Barry and Honey Sherman's family speak out about their sudden deaths

The family of billionaire pharmaceutical giant Barry Sherman and his wife Honey broke their silence Saturday afternoon, urging the media to “refrain from further reporting” about the rumours surrounding the couple’s suspicious death.

Autopsies are being conducted on their bodies Saturday after they were found dead in their York Mills home on Friday afternoon.

Barry Sherman, who was the chairman of generic drug company Apotex Inc, and his wife Honey Sherman were found inside a house near Bayview Avenue and Highway 401 just before noon.

Sources tell CP24 a real estate agent that found the couple inside the home.

Police sources told CTV News their bodies were found hanging. Other media have reported police are treating the incident as a murder-suicide.

Police previously said that they are treating their deaths as “suspicious” but have not handed over the investigation to the homicide unit at this point. Homicide investigators are however looking at the case.

“Until we know exactly how they died we treat it as suspicious and once a determination has been made with the pathologist and the coroner then we move forward from there,” Const. David Hopkinson told reporters on Friday evening.

Meanwhile, the Sherman family issued a statement criticizing the media and the Toronto police for suggesting foul play was involved in Barry and Honey's deaths.

"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," the Sherman family said in a statement released by Apotex on Saturday afternoon. "We are 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.”

"We urge the Toronto Police Service to conduct a thorough, intensive and objective criminal investigation, and urge the media to refrain from further reporting as to the cause of these tragic deaths until the investigation is completed."

Canadian Business magazine recently listed Barry Sherman as the 15th richest person in Canada, with a net worth of $4.77 billion.

He and his wife were well-known philanthropists who donated millions to a number of causes.

Speaking with reporters about the couple on Saturday morning, Mayor John Tory said they were “extraordinary citizens” who “contributed so much to so many in Toronto.

“Honey Sherman was a volunteer extraordinaire. She lit up any room she went into. She was involved in so many causes, some of them in the Jewish community but many not. Whether it was education, health care or community centres she was at the centre of raising money and giving money,” he said. “Barry Sherman was a more reserved man but a man who over his business career created hundreds and hundreds of jobs for people in the City of Toronto and he loyally invested in the City of Toronto, keeping a lot of the manufacturing and other operations of Apotex here in the city.”

Tory said that he was “shocked and saddened” to hear about the deaths of the Shermans but takes some solace in the fact that “their memories will live on for a long time.”

Police have said that there is no public safety threat.

Meanwhile, condolences continue to pour in for the pair, especially from the organizations they helped and contributed to over the years.

“There are no words for the grief we all feel by this incredible tragedy. Honey and Barry were unparalleled leaders in the Toronto Jewish and wider community,” Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center president and CEO Avi Benlolo said.

UJA Federation of Greater Toronto CEO Adam Minksy called the couple “irreplaceable leaders.”

“Honey and Barry were inspiring leaders for UJA Federation, the Jewish community, and Canadian society. They led with their generosity, time, intelligence, and hearts. Anyone who knew them were taken by their drive to make life better for people here in Toronto, across Canada, in Israel, and around the world."