Authorities determine 'suspicious' deaths of Canadian billionaire, wife, to be targeted double homicide

— -- Almost six weeks after Canadian billionaire Barry Sherman and his wife, Honey, were found dead in their home in Toronto, police have determined their deaths to be a targeted double homicide.

Barry, the founder of Canadian pharmaceutical corporation Apotex, and Honey Sherman were found in their home on Dec. 15 after officers responded to a 911 call. The couple was in the lower-level pool area of their home, hanging by belts from a poolside railing in a semi-seated position. After a postmortem exam, the cause of death was determined to be ligature neck compression.

At a press conference Friday afternoon, Detective Sgt. Susan Gomes announced that investigators had come to the conclusion of a targeted double homicide after spending thousands of hours processing the Sherman’s home, collecting 127 witness statements and obtaining a collection of four terabytes of neighborhood security footage.

The Sherman family said in a statement that they had "anticipated" that police would determine that the husband and wife were murdered.

"The announcement by the Toronto Police Service that the tragic deaths of their parents are being investigated as a double homicide was anticipated by the Sherman family," the statement said. "This conclusion was expressed by the family from the outset."

The statement added that the family continues to support police "in their efforts to seek justice for their parents and pursue those responsible for these unspeakable crimes."

The Shermans were last seen in the evening hours of Dec. 13 and had not contacted family, friends or business associates in the time between that evening and the morning their bodies were found. There were no signs of forced entry at any of the home's access points.

Gomes declined to comment on any motives or suspects but said, "We have an extensive list of people we look forward to speaking to," as the Shermans' home was up for sale and had a lockbox to enter the home. She also mentioned that the Toronto Police Service has been working with a police department outside Canada since the Shermans owned a second home.

As the investigation by police continues, the Shermans' home has now been released back to the family as they wait for updates to the case.

The CEO and president of Apotex, the pharmaceutical company founded by Barry Sherman, meanwhile resigned Friday to pursue other opportunities, according to a statement from Apotex. With the resignation of Jeremy Desai, two other executives at Apotex will be assuming the roles of president and CEO.