Canadian billionaire and his wife were murdered, private investigators say

Barry and Honey Sherman were found dead at their home in December

Honey and Barry Sherman, chairman and CEO of Apotex Inc, in 2010 (Reuters)

A billionaire and his wife found dead side-by-side were both murdered, a report by private investigators has said.

Barry and Honey Sherman were found dead at their home in Toronto, Canada on 15 December and initially reports suggested their deaths were a murder-suicide.

But now a team of investigators hired by the couple’s family have suggested the theory, leaked to the media by police, is wrong and there were in fact multiple killers involved in the case.

An estate agent found the bodies of 75-year-old Barry and 70-year-old Honey in their C$5.4m (£3.1m) home which they had been trying to sell at the time of their deaths.

There were no signs of forced entry, CBS News reported.

An initial autopsy showed the couple had died from strangulation and were found with leather belts wrapped around their necks – hanging from a railing beside their indoor pool.

But investigators said things were not what they seemed as the couple were found sitting and their wrists showed signs of having been bound together at one point.

The team has concluded Mr Sherman, a billionaire entrepreneur who founded pharmaceutical company Apotex, and Ms Sherman were likely killed two days before they were found as Ms Sherman was still wearing the clothes she had last been seen in.

Toronto Police have said the circumstances around the couple’s death are “suspicious” but have not commented further.

The couple’s four children, who dismissed the “murder-suicide” explanation, had said they plan to demolish the house once the private forensic investigators have finished their work.