Sherman family hires private investigator

Former homicide detective hired by Sherman family A former homicide detective has been hired by the Sherman family to conduct a private investigation.

Despite an ongoing Toronto police investigation into the deaths of billionaire philanthropists Barry and Honey Sherman, the couple’s family has hired a former homicide detective to look into the case.

Barry, the wealthy founder of pharmaceutical giant Apotex, and his wife Honey were found dead in their North York mansion nearly two weeks ago. Autopsies revealed the couple died from “ligature neck compression,” police said.

Citing police sources, multiple media outlets reported that investigators were working on the theory that the Shermans died in a murder-suicide.

The couple’s family rejects that theory and has hired their own private investigator to look into the case.

Brian Greenspan, the family’s lawyer, confirmed that former Toronto police detective Thomas Klatt has been hired to conduct a separate investigation.

According to his personal website, Klatt served on the force for nearly two decades and has worked on more than 70 murder investigations. He was also a member of one of the Intelligence Bureau’s most elite units, the website states.

The family’s misgivings about the Toronto police investigation were communicated to Toronto Mayor John Tory.

“The family did raise a concern that they were seeing information in the media before it was communicated to them by police. The Mayor conveyed those concerns to Toronto Police,” Tory’s office said in a statement to CTV News on Thursday.

“He conveyed those concerns dispassionately and did not make any requests of police, but simply relayed their concerns about communication of information… ”

Klatt or anyone else hired by the Sherman family won’t be able to examine the scene until Toronto police officers are finished looking for clues and canvassing the neighbourhood, CTV Toronto’s Miranda Anthistle reported.

With files from CTV Toronto