Calgary detective's passion profiled in TV episode about foreign worker murder case

Calgary Police Service detective Thomas Barrow's dedication to "a very heartbreaking case" immediately caught the attention of a TV producer, who has featured him in the latest episode of The Detectives.

Barrow, a now-retired homicide investigator, took charge of investigating the 2011 homicide ofJoelZalsos, 36.

Zalsos had moved to Calgary as a temporary foreign worker from Philippines to join his wife, a nanny, after a six-year separation.

Within a month of arriving, Zalsos was found stabbed to death.

Barrow and his team uncovered a love-triangle. The lover of Zalsos' wife, Franco Sevandal, was sentenced to life in prison for second-degree murder.

"[Barrow] deeply cared about the victim, the victim's family, and also he got immersed in the community of foreign workers, something he didn't know that much about and really felt compelled to show them that law enforcement is there for them, too," said Petro Duszara, executive producer of CBC's The Detectives.

"It's a big case for us; it was a big case for Calgary."

The Detectives is based on true crime in Canada from the perspective of the investigating officer. The part-documentary show features re-enactment scenes, very much in the style of a police procedural.

The episode about JoelZalsos and the man who uncovered his murdered airs Wednesday (March 21) at 9 p.m. MT on CBC TV. It can be streamed online at cbc.ca/thedetectives.

Ahead of the episode airing, Duszara joined Calgary Eyeopener host David Gray to discuss the case.

Q:What drew you to this story in particular?

A: Out of the gate, it was the detective himself, first and foremost. We like profiling detectives who are straightforward, honest, great at their jobs, good human beings and Tom is one of those. Then we look for cases that really affected them personally, and this was that case.

Also for him, he was very vulnerable in this case because he discovered he kind of reached some of his limitations. And he had to overcome them, which is an important part for any investigator.

Also for us, as a Canadian show in a country with different cultural communities, we looked at this as an interesting way to see into the daily lives and plight of foreign workers within Canada.

Q: Why did this case stick with him?

A: When an investigator is top of their game, which really was the case, they kind of know which paces they're going through.

Here, Barrowwalked into a community and a case within a community that he didn't know very well. So for him, right away, was an experienced guy having to rethink his experience, to kind of reset a little bit.

He really and it sounds corny coming from me but coming from him, it's genuine wanted to show this community that law enforcement is there for them and that he was going to do what it takes to understand the lives of foreign workers, to help foreign workers in Calgary.

Because part of being a police officer is making everyone feel safe.

Q: This whole series focuses as much on the detectives as on the cases themselves. Why is that?

A: It's a very personal reason, actually. My sister's father-in-law is a retired homicide detective just outside Montreal and through the relationship I built with him, we saw that there was a lot of stuff detectives go through personally, and that their families go through as a result of it, that audiences and just people in general don't know about.

Often you think about these really horrific crimes and you don't know who's the person that goes to that crime scene, needs to speak to the families, tell them what happened and then bring that home with them or not bring it home with them and hide it from the families.

We felt, as a show, it's important to give a voice to those detectives who see this on a daily basis and for audiences to see that every horrific case you read about in the news, there's someone who wakes up in the morning, goes to that crime scene, has to break the news to the family and then has to immerse themselves in that case and that world for as long as it takes to solve it.

It takes an emotional toll.

Q: Was it hard to get detectives to open up to you?

A: I have to say, no. I don't know why it is. They really wanted the world to know what it's like to do these cases and they welcome the opportunity to share their stories.

They view it as their stories but their story is also the family's story. They feel they're the voice of the victim when they're telling the story and they take that to heart.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

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With files from Caroline Wagner and theCalgary Eyeopener.