Sherman murders take center stage in the new Crave show

On December 15, 2017, the bodies of Barry and Honey Sherman were discovered in the basement of their Forest Hill home. Since then, the mystery of who killed them – and why – has fascinated Canadians and amateur sleuths around the world.

Shortly after the news broke — amidst a maelstrom of rumour, conspiracy theories and international attention — The Star’s lead investigative reporter took on a double mission. First, find out if the deaths were a murder-suicide or a double homicide, and second, find out “whodunit.”

That assignment has occupied Kevin Donovan for the past five years.

In addition to breaking down various stories surrounding the case — including revealing evidence that Honey and Barry Sherman were victims of a double homicide, not the murder-suicide theory that police initially seemed fixated on — Donovan has written a book titled “ The Billionaire Murders’. and hosted a popular Star podcast of the same name.

Donovan’s coverage has inspired a four-part docuseries,“Billionaire murders,’ that is stream on Crave. The series is a compelling play-by-play of the case told from Donovan’s perspective.

That approach came from Joe Danisi, the series’ executive producer and director. “Joe came in as an outsider and said, ‘I want to see it through Kevin’s eyes,'” Donovan said in an interview.

During his nearly 40-year career, Donovan has covered thousands of stories. He said Honey and Barry Sherman’s story was different from the start.

“First and foremost, it’s the people involved,” Donovan said. “Barry was the founder of a well-known generic drug company, and he and Honey were really well-known philanthropists.”

The second reason for the public fascination with the case, Donovan said, is that it’s catnip for our crime-obsessed age.

“If there had been an arrest that first day, there wouldn’t have been a book or a documentary,” said Donovan. “Human nature wants answers, and people like to feel they have a part to play in finding those answers.”

Donovan added that invariably everyone he meets seems to have their own theory on the matter.

“There is a very active community there on Reddit and Websleuths that is digging a lot of rabbit holes,” said Donovan, noting that he prefers a “fact-based approach” to his reporting.

Much of the documentary focuses on Donovan trying to unwind the thread of police behavior surrounding the case, including why they waited to interview certain people, or why they seemed ready to label the deaths as murder-suicide. to declare.

In the end, the Sherman family performed their own autopsy, which revealed it was a double homicide. Donovan obtained this information through his own sources and published the story in The Star.

“I don’t think this case would have been talked about if those sources hadn’t spoken to me,” Donovan said. “We are nothing without people standing up and telling us the truth.”

Still, the early missteps in the case bother him.

“As a resident of Toronto and a taxpayer, I had hoped that one day I would find out that there was a grand scheme where the police tried to make it look like a murder-suicide so they could conduct a covert undercover operation. with wiretaps and catch the killer,” Donovan said. “I don’t believe that at all anymore.”

Instead, Donovan said the case had failed from the start, noting his sources have said, “the pathologist blames the police for not saying it was a double homicide, and the police give the pathologist the guilt that he says it is undetermined and maybe a murder suicide. ”

Donovan said it will be challenging to take the case to court: “A defense attorney for person or persons X is going to have a field day.”

For the docuseries, Donovan shot all of his “talking head” scenes over five nights in the old Star newsroom at 1 Yonge St., shortly before the newspaper moved into new headquarters.

“It’s the last video from the old newsroom,” Donovan said, adding that the desk he’s sitting at in the doctor’s office is a replica of his actual desk, which couldn’t be included because it was in an office. “We remade that desk every night.”

The newsroom – the home of the star for 51 years – is a fitting setting for a series that is ultimately a love letter to journalism.

“When people ask why the Star spends so much time on this, I say it’s a really important story,” said Donovan. “If these mistakes can happen in the case of really high-profile people, it raises the question of what happens to the many other horrible cases that are happening in our community.”

Donovan stays with the Sherman case. He said he has a theory that he’s pretty sure of, but he just needs to prove it – something that could take years.

“I’ll see a new source later this week who can tell me some specifics,” Donovan said, adding that he’ll meet them on a park bench somewhere in the GTA.

“I have a history of following a story to the end,” says Donovan. “I do not give up.”

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