A statement released Saturday from the family of billionaire pharmaceutical giant Barry Sherman and his wife Honey urges the media "to refrain from further reporting as to the cause of these tragic deaths until the investigation is completed.”
Autopsies are being conducted Saturday after the couple was found dead in their York Mills home Friday afternoon.
Barry Sherman and his wife Honey Sherman were found inside a house near Bayview Avenue and Highway 401 just before noon.
Toronto Police Constable David Hopkinson told reporters Friday evening, "Until we know exactly how they died we treat it as suspicious and once a determination has been made with the pathologist and the coroner then we move forward from there."
A statement from the Sherman family, released by Apotex, Saturday afternoon said,
"Our parents shared an enthusiasm for life and commitment to their family and community totally inconsistent with the rumors regrettably circulated in the media as to the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
We are shocked and think it's irresponsible that police sources have reportedly advised the media of a theory which neither their family, their friends nor their colleagues believe to be true.
We urge the Toronto Police Service to conduct a thorough, intensive and objective criminal investigation, and urge the media to refrain from further reporting as to the cause of these tragic deaths until the investigation is completed."
Barry Sherman was the chairman of generic drug company Apotex Inc. Honey Sherman was a well-known phlianthropist, who helped raise money for a number of causes.
With files from CP24