00:00:14] a different lens. So walk through the door of some of the most notorious true crimes with
[00:00:18] us and discover how sometimes the scene of the crime has its own story to tell.
[00:00:24] Hey y'all, we are back with another Crime Estate podcast for you guys. And this one
[00:00:31] is a pretty exceptional story that I think is probably new to most of our listeners as
[00:00:37] it didn't take place here in the United States. And Elena, for the second time in our podcast
[00:00:43] history, the incredible house or should I say mansion at the center of our story was for
[00:00:49] sale at the time the crime occurred. So not currently, but during the time the crime
[00:00:55] was interesting. Yeah.
[00:00:57] So before we jump in though, I do want to give a special thanks to our fab producer Melanie
[00:01:01] for her help on this episode because researching real estate outside of the United States is
[00:01:06] really challenging and tricky. And Mel worked her research wonders for us today. So thanks,
[00:01:10] Mel.
[00:01:11] Well, you know, I love a good deep dive. And I wasn't aware of the story before you
[00:01:16] brought it to my attention. And now I'm really excited to hear and talk more about
[00:01:21] it because even though I helped out with the research, you know, it's not really
[00:01:24] a story I was familiar with and it's pretty fascinating.
[00:01:27] I'm excited. But Heather, before you jump into today's episode, should we do a little housekeeping?
[00:01:31] Oh, yes. Okay. Sorry. I'm totally skipping ahead today. So yeah, let's do some housekeeping.
[00:01:36] Go for it.
[00:01:37] Okay. So first of all, we want to give a shout out to at Fall Girl 81 for the five
[00:01:41] star review on Apple podcast. Among other things she said, quote, it really makes
[00:01:45] you think if you could live in a residence where something horrible happened in quote,
[00:01:49] and that's exactly what we were going for. So thank you Fall Girl. Even though
[00:01:52] you guys gave us a shout out right before the end of the year, we're going to go
[00:01:55] ahead and enter you into our quarterly contest. And as we mentioned before in
[00:01:58] previous episodes, we really want to engage with our listeners and get your
[00:02:01] ideas on crime and state stories that we should cover. So we have come up with
[00:02:04] a fun way to collaborate with you. All you have to do is leave us a five
[00:02:08] star review wherever you listen to your podcasts. And then at the end of your
[00:02:11] review, tell us why you think it would be fun to do a live zoom mini
[00:02:14] so with your podcast club or group of closest friends. We're going to do one
[00:02:17] interactive podcast a quarter and you could join us.
[00:02:20] Yeah, that's right. So make sure and share your podcast with all your friends
[00:02:24] and them leave us a review as well to increase your chance of winning. We
[00:02:29] have quite a fun time when we do these. So well, we'll draw a winner quarterly
[00:02:33] and notify winners on our Instagram page. So make sure and sign your review
[00:02:37] with your insta handle. I feel so as the kids say, Oh, I feel so hip saying
[00:02:42] it. Yeah, we got your hair dyed. So you look younger. Well, hair dyed
[00:02:47] gray, gray gone. I think I think many of our listeners come late and
[00:02:51] follow the show so you know if you're the lucky winner. Okay, on today's crime
[00:02:55] estate, we are taking you all to Toronto, Ontario and into the home of
[00:03:00] generic drug magnate Barry Sherman and his wife, honey. As one more little
[00:03:06] shout out before I share this story with you, I should mention that we
[00:03:09] had what Melanie about 90% of this episode researched when I received
[00:03:13] a phone call from a friend of mine who had an episode suggestion. Turns
[00:03:18] out she worked with this guy named Barry Sherman in Canada. Can you believe
[00:03:22] that? She was like, I don't know that a lot of people know this story. You
[00:03:25] guys should totally cover it. You're already on it. Yeah. And it's so
[00:03:28] weird because I did not know the story. But then I was like telling my
[00:03:30] husband about it after you alerted me of it. And I'm like, how do I not
[00:03:34] know of this? It seems like one of those things that would be like
[00:03:37] on People Magazine. So I asked her if she had any color or anything
[00:03:43] she wanted to add before we sort of started the story. And she said,
[00:03:46] you know, he really wasn't a super social guy. He really only spoke to
[00:03:50] people who reported directly to him. So she worked down the hall from
[00:03:54] him for about two years. And she said they only exchanged words once.
[00:03:58] And that was because the printer or copier had jammed and he needed
[00:04:00] something. So she said he would just sort of basically pass you by
[00:04:04] like you weren't even there. But also she said sort of the running
[00:04:08] joke at his place of work was that he used one of the microwaves in
[00:04:13] the kitchen for his formulas. And so nobody would use that microwave
[00:04:17] to heat up their food because you just didn't know what had ever
[00:04:19] been in it. Okay. Yeah, that's weird. And I don't know if that's
[00:04:25] normal in the pharmaceutical industry, but I suspect not on
[00:04:30] the leadership to C level floor. I would think not. Yeah,
[00:04:35] I would think it maybe the lab. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Was the 70s?
[00:04:41] This is true. Yeah. No, this isn't the 70s. Maybe the 80s. Okay.
[00:04:45] Yeah. Or later. So anyway, I thought that was some interesting
[00:04:49] color and shout out to Beth for that. That was really fun. So
[00:04:53] back to Barry and honey Sherman. They were married in 1971.
[00:04:57] Only a few years after Barry graduated from MIT with a PhD in
[00:05:02] astrophysics. That's amazing. Yeah, smart guy. Yeah. Is your
[00:05:07] friend an astrophysicist? I don't really know what she does for
[00:05:11] a living. Okay, really honest. She's like one of those Chandler
[00:05:14] people to me. Like you've asked 27 times and you still don't
[00:05:18] quite understand. So of course, by all accounts, Barry is
[00:05:24] brilliant. And by the time he got married in 1971, he was
[00:05:28] already pretty successful. The same year he graduated with
[00:05:32] his PhD from MIT, he purchased his late uncle's pharmaceutical
[00:05:36] company from his estate and went on to turn this purchase
[00:05:39] into an empire. Later selling the company and starting the
[00:05:43] company that would be his legacy, Apatex with the
[00:05:46] proceeds. By 2016, Apatex employed over 10,000 people as
[00:05:52] one of Canada's largest drug manufacturers with over 260
[00:05:56] products selling in over 115 countries with revenues of
[00:06:01] 1.5 billion. That's with a B annually. So I guess I need to go
[00:06:06] back and correct. This is the 90s. Yeah, yeah, this is recent.
[00:06:10] Very recent. Yeah. So Barry and Honey went on to have four
[00:06:15] children, a son and three daughters. And as the Jewish son
[00:06:19] of parents on both sides that escaped from the Nazis during
[00:06:22] World War II, Barry and Honey both were very active in the
[00:06:26] Jewish community in Toronto, giving to many charities
[00:06:29] throughout their lives, particularly as you might expect
[00:06:32] Jewish causes and health care and medical interest. The
[00:06:36] University of Toronto said they gave over $12 million for
[00:06:40] medicine and pharmacy education and research at the school. By
[00:06:45] all accounts, Barry was really business focused. You know, he
[00:06:49] would travel with his families on vacation, but he would
[00:06:52] stay in and work while they, you know, skied or went on
[00:06:54] excursions. And Honey took care of the children and was
[00:06:57] influential in the Toronto Charity Circuit. By 1989 years
[00:07:02] after they were married, they built their dream home at 50
[00:07:05] Old Colony Road just north of Toronto. Old Colony Road sits
[00:07:10] right next to Brindle path, one of Canada and Toronto's
[00:07:13] richest neighborhoods filled with large mentions set back
[00:07:17] from the road. Now I have to stop right here and ask you
[00:07:20] guys and I want our listeners to think too, when you think
[00:07:23] of 1980s architecture, what comes to mind? I mean, let's be
[00:07:27] clear that the 80s were not a decade of good design. They
[00:07:30] really weren't. When I picture a house in the 80s, I see one
[00:07:32] of two styles either it's a lot of what I would call cubism,
[00:07:36] although I'm not sure that's the accurate description with
[00:07:38] bright colors and linear designs with a lot of glass blocks
[00:07:41] for windows and dividers. Or I see a lot of pastels with
[00:07:44] lace curtains and oak entertainment centers. Yeah,
[00:07:47] two very different aesthetic rights, neither which were
[00:07:50] great. Yeah, my
[00:07:52] really seems to carry over to today. Like you know, where you
[00:07:56] see mid century modern, you can even see like some 70s style
[00:08:00] like being popular today. 80s style has not had the at least
[00:08:04] the architectural comeback.
[00:08:06] Yeah. But the 90s are a really bad design choice and I'm
[00:08:10] wondering if one day we'll be like, Oh, the 2020s were a
[00:08:14] terrible design choice. I don't know the 1990s style
[00:08:17] like clothes are really popular right now. All those pants
[00:08:20] and jeans. True. I like that though.
[00:08:26] Well, we definitely had a few oak entertainment centers in my
[00:08:29] house growing up. But I would say that the house Berry and
[00:08:32] Honeybill fits more into that first category, definitely a
[00:08:35] little more modern. Okay. The house was a beast at 12,000
[00:08:40] square feet with five bedrooms and nine bathrooms and a
[00:08:44] full basement floor that included an indoor pool and an
[00:08:48] underground 10 car garage with a heated ramp, which I guess
[00:08:53] Toronto it's going to be cold, right? So that makes some
[00:08:55] sense. Yeah, I was trying to picture that and I'm like, Oh,
[00:08:58] like so that like if you're like coming up in the snow and
[00:09:01] you would, you know, you would, you know, if it's
[00:09:03] coming at an incline to go on a hill, you need to be
[00:09:06] able to drive up. Okay, so at the time and online real
[00:09:09] estate listing described it as and I don't know why
[00:09:11] there would have been an online maybe it was just like
[00:09:13] an article talking about the house because they built it
[00:09:15] custom. But anyway, it was described as an architectural
[00:09:19] modern masterpiece of poured concrete and steel
[00:09:23] construction. Outside there was also a pool and a tennis
[00:09:26] court and inside the huge main floor and second floor
[00:09:30] were lit up by a skylight in the center of the home.
[00:09:32] Oh, skylights. We forgot about that with 80s
[00:09:34] architecture. Oh yes, that was big. Yeah. Yeah. I
[00:09:39] was always kind of jealous because you know, a lot of
[00:09:41] homes in my neighborhood growing up or 80s, you know,
[00:09:44] they were built in the 80s and that a lot of them had
[00:09:47] skylights and I just thought that seemed very
[00:09:49] sophisticated. All right. Well, despite their huge
[00:09:54] home with skylights, the Shermans never had
[00:09:56] surveillance cameras and a bit of foreshadowing Barry
[00:09:59] told friends if they're going to get you, they're
[00:10:02] going to get you. Okay. Yeah. Now according to
[00:10:06] the reports, the house cost the Shermans $2.3
[00:10:10] million to build in 1980, but they ended up suing
[00:10:13] their contractor for breach of contract and poor
[00:10:16] workmanship. And in the end, the builder refunded 90%
[00:10:20] of what they paid. Dang. Yeah. I read that in
[00:10:23] general, Barry was quite litigious in all aspects
[00:10:26] of his life. Yeah. Well, we'll talk about some
[00:10:30] later lawsuits for sure. But I think you're
[00:10:33] spot on on that, Mel. Now by 2017 when they
[00:10:36] put the house on the market again, it was
[00:10:39] priced at $6.9 million. And that takes us to
[00:10:43] the current timeline of our story. By 2017, Barry
[00:10:47] and Honey had decided to sell their home at 50
[00:10:49] old Colony Road and they were in the process of
[00:10:51] building another home in order to be closer to
[00:10:53] their grandkids. I love that. Can I just say I
[00:10:56] love grandparents who want to move close to
[00:10:57] the grandkids? They're some of my favorite
[00:10:59] clients. Oh, yeah. I mean, I would say like
[00:11:02] next to first time home buyers who are so
[00:11:04] excited about their first home together. It's
[00:11:05] the best. Grandparents were actually the
[00:11:08] first clients who I ever had by a house site
[00:11:11] unseen. I think we talked about that on a
[00:11:13] recent episode, but my house came on the
[00:11:15] market two doors down from their grandkids
[00:11:17] and they called me and they were like,
[00:11:19] unless it's falling down, like just buy it.
[00:11:21] Like put the offer in right now. I don't
[00:11:23] care what it looks like. We can fix anything.
[00:11:25] I love that. Yeah. So. But also scares
[00:11:27] me. I would never buy a house site
[00:11:29] unseen. No. Yeah. No. And I'd love for
[00:11:32] my parents to live closer. Maybe not
[00:11:34] two doors down. Right. Closer. My brother
[00:11:37] did call me a few years back and at the
[00:11:39] time him and his family were living in
[00:11:41] Australia and knew they were like coming
[00:11:44] back to the States. And so they found a
[00:11:45] house they really liked and I told them
[00:11:47] I was like, you guys are crazy. Do not
[00:11:49] buy this site unseen. You have plenty of
[00:11:51] time just wait till you get back. But
[00:11:54] they had somebody that knew them
[00:11:55] really well go and look at the house
[00:11:57] and he was like great house. You're
[00:11:59] going to hate this wine fridge. It's
[00:12:00] too small but everything else is
[00:12:01] perfect. And sure enough, the wine
[00:12:03] fridge was awful but they loved the
[00:12:05] house. Oh, it's great. Okay. So let's
[00:12:07] work out sometimes. Yes. But I digress.
[00:12:09] Sometimes I have a habit of doing.
[00:12:11] Sorry guys. Back to the Sherman family.
[00:12:14] Now we don't know a lot about the
[00:12:16] house they were building to be closer to
[00:12:18] those grand babies. But we do know that
[00:12:20] their realtor was working really hard
[00:12:22] to get their current home sold for them.
[00:12:25] They had actually received a couple of
[00:12:26] lowball offers but Barry was pushing
[00:12:28] for a higher price. And I mean I
[00:12:30] get that everyone wants to get top
[00:12:31] dollar for their house. Well they
[00:12:34] also had already just made a huge
[00:12:36] profit on this house. You know,
[00:12:39] 500,000 to now try and sell it for
[00:12:41] almost 7 million. Yeah, for sure.
[00:12:44] Absolutely. But you know I think
[00:12:46] I think as we've sort of hinted to
[00:12:48] and as we'll talk about later, Barry
[00:12:50] was pretty tough negotiator. I don't
[00:12:52] think he was going to leave any money
[00:12:53] on the table. So in this
[00:12:56] effort to like help her promote
[00:12:58] the value of the house, Barry
[00:13:00] told his agent that he would go
[00:13:01] through an inspection report on the
[00:13:03] house and mark it up and you know add
[00:13:05] some additional details that he
[00:13:07] thought would add to the value and
[00:13:09] for her to be able to market it.
[00:13:10] That I love that. And that's a
[00:13:12] real estate side note. It's always
[00:13:13] a good idea whether you're selling
[00:13:14] a 6.9 million dollar house or
[00:13:16] $150,000 house. You know your
[00:13:19] home better than anyone else. And if
[00:13:20] you know anything about it that the
[00:13:22] real estate agent might want to
[00:13:23] point out or add to the listing.
[00:13:25] You should add that. And Heather,
[00:13:26] I feel like your husband needs to
[00:13:27] add some value to your house for
[00:13:29] that amazing sound system he
[00:13:30] installed.
[00:13:32] Yeah, I mean you're right like stuff
[00:13:33] like that. Yeah.
[00:13:35] Yeah, he is pretty proud of his
[00:13:36] sound system. I will say it makes
[00:13:37] watching 2020 or Dateline while
[00:13:39] I'm cooking so nice because I can
[00:13:41] hear it in the kitchen. I don't
[00:13:42] have to have it like blaring for
[00:13:44] another room.
[00:13:46] Now back to the Sherman house
[00:13:47] though, you know it's pretty
[00:13:48] standard and high end properties
[00:13:50] for showing to be what we call
[00:13:52] in Dallas agent to meet, which
[00:13:54] means exactly what it says
[00:13:56] the listing agent is going to
[00:13:57] meet all potential buyers and
[00:13:59] their real estate agent at the
[00:14:00] house for a showing.
[00:14:01] Yeah, that's definitely a price
[00:14:02] point distinction. Most properties
[00:14:04] at an average buyer would look at
[00:14:06] can be shown by the buyer's
[00:14:07] realtor through some sort of lock
[00:14:08] box on the property. But it makes
[00:14:09] sense that this home and homes
[00:14:12] that are of that caliber or
[00:14:13] price point would want the agent
[00:14:15] to be there. Yeah, absolutely. I
[00:14:17] mean, there's the security issue.
[00:14:19] There's the number of very
[00:14:20] expensive things that can just
[00:14:22] walk away. Right.
[00:14:23] You know, there are all sorts of
[00:14:24] reasons.
[00:14:25] So on this six point nine million
[00:14:27] dollar house, the listing agent
[00:14:28] was meeting the showing on
[00:14:29] Friday, December 17th,
[00:14:31] 2017.
[00:14:33] A buyer from out of the country
[00:14:34] had reached out to see the house
[00:14:35] along with their agent.
[00:14:37] And the listing agent thought it
[00:14:38] was really odd that she couldn't
[00:14:40] reach Barry or honey on the phone
[00:14:41] to confirm the appointment.
[00:14:43] She even went so far as to call
[00:14:44] Barry's assistant who hadn't heard
[00:14:46] from him that morning.
[00:14:47] In fact, all of Apatex was
[00:14:49] sort of surprised that they hadn't
[00:14:51] heard from Barry that morning.
[00:14:52] He was a known workaholic
[00:14:54] who had often sent emails
[00:14:55] well into the night or early
[00:14:57] in the morning like us.
[00:14:58] Oh, of course.
[00:14:59] Sure.
[00:15:00] Now, not wanting to miss out on a
[00:15:02] showing, their realtor decides to
[00:15:04] go by the house and see if she can
[00:15:05] show it anyway.
[00:15:06] She arrives to find the housekeeper
[00:15:08] and a few other household employees
[00:15:09] there thinking like the personal
[00:15:11] trainer or the florist or the
[00:15:12] handyman.
[00:15:14] That's next level.
[00:15:15] Yeah. I mean, this is like a
[00:15:17] full blown estate essentially
[00:15:19] sounds like with help.
[00:15:24] And at this time, you know,
[00:15:25] Barry was one of the 15 wealthiest
[00:15:27] men in Canada.
[00:15:29] Though according to his friends,
[00:15:30] he was very frugal, driving cars
[00:15:32] until they would collapse and not
[00:15:33] being particularly showy with his
[00:15:35] wealth.
[00:15:36] But anyway, the agent shows up
[00:15:38] around 10 a.m. that morning and
[00:15:39] she knocks on the door and the
[00:15:40] housekeeper answers and says
[00:15:42] that the Shermans aren't home,
[00:15:44] but you know, come on in and
[00:15:45] show the house.
[00:15:46] So the agent asked the help
[00:15:47] keeper to help her get all the
[00:15:48] lights on and sort of prep
[00:15:50] it for the showing.
[00:15:52] Now, I want to go back.
[00:15:54] I'm pulling up a picture right
[00:15:56] now of the floor plan
[00:15:58] of this house.
[00:16:00] It is incredible.
[00:16:02] Of course, we're going to post a
[00:16:03] floor plan of the house on our
[00:16:05] website and on our socials.
[00:16:07] But so go look at that if you
[00:16:08] want to. But for the time being
[00:16:10] imagine they start on the first
[00:16:11] floor, you know, she's walked in
[00:16:12] the door. They're getting this
[00:16:13] house ready.
[00:16:15] And they're here in this
[00:16:15] formal entryway and just off to
[00:16:17] the left of that is a powder
[00:16:19] bath.
[00:16:20] So when the realtor shows
[00:16:21] that room to the potential
[00:16:23] buyers, she notices that a
[00:16:25] cell phone is sitting on the
[00:16:27] vanity.
[00:16:28] Now I don't want to put words in
[00:16:29] her mouth. I don't know exactly
[00:16:30] what she was thinking at the
[00:16:31] time. But I would have been a
[00:16:32] little annoyed that my clients
[00:16:34] one weren't answering my phone
[00:16:35] calls and two did not have the
[00:16:36] house 100 percent show ready.
[00:16:39] But regardless, she proceeds
[00:16:41] with the showing leaving the
[00:16:42] phone where she found it.
[00:16:44] They continue their tour and
[00:16:46] for the most part, you know,
[00:16:47] they don't find anything else
[00:16:48] unusual in the main sections of
[00:16:50] the house.
[00:16:51] However, when they move to
[00:16:52] the basement level that changes.
[00:16:55] Now, the basement level is
[00:16:57] interesting. It includes that 10
[00:16:59] car garage that we talked about,
[00:17:00] a rec room, a guest bedroom,
[00:17:03] a sauna, a gym
[00:17:05] and an indoor pool.
[00:17:07] Interestingly enough, Canada
[00:17:09] requires all homes with an
[00:17:10] indoor pool to have a door with
[00:17:12] a locking mechanism, which, you
[00:17:14] know, totally makes sense, but
[00:17:15] it just isn't something I've
[00:17:16] thought about. Right.
[00:17:17] Yes. Same. I mean, we have to
[00:17:18] have like a locking gate and a
[00:17:20] gate that auto shuts if you
[00:17:21] have a pool here in Texas.
[00:17:23] So I mean, I can see.
[00:17:24] Yeah. A friend of mine, when she
[00:17:25] was building a home in the last
[00:17:27] few years here in the Dallas area,
[00:17:29] they even had issues with the
[00:17:31] fence because the fence that
[00:17:32] they were building apparently
[00:17:35] like kind of was horizontal boards
[00:17:37] instead of vertical boards.
[00:17:39] And they were having issues
[00:17:40] because the idea was that maybe
[00:17:41] somebody could use it to climb
[00:17:43] over.
[00:17:45] Like a ladder to like, I just
[00:17:47] thought it looked nicer.
[00:17:49] They are interesting that way.
[00:17:51] Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.
[00:17:55] You know, and in the Sunbelt
[00:17:56] here in Texas, we really don't
[00:17:58] have a lot of homes with indoor
[00:17:59] pools. You can pretty much swim
[00:18:00] outdoors here around, especially
[00:18:02] if you have a pool heater.
[00:18:03] But I get that in Toronto, indoor
[00:18:05] pools are probably makes pretty
[00:18:06] popular yet and a luxury item
[00:18:08] for high end homes.
[00:18:11] So before they reach the pool,
[00:18:12] they walk through this rec room
[00:18:14] and the rec room is known to
[00:18:15] have these really odd
[00:18:18] statues, I guess is the right
[00:18:20] word in them.
[00:18:21] Yeah, I'm not sure the exact
[00:18:24] delineation between statue and
[00:18:25] sculpture, but yeah, let's
[00:18:27] call it a statue.
[00:18:30] So these set on
[00:18:33] these 1980 speakers.
[00:18:34] So imagine speakers that like
[00:18:35] come up to your waist and these
[00:18:38] are human life sized
[00:18:41] statues.
[00:18:43] Figurites. Figurites.
[00:18:44] Yes, these are color and we'll
[00:18:46] post a picture because it's
[00:18:48] hard to imagine, but these are
[00:18:50] colorful, almost robotic
[00:18:52] looking to me like a picture
[00:18:54] of human beings.
[00:18:57] Yeah. Yeah.
[00:18:58] They're waist size speakers and
[00:18:59] then a human size statue on top.
[00:19:02] Am I understand? Yes.
[00:19:02] Yeah. The humans are sitting.
[00:19:04] So it's like they're sitting on
[00:19:05] the top of the speakers, but
[00:19:06] they would be normal person
[00:19:08] size.
[00:19:09] And they're sort of posed in
[00:19:11] like this odd pose.
[00:19:13] And apparently everybody in the
[00:19:14] family hated these except for
[00:19:16] Honey Sherman who loved them.
[00:19:17] So like you do with most
[00:19:19] things when only one person in
[00:19:20] your home loves them.
[00:19:21] They ended up in the rec room
[00:19:22] far away from like the main
[00:19:24] living area.
[00:19:25] Yeah. One of them looked like a
[00:19:26] man and one of them looked like
[00:19:28] a woman and they were made out
[00:19:30] of like recycled junk.
[00:19:32] These were by an acclaimed
[00:19:33] sculptor Leo Sewell.
[00:19:35] And they had been it was a
[00:19:36] gift that had been given to
[00:19:38] the family.
[00:19:40] Have you all ever had a client
[00:19:42] with like a very specific
[00:19:43] taste in an item that you're
[00:19:45] like, we probably need to remove
[00:19:47] that before we show the house?
[00:19:49] No.
[00:19:51] The only thing I really recommend
[00:19:52] them removing are pictures of
[00:19:54] their kids and religious
[00:19:57] things just because that it
[00:19:59] might not be for everyone.
[00:20:01] But no, I never had anyone like
[00:20:02] that.
[00:20:03] I have had a couple clients
[00:20:04] that maybe were
[00:20:06] big hunters or like game
[00:20:08] hunters.
[00:20:09] And I mean, it's Texas.
[00:20:10] So you get a little bit of a
[00:20:12] pass, but there's only so many
[00:20:13] you can have in one room.
[00:20:15] Yes. I went into show a house
[00:20:18] in East Texas somewhere and they
[00:20:19] were everywhere.
[00:20:20] And I was like, I don't I don't
[00:20:22] like it. They didn't like it.
[00:20:23] And I didn't like it.
[00:20:23] Like it's a lot.
[00:20:24] It's excessive.
[00:20:26] So I sort of expect that the
[00:20:28] realtor would have preferred these
[00:20:29] statues been moved because they
[00:20:30] were a little creepy.
[00:20:32] But you know, moving beyond the
[00:20:33] statues, the realtor
[00:20:36] finds this stack of papers
[00:20:38] on the floor and that sort of
[00:20:39] looks like the inspection report
[00:20:41] that Barry had promised to bring
[00:20:42] home.
[00:20:43] And it's just sort of lying
[00:20:44] in the entryway off of the
[00:20:45] garage along with Barry's gloves.
[00:20:49] And then last but not least, she
[00:20:50] finds a sliding window in the
[00:20:51] guest bedroom in the basement,
[00:20:53] which had recently been painted
[00:20:55] open about six inches.
[00:20:57] So remember, we're in Ontario in
[00:20:59] December, so leaving windows open
[00:21:01] is not really the norm, even if
[00:21:02] you're airing out some paint
[00:21:04] fumes.
[00:21:04] So it would not have been left
[00:21:06] open for very long, presumably.
[00:21:09] And again, not putting words
[00:21:10] into this realtor's mouth, but
[00:21:11] I'm just imagining how I
[00:21:13] would feel in this situation.
[00:21:14] I would still be like I'd be
[00:21:16] super annoyed that I am
[00:21:18] busting my ass to sell this house
[00:21:20] for you. And you've just got like
[00:21:21] stuff laying in the hallway.
[00:21:24] Melanie said off camera that I was
[00:21:25] never allowed to sell her house
[00:21:27] because I have too high standards.
[00:21:28] But no, I mean, this is why you
[00:21:30] are so wonderful.
[00:21:32] You're so great about it.
[00:21:33] I just it makes me realize
[00:21:35] I'm like what a pigsty like
[00:21:37] even without thinking it's a pigsty.
[00:21:39] I'm like, oh, you know, the shoes
[00:21:40] that are obviously if I was
[00:21:41] selling my house, I would pick
[00:21:43] things up more.
[00:21:44] But I think the only way that
[00:21:46] a realistic person who has multiple
[00:21:48] kids and low
[00:21:50] storage can do it is to get a storage
[00:21:52] unit. Like I mean, that's what I
[00:21:54] imagine I would have to do is just
[00:21:57] like completely declutter
[00:22:00] just the stuff of life, you know,
[00:22:02] the golf clubs that are, you know,
[00:22:04] sitting around because they
[00:22:06] they're going in and out of the
[00:22:07] house store all the time.
[00:22:08] Like I feel like I would need a
[00:22:09] storage unit for a lot of like
[00:22:11] all the winter stuff.
[00:22:13] Well, and it's being
[00:22:15] really common now for sellers
[00:22:17] to get a bridge loan for their
[00:22:18] purchase.
[00:22:19] You know, if they can qualify for
[00:22:20] both houses, they'll get a loan
[00:22:22] that allows them to go ahead and
[00:22:24] put a down payment on the new
[00:22:25] house based on the expected
[00:22:27] proceeds from the sale of the old
[00:22:29] house.
[00:22:30] And so they'll just move out first
[00:22:32] and that is ideal.
[00:22:34] Yeah, that would that would be
[00:22:36] ideal. But you're right
[00:22:38] because that's what I swear.
[00:22:40] That's one of the things that have
[00:22:41] put me off on looking at a new
[00:22:43] home is the work
[00:22:45] that would need to be done to just
[00:22:47] even get to that point is
[00:22:49] intimidating. And I bet it's
[00:22:50] intimidating to a lot of people.
[00:22:51] Yeah.
[00:22:52] Well, this realtor kept put her
[00:22:54] game face on and she kept it on
[00:22:56] and she just continues with the
[00:22:57] showing despite all these little
[00:22:59] oddities that she's finding.
[00:23:01] And when she opens the door to
[00:23:02] the gym, which connects to the
[00:23:04] pool, she finds it odd
[00:23:07] that she can tell that the pool
[00:23:09] light is on lighting up the
[00:23:10] water.
[00:23:12] But the pool cover is also on
[00:23:14] giving the pool and the whole
[00:23:15] area like this really eerie
[00:23:17] glow.
[00:23:18] So she glances down to the end of
[00:23:20] the pool area and sees something
[00:23:21] unusual that she can't quite
[00:23:23] make out.
[00:23:24] Now, this is a 45 foot long
[00:23:26] room with the pool taking up
[00:23:28] most of it. So I mean, this is
[00:23:29] a big room.
[00:23:30] She's glancing down.
[00:23:32] According to reports, the other
[00:23:34] agent looks over sees the same
[00:23:35] thing and says, Oh, what?
[00:23:37] Is that more odd art?
[00:23:40] Now, have you ever had one of
[00:23:41] those moments when things that
[00:23:43] shouldn't click just sort of fall
[00:23:44] into place in your brain?
[00:23:48] That shouldn't click.
[00:23:49] Yeah, you're like, this is
[00:23:50] unusual.
[00:23:51] And then all of a sudden you're
[00:23:52] just like, oh, yes, yes, you
[00:23:54] don't understand what you're
[00:23:55] looking at.
[00:23:56] And then all of a sudden it
[00:23:58] kind of looks like your brain
[00:23:59] reshuffles it for you and
[00:24:00] processes it without you
[00:24:01] thinking about it.
[00:24:02] That's exactly what happened here.
[00:24:04] Realizing that whatever she was
[00:24:06] seen was not good, the agent
[00:24:08] kept her composure, showed the
[00:24:09] buyers out of the house and then
[00:24:11] asked the housekeeper to go back
[00:24:13] downstairs and check on the
[00:24:15] Shermans.
[00:24:16] When it the housekeeper came back
[00:24:18] upstairs, it was clear that
[00:24:20] both Shermans were dead.
[00:24:21] Yikes. I feel like this real
[00:24:23] trick kind of knew what was going
[00:24:24] on. She's like, I'm not going
[00:24:25] back down there.
[00:24:27] Yeah.
[00:24:28] Now, when the police arrived, they
[00:24:30] determined that Barry and Honey had
[00:24:32] been dead for more than a day,
[00:24:34] having been killed two evenings
[00:24:36] prior.
[00:24:38] Even more strange, the two were
[00:24:40] posed to look like the statues in
[00:24:42] the rec room with Barry's legs
[00:24:44] crossed in a semi seated position
[00:24:46] and with belts fastened around
[00:24:48] their necks and tied to a low
[00:24:50] railing by the indoor swimming
[00:24:51] pool. What?
[00:24:52] Isn't that creepy? That's super
[00:24:53] creepy.
[00:24:55] All right, so definitely you all
[00:24:57] go and look at the floorplans
[00:24:58] on our website, crimestate.com
[00:25:00] or on our Instagram page at
[00:25:01] Crime State Podcast so that you
[00:25:03] can follow me as I walk you
[00:25:05] through what the family thinks
[00:25:07] happened.
[00:25:08] Honey always parks her car to
[00:25:10] the right of the house near
[00:25:11] the side door, entering
[00:25:13] and exiting that way.
[00:25:15] So from that entrance, she's
[00:25:17] actually very close to that
[00:25:18] powder bath on the first floor
[00:25:20] where the phone was exactly
[00:25:21] where the phone was.
[00:25:23] So the family thinks that she
[00:25:24] came in the side door like
[00:25:25] normal, found an intruder
[00:25:27] already in the home
[00:25:29] and ran to the powder bath
[00:25:31] to like shut and lock the door
[00:25:32] to call for help.
[00:25:34] So that's why her phone was
[00:25:35] later found there.
[00:25:37] And injuries to Honey's head and
[00:25:38] body match what her family
[00:25:40] thinks occurred while she was
[00:25:41] being dragged from the powder
[00:25:43] bath down the back spiral
[00:25:45] stairs and into the pool area.
[00:25:48] Now, Barry on the other hand
[00:25:50] typically parks in the garage
[00:25:52] and remember the realtor found
[00:25:53] paperwork that he was supposed
[00:25:55] to be bringing home to her
[00:25:57] along with his gloves in an
[00:25:58] entryway just off of the garage.
[00:26:00] So the family thinks that Barry
[00:26:02] was assaulted as he walked
[00:26:03] into the door as well.
[00:26:06] However, the police are very
[00:26:08] quick to dismiss an intruder
[00:26:09] theory telling the public that
[00:26:11] there are no signs of forced
[00:26:12] entry and that there is no
[00:26:14] search for a suspect at this
[00:26:16] time.
[00:26:17] Meaning they obviously think
[00:26:18] this is a murder, suicide.
[00:26:19] Exactly. And as you might
[00:26:21] imagine their kids were
[00:26:22] horrified by this
[00:26:24] and they issued a statement
[00:26:25] which read quote.
[00:26:27] We are shocked and think it's
[00:26:29] irresponsible that police
[00:26:30] sources have reportedly advised
[00:26:32] the media of a theory
[00:26:34] which neither the family
[00:26:35] their friends nor their
[00:26:37] colleagues believe to be true.
[00:26:38] End quote.
[00:26:40] And in an interview for the no
[00:26:42] good, terribly kind
[00:26:43] podcast, Mark Mendelsen,
[00:26:45] a former homicide detective
[00:26:46] with the Toronto police said,
[00:26:48] I'm quite sure that if officers
[00:26:50] could walk those words back,
[00:26:51] I think they would because
[00:26:53] that set the tone for everything
[00:26:55] that flowed from that point on.
[00:26:57] According to Mendelsen, there
[00:26:58] was no rush to make a
[00:26:59] determination.
[00:27:00] I feel like that happens often
[00:27:02] like they don't want the public
[00:27:03] to get all like paranoid
[00:27:05] and crazy and stuff.
[00:27:06] So they may issue statements
[00:27:08] like that before.
[00:27:09] Yeah, they should.
[00:27:10] Yeah, especially in these high
[00:27:11] profile areas.
[00:27:12] Yeah.
[00:27:14] You know, in this initial police
[00:27:16] statement and the overall lack
[00:27:17] of an investigation caused
[00:27:19] the Sherman children to hire
[00:27:20] their own investigator who found
[00:27:22] that the police did not thoroughly
[00:27:24] inspect the crime scene for DNA
[00:27:26] or finger and palm prints,
[00:27:28] nor did they inspect all
[00:27:30] of the entry and exit locations
[00:27:31] throughout the house.
[00:27:33] Six weeks after the Sherman's
[00:27:35] death and upon reviewing the
[00:27:36] evidence from the private
[00:27:37] detective, the kids had hired.
[00:27:40] The Ontario police announced
[00:27:41] that they now believed that
[00:27:43] the Sherman family had been
[00:27:44] targeted and that they were
[00:27:46] looking for a murderer.
[00:27:48] So who would have a motive
[00:27:51] to kill Barry and Honey Sherman?
[00:27:53] As it turns out, quite a few
[00:27:54] people, most of which are family.
[00:27:57] What? Well, it seems like
[00:27:59] everything we learn until now,
[00:28:00] they had a great family life.
[00:28:01] They were going to be closer
[00:28:02] to their grandkids.
[00:28:03] Yeah, I mean, you're right.
[00:28:04] Or at least partially right.
[00:28:06] You know, remember that Barry
[00:28:07] purchased his uncle's pharmaceutical
[00:28:09] company back before he married Honey?
[00:28:12] We talked about that at the very
[00:28:13] beginning of the episode.
[00:28:15] And that original purchase
[00:28:16] agreement stated that the purchase
[00:28:18] was only valid if he gave
[00:28:20] his cousins, that would have been
[00:28:21] his uncle's children, a 20
[00:28:24] percent share in the company
[00:28:25] at the time they turned 21.
[00:28:27] Yeah, because these
[00:28:29] his uncle died pretty young
[00:28:31] and his children, his children,
[00:28:34] the cousins were minors.
[00:28:36] Gotcha. At the time.
[00:28:37] Yeah, and however, though,
[00:28:39] this clause was going to be null
[00:28:41] and void if Barry sold the company
[00:28:44] prior to them reaching that age.
[00:28:47] So he sold the company only two
[00:28:48] years after purchasing it to start
[00:28:50] Apotex. But when his adult cousins
[00:28:53] found out about this clause,
[00:28:54] they felt pretty cheated and they
[00:28:56] sued Barry for their portion
[00:28:58] of his current company.
[00:29:01] This suit went on for years
[00:29:02] before eventually ending up in
[00:29:04] Canada's Supreme Court, where it
[00:29:06] was thrown out only three months
[00:29:08] before Barry and Honey ended up
[00:29:10] dead in their home.
[00:29:11] The judge who threw it out called
[00:29:12] the claim wishful thinking and
[00:29:14] beyond fanciful and to add
[00:29:16] insult injury required that the
[00:29:18] cousin bringing the suit pay for
[00:29:19] the Sherman's legal fees.
[00:29:21] Your mouth just dropped open.
[00:29:22] Stop. Yeah.
[00:29:24] Now on top of that, Barry had
[00:29:26] actually been really generous to
[00:29:27] his cousins over the years,
[00:29:30] quote unquote, loaning them
[00:29:31] money for business ventures and
[00:29:32] other purchases.
[00:29:34] So when the suit was settled,
[00:29:36] Barry called in all of these
[00:29:38] loans to the tune of eight
[00:29:39] million dollars and the cousin
[00:29:41] had to sell his house and other
[00:29:43] properties in order to pay off
[00:29:44] the loans.
[00:29:45] I mean, that's a motive for
[00:29:47] killing someone.
[00:29:48] Yeah. I think he was vindictive
[00:29:49] for sure.
[00:29:50] Hey, you're going to put me
[00:29:51] through all of this.
[00:29:53] Now I'm no longer nice to you.
[00:29:54] Right.
[00:29:55] I don't want to be projecting
[00:29:56] too much, especially on a victim.
[00:29:59] But I mean,
[00:30:00] he definitely seemed to have some
[00:30:02] social tendencies.
[00:30:05] He definitely thought he was the
[00:30:06] smartest man in the room and
[00:30:07] he obviously was very, very smart,
[00:30:10] but maybe not as much social
[00:30:13] skills as well.
[00:30:15] It does sound odd like when
[00:30:17] you're describing Heather,
[00:30:19] your friend who worked on the
[00:30:21] same floor as him and had never
[00:30:23] like, you know, interacted,
[00:30:24] you know, beyond like one
[00:30:26] time. I mean, I've been on
[00:30:29] the C level floor of
[00:30:31] my company's chief executives,
[00:30:33] you know, a decent bit.
[00:30:34] And I would say in general,
[00:30:36] people smile, say hi, make a little
[00:30:38] small talk.
[00:30:39] It would be weird for someone to
[00:30:40] at least not make a little bit of
[00:30:41] small talk of somebody that you
[00:30:43] recognize, even if you don't
[00:30:44] know. Yeah.
[00:30:45] Even if it's just like, hey,
[00:30:46] have a great weekend.
[00:30:47] As you're walking out the door.
[00:30:48] Just kind of a little bit.
[00:30:50] Yeah.
[00:30:51] So in an interview with CBC's
[00:30:53] the Fifth Estate, the cousin
[00:30:54] Kerry says he wasn't this
[00:30:57] loving, kind person giving
[00:30:58] money away, this pillar of the
[00:31:00] Jewish community.
[00:31:01] He cared about one thing, money,
[00:31:03] making lots of it and not caring
[00:31:05] who he destroyed, who he stepped
[00:31:07] on or who he effed over, like me
[00:31:08] and my brothers.
[00:31:10] And in an example of things you
[00:31:11] should never say on TV,
[00:31:13] he went on to talk about actually
[00:31:14] wanting to kill Barry Sherman.
[00:31:16] Shit, that should not say that.
[00:31:18] No, no.
[00:31:20] He says the way I was going to
[00:31:22] do it wouldn't have been with
[00:31:22] belts. It was going to be in the
[00:31:24] Apatex parking lot.
[00:31:26] That was my vision always that
[00:31:27] he'd come out of the building at
[00:31:28] Apatex and I'd be hiding behind a
[00:31:30] car and I would just decapitate
[00:31:31] him.
[00:31:33] I wanted to roll his head down the
[00:31:34] parking lot and I'd just sit there
[00:31:36] waiting for the police.
[00:31:37] Dang.
[00:31:39] I mean, do you think that's like
[00:31:40] the best response
[00:31:43] though is like, no, I didn't do it.
[00:31:45] If I was going to do it, I would
[00:31:46] have done it differently.
[00:31:47] I would have never done it like
[00:31:48] that. I'd already had it planned
[00:31:49] out.
[00:31:50] That's crazy.
[00:31:53] Despite this statement, Elena, he
[00:31:54] says that he had nothing to do
[00:31:56] with their murders and that the
[00:31:57] police did tell him that he was
[00:31:59] not a suspect.
[00:32:01] Now, in the spirit of calling in
[00:32:03] loans, Barry had also recently
[00:32:05] called in a pretty significant
[00:32:06] loan to his son Jonathan and
[00:32:08] Jonathan's business partner.
[00:32:10] It seems that in the summer of
[00:32:11] 2017, only months before
[00:32:13] his death, Barry had lost
[00:32:15] a drug patent case and
[00:32:17] Apatex was going to have to pay
[00:32:19] $580 million
[00:32:21] dollars to a rival company
[00:32:23] by January of 2018.
[00:32:26] In an email that Jonathan wrote to
[00:32:28] Keith Donovan at the Toronto Star,
[00:32:29] who by the way is the go to
[00:32:31] source for this case.
[00:32:32] If you're fascinated and want to
[00:32:33] look up more on it, he said,
[00:32:35] in short, my father was always
[00:32:37] very supportive of me and my
[00:32:38] businesses, including throughout
[00:32:40] 2017.
[00:32:41] He did have his moments where he
[00:32:42] had more available cash for
[00:32:43] investing and sometimes less.
[00:32:45] And we had mature conversations
[00:32:47] about this.
[00:32:48] This is what billionaires do with
[00:32:49] their sons.
[00:32:51] I have not had that conversation
[00:32:53] with my family.
[00:32:55] So Barry had asked Jonathan and
[00:32:57] Jonathan's business partner to go
[00:32:58] ahead and secure mortgages on
[00:33:00] 50 to 60 million dollars worth
[00:33:02] of properties that he had
[00:33:04] purchased for them in order
[00:33:06] to help with Apatex's cash flow
[00:33:08] problem. So Barry had given
[00:33:09] them cash to purchase properties
[00:33:11] and he was like, hey, now I
[00:33:12] need that cash back.
[00:33:14] You guys go get a mortgage on
[00:33:15] this so I can, you know, get
[00:33:17] a little more cash in my pocket.
[00:33:20] Other conspiracy theories have
[00:33:22] been thrown out related to the
[00:33:23] family business and theories
[00:33:25] have ranged from, you know, Big
[00:33:26] Pharma coming after the Shermans
[00:33:28] related to all of their lawsuits
[00:33:30] or competition in the generic
[00:33:31] drug wars.
[00:33:32] I mean, the theories are
[00:33:34] all over the place.
[00:33:36] And I think there there's
[00:33:38] lots of theories because there
[00:33:39] is no like overwhelming
[00:33:41] evidence for any of them.
[00:33:42] Yeah. Well, and to date police
[00:33:44] have not arrested anyone for
[00:33:45] the murders of Barry and Honey
[00:33:47] Sherman.
[00:33:48] The Toronto Police has said
[00:33:49] there are people of interest,
[00:33:50] but nothing else has come of,
[00:33:51] you know, the murders of
[00:33:52] Canada's richest family.
[00:33:53] Wow.
[00:33:55] Yeah, I mean, it really boggles
[00:33:57] my mind, but it does sound like
[00:33:59] a bad investigation job.
[00:34:00] And, you know, I'm going to give
[00:34:02] you a second while you start
[00:34:03] thinking about it because I'd
[00:34:04] like to think of your opinions,
[00:34:06] you know, not that we really
[00:34:08] know of who we think, you
[00:34:09] know, what do we think
[00:34:10] happened?
[00:34:11] Because, you know, ever since
[00:34:13] I was starting to research this,
[00:34:14] you know, when I've been
[00:34:15] driving, I've been trying to
[00:34:16] think about it because this is
[00:34:17] 2017.
[00:34:18] And so this is modern.
[00:34:20] You I mean, it's weird that
[00:34:21] they didn't have any security
[00:34:22] cameras, but maybe that their
[00:34:24] neighbours would have security
[00:34:26] cameras on the streets.
[00:34:28] You know, this is one of the
[00:34:30] richest families in Canada.
[00:34:32] And if the police
[00:34:34] is kind of botching up this
[00:34:35] job, how the hell are they
[00:34:37] going to do one of our, you
[00:34:38] know, like if something
[00:34:40] that small or more, you know,
[00:34:42] normal people, it just seems
[00:34:43] crazy. I read an interview
[00:34:45] with a maintenance man who was
[00:34:46] actually working in the basement
[00:34:48] on that day that the bodies
[00:34:50] were discovered.
[00:34:51] He wasn't even interviewed by
[00:34:53] the police until six weeks
[00:34:54] later, like he was doing work
[00:34:56] in the room next door.
[00:34:57] How does that not become
[00:34:58] something that's
[00:34:58] interviewable?
[00:35:00] Yeah. So I just think that it
[00:35:01] was a planned hit
[00:35:04] because, you know, there
[00:35:05] was not robbery, money
[00:35:08] and valuables were left in the
[00:35:09] house. And the thing that I
[00:35:11] was thinking about was
[00:35:13] the fact that they had a
[00:35:14] whole group of people that
[00:35:16] worked, you know, they had
[00:35:16] staff in the house, you
[00:35:18] know, they had housekeepers.
[00:35:19] You're mentioning all the people
[00:35:20] that are in and out of their
[00:35:22] house all the time.
[00:35:23] So I feel like it's somewhat
[00:35:26] of an inside job.
[00:35:27] How do they know when the other
[00:35:29] people weren't going to be
[00:35:30] inside the house?
[00:35:33] And it seems kind of crazy that
[00:35:36] the bodies hadn't been
[00:35:36] discovered before.
[00:35:37] Right.
[00:35:39] I don't know, it just seems
[00:35:40] very suspicious to me.
[00:35:42] Well, and to your point, it
[00:35:43] sounds like both Honey and
[00:35:44] Barry were attacked
[00:35:46] in the places where they
[00:35:48] entered the home, which
[00:35:49] to me lends, you know, credence
[00:35:51] to somebody knew them
[00:35:53] or had inside knowledge
[00:35:55] of how they interacted
[00:35:57] and what their routines were
[00:35:58] like, which could be a hit
[00:36:00] or it could be somebody personal.
[00:36:02] Yeah. I mean, it seems
[00:36:04] that kind of a personal killing,
[00:36:05] but also they died
[00:36:08] basically of strangulation
[00:36:09] with belts too, which is
[00:36:11] seems, I don't know, kind of
[00:36:13] that's personal.
[00:36:14] Yeah. I think for sure it was
[00:36:16] personal. But because
[00:36:18] there were posed like the statues
[00:36:20] and Honey loved the statues,
[00:36:22] I wonder if somebody who was
[00:36:23] targeting her, not him.
[00:36:26] I don't know.
[00:36:27] Why would you post them like
[00:36:28] the statues?
[00:36:29] That almost is like a sense of
[00:36:30] humor, like an evil
[00:36:33] and evil sense of humor.
[00:36:35] Yeah.
[00:36:38] Yeah, it's it's odd
[00:36:39] and it is shocking to me
[00:36:41] that this case has not been
[00:36:43] solved.
[00:36:44] You would think that this would
[00:36:45] have like every attention
[00:36:46] of the media.
[00:36:48] Yeah. And to your point, how did
[00:36:50] his neighbors not have video
[00:36:52] cameras in 2016 or 2017?
[00:36:56] Yeah. Yeah.
[00:36:57] So OK. So of course, what happened
[00:36:59] to the house?
[00:37:01] According to a report by Dennis
[00:37:02] Curry, the Sherman estate was
[00:37:04] demolished in early 2019
[00:37:07] at the request of the family.
[00:37:09] As detailed in Donovan's
[00:37:11] new documentary on the killings,
[00:37:12] nearly all of the Sherman's
[00:37:14] belongings were left in the
[00:37:15] house.
[00:37:16] This fact, it has said angered
[00:37:18] construction crews on the jobs,
[00:37:20] you know, because they had all the
[00:37:21] trappings of high society,
[00:37:23] but then all the personal items
[00:37:25] to or just ripped down and
[00:37:26] pulverized by heavy machinery.
[00:37:28] So if that were the kids
[00:37:30] that did it, wouldn't you think
[00:37:31] they would have gone in and
[00:37:32] taken like everything of value
[00:37:34] out of the house as opposed to
[00:37:35] just leaving everything there?
[00:37:36] It seems like a waste.
[00:37:37] Like, you know,
[00:37:40] he and this maybe is just
[00:37:42] what is it, the rich people
[00:37:43] shit kind of things that we
[00:37:45] joke about is like, come on,
[00:37:47] even if they're inheriting all
[00:37:48] this money from their parents,
[00:37:51] wouldn't they get the art?
[00:37:52] Wouldn't they get some of the
[00:37:54] mementos from the house?
[00:37:55] Well, I expect that's what made
[00:37:56] the construction crews so angry
[00:37:58] about it. It's like it is.
[00:37:59] It's a waste.
[00:38:00] Our neighbors, I'm sure, just
[00:38:01] loved the fact that there was
[00:38:03] this empty house with, you
[00:38:04] know, all the stuff in it.
[00:38:05] Yeah, for two years.
[00:38:06] Yeah.
[00:38:07] So after the murders, but
[00:38:09] before the demolition and urban
[00:38:11] explorer entered the home
[00:38:12] and confirmed later reports that
[00:38:14] the house was chock full of
[00:38:16] these personal belongings, more
[00:38:18] curious, though, than
[00:38:20] this was a series of holes in
[00:38:22] the master bedroom's walls.
[00:38:24] Donovan uncovered the detail
[00:38:26] after speaking with the urban
[00:38:27] explorer.
[00:38:28] He said he had photos and
[00:38:29] videos of the inside of the
[00:38:30] home to substantiate his
[00:38:32] claims, including the
[00:38:33] outstanding holes in the walls.
[00:38:35] He has since suggested that
[00:38:37] someone may have been looking
[00:38:38] for Honey Sherman's missing
[00:38:40] will whether will hunting by
[00:38:42] an interested party or routine
[00:38:43] pre demo work by the construction
[00:38:45] team.
[00:38:46] The weird detail is symbolic of
[00:38:48] the weirdness of the case as a
[00:38:49] whole he goes on to say.
[00:38:52] Yeah, yeah, that's weird
[00:38:55] on many, many levels.
[00:38:57] All right, ladies, you know what
[00:38:58] I'm going to ask you, Alana,
[00:39:00] would you live there? Would
[00:39:01] you list it?
[00:39:04] That's a tough one.
[00:39:07] I think I would.
[00:39:09] Not live there.
[00:39:11] And I would list it.
[00:39:13] OK, yeah. No.
[00:39:16] Wouldn't live there either.
[00:39:19] Yeah, I mean, maybe, maybe
[00:39:21] list it.
[00:39:22] I feel like this was going to
[00:39:23] always be kind of a hard sell
[00:39:25] look waiting for the right
[00:39:27] property because you know when
[00:39:28] you're at such a high price
[00:39:29] point, especially in 2017
[00:39:32] in Toronto.
[00:39:33] And it was a 1980s style
[00:39:36] home. It sounds like very kind
[00:39:37] of particular that might
[00:39:40] not, you know,
[00:39:42] lend itself is an easy sale
[00:39:44] for any old average rich
[00:39:46] person.
[00:39:48] But then with a murder in the
[00:39:50] house, I don't know.
[00:39:51] I wonder if they tried to sell it
[00:39:53] before demolishing it or they
[00:39:55] just decided it might just be
[00:39:56] easier to sell the lot with
[00:39:59] and let it be a clean slate.
[00:40:00] Yeah, especially given the style
[00:40:02] of the house for sure.
[00:40:04] So I think I would actually
[00:40:05] live in this one
[00:40:08] because I do feel like it
[00:40:10] was targeted to Barry and
[00:40:12] Honey, who I think Barry was
[00:40:14] probably by all accounts a real
[00:40:15] jackass.
[00:40:16] And so there's not like he had
[00:40:18] it coming for sure. That's not
[00:40:19] where I'm going. I'm just
[00:40:20] saying like it seems like it had
[00:40:22] more to do with him than
[00:40:24] the
[00:40:25] location or
[00:40:28] I don't know. And it doesn't
[00:40:29] seem particularly brutal.
[00:40:33] Yeah, I mean, it definitely
[00:40:34] seemed like they knew whoever
[00:40:36] didn't knew who they were going
[00:40:37] after. And you know,
[00:40:40] yeah. I don't.
[00:40:41] Yeah. And I would list it, I think
[00:40:42] working with Barry Sherman would
[00:40:43] be fascinating.
[00:40:45] I wouldn't want to work with them.
[00:40:46] Oh, yeah. I mean, he would be
[00:40:48] hard to work with, but I
[00:40:49] don't know. Sometimes I like
[00:40:51] that challenge.
[00:40:53] He had a autobiography
[00:40:56] that he had written
[00:40:58] that investigators found
[00:41:00] in the house that hadn't been
[00:41:02] published yet.
[00:41:03] But it just
[00:41:05] read to me of a lot of arrogance,
[00:41:07] some of the snippets that I
[00:41:09] read about it.
[00:41:10] And it was just very arrogant
[00:41:12] of I did this.
[00:41:14] I made this money.
[00:41:15] Yeah, you want to know how I did
[00:41:17] it? Like, I don't know. I just
[00:41:19] it got it.
[00:41:20] It just gave me like a little
[00:41:22] insight into his personality,
[00:41:24] the snippets I read that I was
[00:41:26] like, OK,
[00:41:27] I see who we're running up
[00:41:28] against.
[00:41:30] Absolutely.
[00:41:30] Yeah. And I just don't think
[00:41:31] you get to that level of
[00:41:33] success without sort of being
[00:41:35] an arrogant asshole.
[00:41:36] Yeah. You have to step on
[00:41:37] people and get this.
[00:41:38] Yeah, exactly.
[00:41:40] All right. Well, we hope you guys
[00:41:41] loved this episode.
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[00:42:06] All right. Bye.
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