Questions about the Barry and Honey Sherman murder case: Part 5
Did Honey Sherman have a will?
One of the more bizarre aspects of this case is that no one seems to know whether or not Honey Sherman had a will. I’m not sure how this is possible, yet, since December 2018, when the Toronto Star first reported on the mysterious missing will, nothing much has changed — or if it has, the public hasn’t been given the news.
“We don’t know who the beneficiaries are, if there is a will,” Sherman estate lawyer Timothy Youdan told a court hearing in July. “We don’t know if there is no will.” To proceed with the administration of the couple’s estate, Youdan filed a document asking for the “appointment of estate trustee without a will in the estate of Honey Sherman.”
The police affidavits written to obtain search warrants only reference Barry’s will.
The Star has also reported that Honey was planning on giving as much as half a billion dollars to her sister, Mary, and that she told someone she knew that she was in the process of revising her will. On top of this, there are rumours that Barry was considering giving the bulk of his fortune to charity.
The affidavits contain some clues that support the idea that the Shermans may have been putting their affairs in order. Affidavit 12, Appendix D contains an interview with Stanley L, a friend and business associate of Barry’s since 1974. Over the years, Barry had bought Stanley two houses, the second of which he still lived in at the time of the murders. (P. 43)
With regard to the current townhouse that Stanley is living in, Stanley moved into the townhouse in 2007 and in October 2017 Bernard called Stanley out of the blue telling him that he should be taking over the house. Stanley thought that Bernard wanted him to pay him the current value of the house which was about $1 million but Bernard only wanted him to pay back $447,000. Stanley agreed to do that right away. Stanley thanked Bernard and he felt happy that Bernard let him have the equity in the house. Bernard told Stanley to take over and get a mortgage on his own because the house had increased substantially in value and that Stanley should not have a problem getting a mortgage on it.
Stanley enlisted the help of his son-in-law in getting the mortgage and the house transfer sorted out. He told police that his son-in law is probably the last person to speak with Barry Sherman on the day that he was killed. (P.42)
It’s my guess that there are more Stanleys out there, old business partners from whom Barry was requesting payments after many years of letting things slide. This would also explain another call made shortly before before Barry’s death on Wednesday December 13, 2017 from Douglas Hendler (Source: Billionaire Murders podcast), who was Barry’s longtime lawyer and handled a lot of his non-Apotex affairs. According to the podcast and to bring things full circle, Honey’s sister Mary said Hendler was also the lawyer in charge of Honey’s estate.
Follow-up from Part 4
Many people are of the opinion that the Walking Man, discussed in Part 4, is an international hit man skilled at evading police. They hypothesize that he flew into town, mastered the art of walking speedily in winter boots on streets covered in snow, casually killed and posed two people, and then headed out of Pearson on a red eye. This a theory for which there is no evidence whatsoever. Not to mention that it would be an exceptionally unusual hit
When I put this to those who support the hitman theory, they often respond, “Yeah, well, a hitman will do what you pay him to do.”
So, okay, let’s run with that. Do these hitman theorists imagine the client telling the hitman to pose Honey and Barry by the swimming pool using Canadian Tire belts, one of which will have to be fetched from the upstairs master bedroom? Were detailed instructions provided? Or was the whole thing more improvisational, with the client telling the hitman to get creative and use his imagination? Did the client request “a scene that will keep ‘em guessing for years?” Does the hitman have a side hustle as a screenwriter? Or was it a screenwriter moonlighting as a hitman? Does any scenario involving a hitman make the slightest bit of sense?
I’m betting on a local killer with a personal connection, someone who knew the twisty neighbourhood streets and how to navigate snow banks and slush at street corners, someone who would stride confidently along late at night after committing two well-planned murders, a crime that he was pretty sure he was going to get away with.
This is an ongoing series. Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4. Sign up for a free subscription to ensure you receive Part 6
Leave a comment or email me at ann.brocklehurst@gmail.com
I wonder if 46 Old Colony Rd, Toronto, was vacant when the homicides took place. If so, this could have been useful to the perpetrator(s) since it would have provided a possible 'stalking and staging' area and a discrete point of access to 50 Old Colony Rd.
From what I read on a Real Estate site, 46 Old Colony Rd., last sold in December 2019 and was not occupied for some time before that.
The Search Warrant Application "ITO 12(d) 2020-09-01" (linked in Part 5) makes a veiled reference to what could be 46 Old Colony Rd on pages 96-97:
"V. An investigative canvass of residents from Officers were able to speak with all the residents of the addresses except for one address. [Incongruent Sentence Removed] Officers were unable to speak to the occupants of [redacted address]. Multiple attempts were made to contact the person(s) occupying the address without any success. Investigators believe the address was unoccupied."