Ex-Taranaki detective joins Sensing Murder TV show team
When he was Taranaki’s top detective Grant Coward always had reservations about information from physics and working on TV’s Sensing Murder hasn’t changed that view.
The TVNZ programme, where self-proclaimed psychics attempt to explain the fates of missing people returns to television screens on March 2.
Coward, the former detective senior sergeant in charge of New Plymouth’s CIB and 28 year veteran of the police force, has a starring role as the investigator, despite his doubts about auditioning for the part.
‘‘I wasn’t overly keen to be honest.
‘‘I view Sensing Murder with a certain amount of skepticism.’’
He said when running any major investigation police were often approached by clairvoyants and psychics who claimed to have information to offer.
‘‘That information was never dismissed. It was always treated with a seriousness and I always assigned a detective to the psychics to get the information from that person to see what they had to offer.
‘‘In any major investigation you keep your focus wide and if a psychic has something to offer and it might be useful let’s grab it. I did view it with skepticism but we never dismissed the information that they wanted to provide.’’
In 2013 Coward left the police and set up his own private investigation company, Third Eye Investigations, with fellow detective Sue Ashton.
He had became a household name during the 2005 murder investigation of German tourist Birgit Brauer, with the media dubbing him ‘‘Dirty Harry’’ due to his similarity in appearance to Clint Eastwood’s tough talking police character.
While he wasn’t sure if this was the reason he was approached for the part, Ashton had no doubts.
‘‘I would say it would be more because of the way that he presented on TV to be honest,’’ she said.
Coward said he was aware the programme had never solved a homicide but said the decision was not motivated by being on television, his goal was the same as it had been during his time in the police - to help grieving families recover.
‘‘It’s Sensing Murder not solving murder.
‘‘If we can solve a crime or we can bring a crime to the forefront of people to jog memories or just provide a snippet of information that might help solve a homicide, I’m all for it.
‘‘It was let’s see if we can help. It’s the families who have come forward and that’s who you want to help.’’
Coward said he didn’t work with or ever meet any of the psychics during the filming of the eight episodes.
‘‘They did their thing and then the information that they got it was my job to follow up on that.’’
He concedes the psychics didn’t produce a lot of fresh information but it wasn’t all negative.
‘‘I don’t think that I’ve advanced them at all but there are potential lines of inquiry.
‘‘It’s hard to know what we are going to be able to achieve in terms of anything really until the programmes are aired.’’
Coward said he had enjoyed working on the series and doing the job he loved but his views on psychics hadn’t changed.
‘‘You would have to say that I’m still a skeptic.’’