Private detectives are now investigating the mysterious deaths of Barry and Honey Sherman, the Canadian billionaires found strangled in their basement

Barry Sherman and his wife, Honey.Reuters

• Barry and Honey Sherman’s family hire private detectives to investigate the couple’s mysterious death earlier this month.
• The detectives will “ensure that no stone is left unturned.”
• Police have not published an update since December 17.

The family of Barry and Honey Sherman, the Canadian pharmaceutical billionaires found strangled in the basement of their Toronto mansion, have reportedly hired private detectives to solve the mystery of their deaths.

It is now two weeks since the bodies of the couple were discovered by a real estate agent, and Toronto police are yet to publish a meaningful update since December 17.

Now, Brian Greenspan, the renowned Canadian lawyer acting for the Shermans’ family, has retained the services of two private detectives to carry out an independent investigation.

He told Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail that the investigators, named as former Toronto Police Service detectives Michael Davis and Tom Klatt, will “provide a second lens and to ensure that no stone is left unturned.”

The Globe and Mail reported that a second autopsy was conducted on the Shermans before they were buried. A memorial service was held for the pair on December 21.

Police are still in control of the couple’s $5.4 million (£4 million) mansion, the newspaper added, and have quizzed neighbours to assess whether they saw anything suspicious.

The police theory that the family has rebuked

There has been some disagreement between the family and police over the reason for the Shermans’ death earlier this month.

A body is removed from the Toronto home of Barry and Honey Sherman.Chris Helgren/Reuters

Initial post-mortem examinations showed the couple died from “ligature neck compression,” or strangulation from tying or binding, the Toronto Police Service said on Sunday.

Officially, police have marked the deaths as “suspicious” and a homicide — but not murder. Canadian newspapers have reported a police theory that deaths were part of a murder-suicide.

Citing a “Toronto police source,” The Globe and Mail said investigators were working on an early theory that Barry killed Honey before killing himself.

The pair’s children have rejected this theory. They said: “Our parents shared an enthusiasm for life and commitment to their family and community totally inconsistent with the rumors regrettably circulated in the media as to the circumstances surrounding their deaths.”

Sherman, 75, founded Apotex in 1974, and it is now one of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies. The couple were known for their philanthropy, giving tens of millions of dollars to hospitals, universities, and Jewish organisations.