Sherman Murders: Outstanding Questions re: Walking Man
Lots of questions and assertions, few answers - thanks to an at-work police force trying to redefine itself?
Back to the walking man.
The Toronto Star’s Kevin Donovan has furthered this case as much as anyone in the public domain. He’s been dogged in his commitment to uncovering more. He also has theories of his own about the specifics of what happened at 50 Old Colony Road in December 2017.
Of the more perplexing information in the public sphere in this case, the walking man, and by extension, access to the home that night, deserve a little more focus and attention in addition to what Donovan has served.
Of all the content that continues to grow online, one high-yield area of case real estate is Donovan’s Q and A series on the Star’s website. In the May 8th edition of the series, things start off with a bang. At least for those who cannot let go of the fact that this walking man tape is more important than its grainy features suggest at first glance (I think that most of those who criticize the police for the late release may be jumping the gun. They don’t pull their 9-5 at TPS and therefore have far less information than do TPS. It seems so easy to forget this fact in a sea of conjecture and speculation).
Anyways, a very curious reader takes up the bizarre nature of the walking man find. Musing on the detail, it doesn’t take long for the reader to get to the point. Was there only one?
Donovan’s response is interesting. You’ll have to subscribe to the Star for all the details, which is well worth it given the mountain of discussion the series has created (I have no financial conflicts of interest to report re: the Toronto Star).
Donovan states the following: “I also think this person has disguised himself, may not have that walk, may not be portly. I think this person may have been a helper or a lookout. I think someone else was involved, and I think that person entered through the Sherman backyard and through the unlocked door in the corridor. And left the same way.”
Readers will be familiar with my view on a one man murder team. Over time, this view has only strengthened. I arrive here based on the evidence we have publicly (oh, don’t hang your hat on that) and the logic behind the planning of the crime itself.
To Donovan’s claims we go.
First, notice what comes with a ‘may’ and what doesn’t. He typed these out and has said similar things elsewhere.
It is true that Toronto Police had a presence at the home behind the Sherman’s for a while after the murders. Access to the back of the Sherman estate seems easy enough, via Forest Heights Blvd. Its a hop, skip, and yes a jump over the barrier separating the Sherman estate from its neighbor properties, and all the way to that coveted and unlocked side entrance - the same one Donovan thinks the walking man’s accomplice came and went by. His new Crave documentary is a must watch for those following the case and it features a high definition sprawling overhead drone shot of the estate, including that whole scene, if you will.
Alright. But why post police here? Were there curious footprints found in the snow? Who knows?
And as for the bit about a fake disguise, well, who knows based on the public information? Interesting speculation, nonetheless.
I’ve watched the walking man tape somewhat endlessly as of late. Sure, some things stand out to me as well but this mostly involves, well, the gait. I’m no expert analyst here, but it seems that the hobble or limp or whatever you want to call it gets more exaggerated at the very beginning of the tape, before he crosses the tree. As the walking man comes closer into the camera’s view, that limp is less exaggerated (side on view, so the resolution of the shoulder height differential is lost) and the foot drop magically appears.
And yes, a foot drop often accompanies a limp and I dare say, is hard to fake.
But, alas. Optical illusions and visual artifacts are hard to spot.
It has always been perplexing to me, this theory of a multi-person team. As I’ve alluded to before, Det. Sergeant Price seemed clear enough with regards to TPS monitoring capabilities and the walking man. Price states: “…we were able to get images from nearby, on either side, kind of, and around the Sherman household.” The walking man “does not continue to walk through” Price goes on to say, implying they would have had coverage even had he done so.
Now, the police are vague, and much of this is purposeful. They leave a lot out and in an investigation like this, one can can assume why. But are we confident enough in Price’s statements? Are they really even saying what they seem to be saying? Is it possible that backyard access to the house would evade any cameras in the area, and on Old Colony Road, and on Forest Heights Blvd and everywhere else they canvassed?
I’ve long thought that if there were multiple members of the supposed murder team, they would all be caught on camera somewhere based on Price’s original commentary. Perhaps that is wrongheaded, but we ought to at least talk about the area the police surveyed even if I am wrong.
This takes us to the warrant files. Writer Ann Brocklehurst has written on these curious files over the last few months. She’s wise and my interactions with her have always been enlightening. Recently, she has posted all of the warrant files on her Substack, opening them up to the public, near and far. Good. This case needs…what’s it called - sunlight.
As the files relate to the walking man, there are a few points to consider, some of which has already been highlighted by a barrage of online sleuths closely inspecting the case.
One is that the police have no further evidence of the walking man after his popping up on the Bannatyne Drive video released in late 2021. Where does he go? Why is there no further video? Was the police perimeter for video collection really that small? Really? Nothing? Donovan’s suggestion that TPS likely had the video from “pretty close to day one” helps little here.
The North York area where the Sherman’s lived was said to have a relatively small number of cameras - I’m yet to see those stats, or a layout of surveillance coverage, but this may just speak to the veracity and velocity of video collection, and perhaps most unfortunately, review.
Add to the warrant file obscurity reference to the walking man being on Old Colony Road, as opposed to being in the area, a descriptor elsewhere in the documents. (shoutout to the websleuths forum on the Sherman murders for this small but important detail).
Anyways. Doesn’t Price’s commentary provide a bit of a problem here when it comes to actually answering the question before us? We know they’ve got coverage of the front of the house (from the determined and ski-loving neighbors across the street). Price state’s he’s got either side of the house, too. But the bit about the walking man “not continuing to walk through” is what hangs me up and provides some degree of confidence in the one man team theory. They seemingly have the “through” part on camera - so the front of the house? So he came from the back? Or maybe he was only ever on Old Colony Road and entered through the front door? Confused yet?
In a recent podcast appearance, Donovan highlights the fact that police refer to the walking man as ‘the killer’ in their documents. Both Donovan and the true crime podcast host confidently assert that police can’t know this, calling it a mere “supposition” multiple times in a row.
But it’s this point that is a bit perplexing to me. If the police have in fact full coverage of any potential access points or pathways to the estate, the walking man as killer assertion actually becomes probable.
In Brocklehurst’s warrant documents, TPS has grammar Barry Sherman would get tired correcting, but use of the words “the killer” may not be in need of correction.
The lack of evidence suggestive of more than the walking man will need to be accounted for before I anchor my ship to any multi-person murder team theory.
In this investigation, many details remain murky and this may well be good for the prospects of a prosecution. Maybe? But of the murky details, the specifics of the walking man’s actions and movements are most symbolic of the confusion at play.
Let us hope TPS is free from it all.
Postscript:
The private team asserts that the front door of the Sherman home had been tampered with and other reports suggest the lock was “spun”. Given that the neighbors across the street had a vantage point of the Sherman front door with their camera, is there any evidence of tampering, day or night, in the lead up to the murders? How is it possible the police missed this so-called tampering when they had the house in their possession for six weeks?
That leads to another weird point - when was the lock tampered with? Once again, a potential dry run would call to mind none other than the Garland case out of Calgary.
A lot more to come on that point.
Postscript 2:
Why do I sense this case is going to blow up?
Today’s Anthem