Autopsies underway for pharmaceutical billionaires

Couple found dead in their Toronto home

Investigators are awaiting the results of autopsies performed on Apotex founder Barry Sherman and his wife Honey before determining next steps in the ongoing probe into their suspicious deaths, police said Saturday.

Const. David Hopkinson said the autopsies were being performed a day after the billionaire and philanthropists were found dead in their north Toronto mansion. Police have described the deaths as suspicious, but offered no other details to date.

“Investigators will wait for the results of the post mortem. They will then determine the course of their investigation and only then will they issue a statement,” Hopkinson said in an email.

Hopkinson declined to officially identify the victims, but statements from Apotex and politicians across the country on Friday named the Shermans as the deceased.

The Sherman family issued a statement late Saturday afternoon urging police to conduct a “thorough, intensive and objective criminal investigation” into their parents’ deaths.

Apotex described their deaths as shocking and tragic, while other statements praised the Shermans’ numerous philanthropic efforts.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau were among those to offer a tribute to the couple through social media.

“Sophie and I are saddened by news of the sudden passing of Barry and Honey Sherman,” Trudeau said in a tweet. “Our condolences to their family & friends, and to everyone touched by their vision & spirit.”

Police were called to the Shermans’ home in an upscale neighbourhood of north Toronto just before noon on Friday in response to a “medical complaint.”

They declined to say whether the bodies showed signs of trauma and did not provide details on the time or cause of death.

Police said homicide investigators are involved in the case, though the deaths have not officially been classified as homicides. They previously indicated that there were no signs of forced entry into the home and that they were not seeking any suspects.

Barry Sherman founded Toronto-based Apotex Inc. in 1974 with two employees and gradually turned it into the largest Canadian-owned pharmaceutical company.