SHERMAN MANSION
North York council OKs request after billionaire couple killed in home
North York council approves teardown of couple’s house,
Barry and Honey Sherman’s home can be demolished, North York councillors have decided.
The decision comes after the family of the slain couple requested permission from the city to level the house, which was where the billionaires’ bodies were found in December 2017.
Eric Kirshenblatt of RKS Building Group Ltd., the agent hired by the family to do the demolition, said he was “praying” the request would get approval, as it was a “very emotional” decision for the family to make.
“But I think they’re relieved because again, out of all of the good memories they’ve had, this is the one that’s lasting,” he told reporters at North York Community Council on Tuesday. “We’d like to put it to bed.”
The house, which was previously listed for sale, was not going to sell as is, Kirshenblatt added. The family wants to demolish it, clean up the site, fill in the outdoor pool and put the lot up for sale.
Barry and Honey Sherman’s bodies were discovered on Dec. 15, 2017, in their two-storey home at 50 Old Colony Rd., near Bayview Ave. and Highway 401. No one has been charged in their deaths.
The house had been listed for sale when the couple’s bodies were found by a real estate agent.
On Tuesday, councillors approved the demolition provided that construction fences be erected around the site, debris and rubble be removed imme- diately, holes be backfilled, sod be laid and the site be maintained free of garbage and weeds.
Kirshenblatt said they will do all of that, and they’re looking to start demolition as soon as possible. He added that, weather permitting, it’s hoped the work will be completed in three weeks or a month.
Councillor James Pasternak (Ward 6, York Centre) said Barry and Honey Sherman were “wonderful people.”
“They are certainly missed,” he said.
In October, the Shermans’ four children announced a $10-million reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer or killers.
In an unusual step, the family has directed tips to its private investigation team, not the Toronto police homicide squad — an indication of the fractured relationship that has existed since police initially pursued the case as a murder-suicide.