That woman then escapes to Canada while evidence against her is gathering, and then she has his baby while the extradition process drags on. Bagbys co-workers described him as agitated that day, and his supervising physician advised him not to meet with Turner alone. A filmmaker decides to memorialize a murdered friend when his friend's ex-girlfriend announces she is expecting his son. It was finally signed into law by Governor-General David Johnston on 16 December 2010. Despite her claim to have been in bed sick on 5 November, cell phone and Internet records showed that she had made cross-country calls both to and from Latrobe, accessed eBay and Hotmail from Bagby's home computer, and used his home phone to call in sick. David Bagby wrote a book, "Dance With the Devil: A Memoir of Murder and Loss," in 2007; a documentary film, "Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About his Father" was made by Andrew's longtime friend Kurt Kuenne in 2008, with the Bagbys' participation. Months later, Shirley Turners body washed up on a St. Johns beach alongside the body of her son. [21], The Chicago Film Critics Association nominated Dear Zachary for its Best Documentary award, and the Society of Professional Journalists presented the film with its Sigma Delta Chi Award for Best Documentary. Its good to see him again, hear his voice, he said of the images of Andrew. We were done, Kate Bagby said, finishing her husbands thought, a quirk of their relationship that became apparent during a several-hour recount of how their lives spiraled out of control after that phone call from police. After Doucet broke up with Turner and moved elsewhere in Newfoundland, she began inundating him with phone calls. In October 2006, Winnipeg-based coroner Peter Markesteyn released the Turner Review and Investigation, which concluded that Zachary's death was preventable and criticised Newfoundland and Labrador's social services system for failing to protect the child from his mother, stating, "Nowhere did I find any ongoing assessment of the safety needs of the children." The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures named the film one of the five top documentaries of 2008. Choosing Bagby as his best man was one of the easiest decisions Oetinger ever made, he said. I wanted to read this book because I saw a snippet on MSNBC or one of those late night shows, (about the last 7-10 minutes of the show) that was actually the television version of what had taken place back in 2001. As the two got older, Bagby helped to fund Kuennes film projects with money that he was saving for medical school. Zachary would be 15 now, the same age as their godson. We dont do anything related to murder anymore, he said. By continuing to browse, you accept the use of cookies and other technologies. Its levelled off to the point where it is much easier than initially that horror of it at the beginning is almost unbearable, Bagby answers, patiently. Yes, I went to great lengths to read this book and I'm glad I did! Kuenne finished his documentary and dedicated it to the memories of both Bagby and Zachary. You will then receive an email that helps you regain access. They persevered through long, drawn-out, and complicated custody and extradition hearingseven as they struggled with their own griefonly to be met with further heartbreak. While battling the extremely long court system in Canada, they did all they could to keep things civil between themselves and the accused murderer of their son. [9] David and Kathleen Bagby moved to St. John's, Newfoundland, in order to fight for custody of their son's child, while Turner eventually moved into her own apartment on Pleasant Street in St. John's. David and Kathleen Bagby, the parents of murdered Latrobe doctor Andrew Bagby, are pleased with how quickly a recent push for bail reform in Canada has gained ground since their grandson was killed in 2003. In the wake of the shocking turn of events, Andrews father, David Bagby, wrote a true crime memoir that is described as a eulogy for a dead son, an elegy for lives cut tragically short, and a castigation of a broken system.. Turner followed the man to Pennsylvania, leaving threatening voicemails over the following year and making unannounced visits to his apartment. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Turner later drove home and left a message on Bagby's answering machine. I truly commend the Bagby's commitment to exposing (and trying to bring about change) a corrupt judicial system, even in the midst of their tremendous loss. Watching the documentary brings up a mix of feelings from joy to hatred. However, in the summer of 2000, Turner confessed to a relative that she had spent the baby bonuses on her own living expenses and doctoral education. The film ends with the Bagbys and their relatives, friends, and colleagues reflecting on the father and son, as well as the . First published in 2007, Dance with the Devil: A Memoir of Murder and Loss follows Andrews family as they cope with his death, the short-lived hope of reuniting with his infant son that ended in the worst way imaginable, and the pain and frustration that follow their attempts to wring justice from a complex and often compromised system. More at IMDbPro Contact info Agent info Resume Add to list Known for Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father 8.5 Self - Father 2008 Credits IMDbPro Thanks The book is not written as a narrative, with suspense building until we find out what eventually takes place. Died: January 5, 2022 in Statesville, NC David R. Bagby, 64 of Statesville, NC and formerly of Streator passed away Wednesday (January 5, 2022) at the Gordon Hospice Home in Statesville, NC.. Promotional still from "Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father" via Oscilloscope Laboratories. Coverage from the 2023 Canada Winter Games, VIDEO: Your daily elite-sports highlight package, Making Canada Better: Atlantic Canadians striving for change, 2023 SaltWire Network. When confronted with this evidence, Turner claimed that she met with Bagby at Keystone State Park but that he put the gun in his trunk. If you dont, youre dead. Also among their group of friends was Matt Oetinger, the owner of Fernwood Cellars on Redwood Retreat Road. Our SaltWire team is always watching out for the place we call home. A review of Turner's and Zachary's deaths, released in 2006 by Winnipeg-based coroner Peter Markesteyn, concluded the provinces social services system failed Zachary and his death could have been prevented. The apparent murder-suicide ended the life of 13-month-old Zachary Turner, the only remaining piece of Andrew Bagby and the love of Kate and David Bagbys lives. Furious about this, Bagby drove Turner to the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport and broke up with her over lunch, sending her on a plane back to Iowa. After a short stint in a womens facility during the attempted murder proceedings, Turner was released on $75,000 bail. No one in my entire library system owns it either (30+ libraries), so I wound up having to get an interlibrary loan and have this book shipped to me from another state. Turner was rushed to a hospital, where she received a gastric lavage. David Bagby IMDbPro Starmeter See rank Play trailer 2:39 Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008) 1 Video 1 Photo Help contribute to IMDb. The lot number on a box of condoms found in Turner's Council Bluffs apartment matched a box purchased by Bagby in Latrobe on the night of the break-up. Markesteyn specifically cited poor communication between social services officials, who worked on the presumption of Turner's innocence throughout the case and became more concerned for her welfare than for Zachary's. While out on bail and fighting extradition, Turner gave birth to Zachary. CONTRIBUTED BY DAVID BAGBY Kurt Kuenne met Andrew Bagby in first grade and instantly the two formed a special bond that has never wavered in the 18 years since Bagby's death. "[17], David Bagby penned a book about the case, Dance with the Devil: A Memoir of Murder and Loss, which was published in 2007.[18]. This site uses cookies to improve user experience. Coverage from the 2023 Canada Winter Games, Making Canada Better: Atlantic Canadians striving for change, VIDEO: Your daily elite-sports highlight package. Infuriated, Bagby broke up with her, and she boarded a plane back to Iowa. In a 2006 report, Winnipeg medical examiner Peter Markesteyn after an inquiry into Zachary's death harshly criticized the Child, Youth and Family Services and the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate, and concluded that Zachary should never have been in the care of his mother. Turner was wearing a black dress, carried a bouquet of red roses and had two suicide notes on her. The result is one of the saddest movies of all time (even the trailer will make you weep) and one of the most disturbing documentaries ever, so grab a box of tissues and read on to relive some of themost compelling aspects of Dear Zachary. Tragic doesn't even come close to describing this case. RELATED:California filmmaker remasters documentary on the lives and murders of Andrew Bagby and Zachary Turner. A well written memoir by a father who son was murdered by an ex-girlfriend that was pregnant with his son's child. Andrew Bagby is murdered in the US by a woman who was angry that he broke up with her. This book just reinforces the obliviousness and callousness of " the system" towards victims and its sick preoccupation with criminals' rights. When Kuenne was putting together the documentary, he expected that the film might help the infant get to know the father he would never meet. She was raised with three siblings in Wichita, Kansas, but moved to Newfoundland with her mother after her parents separated; the parents later divorced. This is a fascinating,horrific and humbling read. While hes not religious and suggests no one knows the answer to that eternal question, he said it would be a wonderful thing to see Andrew and Zachary again. In the wake of the shocking turn of events, Andrew's father, David Bagby, wrote a true crime memoir that is described as "a eulogy for a dead son, an elegy for lives cut tragically short, and a castigation of a broken system." The case led to a critical overview of Newfoundland's legal and child welfare systems as well as Canada's bail laws. Unfortunately, there is not court case, as the accused murderer killed herself. The inquiry concluded that Zachary's death had been preventable. Zachary Andrew Turner (18 July 2002 18 August 2003)[2]:78 was a Canadian child from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, who was killed by his mother, Shirley Jane Turner, in a murdersuicide. Immortalized in the spellbinding documentary Dear Zachary, this angry, raw, and brutally honest memoir of murder and loss chronicles a systems failure to prevent the death of a child. -Managed leading Egyptian companies' accounts with the firm, including in the oil and gas, financial, consumer goods, real estate and automotive sectors. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. There are 40+ professionals named "David Bagby", who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, and opportunities. DAVID BAGBY OBITUARY. [2]:84, Upon becoming pregnant, Turner married a long-time boyfriend during Memorial University's 1981 winter recess. Want more true crime? They both drowned. A 2006 inquiry found serious shortcomings in how the province's social services system handled the case, suggesting that the judges, prosecutors, and child welfare agencies involved were more concerned with presuming Shirley's innocence than with protecting Zachary. Date of Death: November 5, 2001. In 1983, Turner moved to Labrador City and worked as a science teacher. Also in Turner's apartment were MapQuest printouts for road directions to Latrobe. Condensing the saga into a neat, 90-minute package and parting with footage of Andrews friends and family that he had become so attached to was the most difficult part of the project, Kuenne said. Had the case played out in the U.S. court system, they believe Zachary would still be with them. The Dear Zachary Story, "After Canadian mother killed herself and their only grandchild, U.S. couple started 10-year fight to change Canada's bail laws", "I had the moral right to kill Shirley Turner", "Shirley Turner, son found dead | CBC News", "Turner psychiatrist ordered to pay $10,000", "Ask the filmmaker a question about 'Dear Zachary', No need for Zachary Turner to die: death review, "Top 5 Good Movies You Never Want To See Again", "Nearly 2 decades after the murder of a physician and his son a legacy of love survives", "Dear Zachary: Donations in Andrew's Memory", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murders_of_Andrew_Bagby_and_Zachary_Turner&oldid=1137739500, History of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, November 2001 events in the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox person with multiple parents, Pages using infobox criminal with known for parameter, Articles needing additional references from June 2021, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. I agree whole heartedly, that things need to change. He laughs as he recalls images of Zachary running up and down a hall, saying that is a joy. You can also read the documentation to learn about Wordfence's blocking tools, or visit wordfence.com to learn more about Wordfence. A tragedy that could have been prevented. Some of those thoughts included him, without Kate's knowledge, taking out Turner and allowing himself to be imprisoned. [14] According to filmmaker Kurt Kuenne, Doucet later left Newfoundland and relocated elsewhere in Canada.[15]. However, it was around this same time that their son, Zachary, was actually conceived. His arguments towards the refusal of parole for alleged murderers is superb and really shows how idiotic the laws can be. In the years after Zacharys death, the Bagbys fought for reform, lobbying for changes to the Criminal Code of Canada to make it more difficult for people accused of murder to get bail. May give you a new appreciation for being an American. What he and his wife went through is truly disgusting. But the story of his sons brutal murder and the subsequent Justice Gale Welshmaintained that "there is no indication of a psychological disorder that would give concern about potential harm to the public generally.". During a 1999 residency at a family practice in St. John's, Turner's professionalism drew harsh criticism by her supervising physician, who stated she would become "quite hostile, yelling, crying, and accusing me of treating her unfairly." Not only do you get the whole story of how the justice system failed, but Dave goes on to explain how it should be fixed. The Bagbys have stepped back from their involvement in organizations dealing with similar murder cases those supporting parents whose children were murdered. The media interest in the story may have waned some, but their loss is never-ending. Then, in August 2003, Shirley killed herself and the one-year-old Zachary by jumping into the Atlantic Ocean. When Turner visited him in Latrobe in late October 2001immediately after the last of her firearms lessons in Omahathe two frequently argued over his relationship with a new girlfriend. She turns to talking of her son and calls him Gods blessing. People see this film and realize that they are so incredibly lucky to have everything they need to be happy.. This sad tale tells how slowly justice moved and failed to protect an innocent year old child. The pair dated and were sexually intimate on two occasions afterward. They should have been given custody of Zachary to begin with. The prime suspect: Dr. Shirley Turner, a twice-divorced and considerably older mother of three Andrew Bagby casually dated while attending medical school in Newfoundland, Canada. But had Andrew not gone to medical school here and therefore never laid eyes on Turner, there are no guarantees he might have escaped his fate, Bagby said. Therefore be forewarned that the back of the book reveals exactly what happened, as does the book itself near the beginning. This raw, gut-wrenching book also walks the reader back to the start of the action, when the ill-fated chain of events first began to unfold. These events fuel the Bagbys crusade to reform Canadian bail laws to deny bail to accused murderers awaiting trial. The owner of this site is using Wordfence to manage access to their site. I got to put on the record the fact that I would like a much stronger bill, said David. The fact that such a brief relationshipwasall it took to push her over the edgeisa testament to how surprising it was that a judge let her walk free with custody. Andrew Bagby, who never knew Turner was pregnant, was the father . Andrew Bagby, a gregarious family-practice resident at Latrobe, was found shot to death on Nov. 5, 2001, in Keystone State Park. One contains the remains of their son, Dr. Andrew Bagby. [7] By Turner's account, she visited Bagby's residence in Syracuse seven times while he visited her once in Sac City. On 12 November 2001, Turner abandoned her residence in Council Bluffs and flew to Toronto, eventually resettling in St. John's with her oldest son. [2]:494[3] At the time, Shirley had been released on bail and awarded custody of the infant, even though she was in the process of being extradited to the United States to stand trial for the murder of Zachary's father, Andrew David Bagby. Ensure local journalism stays in your community by purchasing a membership today. Rebeca's Bakery, WEB DEVELOPMENT & DIGITAL MEDIA Website DesignHosting Website Optimization (SEO) Social Media Management Sponsored Content Analytic Evaluation Newsletter Marketing, OUR PUBLICATIONSCannabis ChronicleEast BayEast Bay ExpressGood Times Santa CruzHealdsburg TribuneHollister Free Lance King City RustlerLos GatanMarin Pacific Sun Metro Silicon Valley Morgan Hill Times North Bay BohemianPress BannerSalinas Valley TribuneSouth Valley Watsonville Pajaronian, COMPANY INFOJob OpportunitiesJournalism Awards. Being from Newfoundland,I was well aware of the happenings in this book as they were happening. Throughoutthe film, it's really difficult to watch a reasonable man consider such extreme and desperate measures. A week after Andrew Bagbys murder, while American police were building a case against her, Turner fled to her native Canada. After the child was born the clearly mentally-ill mother wrecked havok on the grandparents lives. Newfoundland social service workers interviewed the children, who stated that their "disciplinarian" mother punished them with spankings and beatings by belt. drowning of his grandson at the hands of the same woman isnt a During one of these visits, Turner is believed to have burglarized Bagby's apartment. For Kuenne, the answer to that question began in childhood. She was born to the late Rev. On several occasions, it was noted that Zachary had poor attachment to his mother and preferred the company of other adults, particularly his grandparents. I also want to get the Early Bird Books newsletter featuring great deals on ebooks. One Canadian judge released her on the condition that she behave and another gave her custody of Zachary Turner. Its a part of his life Bagby calls a dance with the devil.. In October 2001, Turner obtained a permit to buy a firearm and purchased a Phoenix Arms HP22 handgun and .22 ammunition, which she used during firearms lessons. In November 1997, Turner confronted him in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and struck him in the jaw with her high-heeled shoe. A portion of the film also shows Kuenne meeting Zachary in Newfoundland in July 2003 to celebrate his first birthday, one month before his death; Shirley Turner is present during the visit, but Kuenne avoids her. Luckily, they chose to go on and fight for their son, especially after finding out he had a child on the way. On 4 July 2003, Turner met a young man at a bar in St. John's. On 13 October, Turner told Bagby that she was three months pregnant. Ensure local journalism stays in your community by purchasing a membership today. If one thinks the American justice system is slow moving and against the victim most times, then one should encounter the Canadian justice system. Join Facebook to connect with David Bagby and others you may know. Some other equivalent (to Shirley Turner) could have been anywhere Andrew went, he said, allowing what happened had nothing to do with Newfoundland as a place. He was ordered to pay a fine of $10,000covering one-third of the $30,000 incurred by the college for the inquiryand was ordered to undergo psychiatric counseling. The Bagby's lived a nightmare that no person should ever have to go through and I admire their courage and strength. The documentary was originally released in 2008. Bagby came from Sunnyvale, California, and was the son of Kathleen Daphne Bagby ( ne Barnard), a registered nurse and midwife from Chatham, England, United Kingdom; and David Franklin Bagby, an American former US Navy serviceman and computer engineer. There was no way to stop Andrews murder, but there was no way to walk away from Zacharys body and just say hmm, okay, move on," said David. The deaths of Andrew Bagby and Zachary Turner became the basis for the 2008 documentary film Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father, directed by Kurt Kuenne. MORRISON: Coming up, as David Bagby wrestles with these terrible thoughts, his wife sees something that rocks her to the core. However, after Turner took her own life as well as the life of1-year-old Zachary in 2003, Kuenne's focus broadened to tell a largerstory of legal injustice, parenting, and(in the case of Kate and David)activism as a form of grief. I suggest you keep any heavy items out of reach because you will want to throw them at the television screen & a box of tissues because you will need them. Everyone could see how far off the deep end Shirley Turner was, including the very justice system that continued to set her free and place an innocent child in her arms. The Gilroy City Council agreed to declare the property A change in the citys fireworks ordinance helped uphold Sunshine Bicycles closing up shop after nearly five decades, Surplus designation sets stage for future Gilroy Gardens development, Gilroy council agrees to strengthen fireworks ordinance, Guest View: Valley Water chair highlights boards goals for 2023, Christopher High basketball teams see tremendous seasons end in NorCals. If you dont figure out how to live with it, youll kill yourself or waste away and die, Bagby said. Kate was devastated at how the process unfolded. Turner's husband raised the child as a stay-at-home dad while Turner continued her studies. The Bagbys, who recently marked their 50th wedding anniversary, say it sustained them for nearly a decade as they struggled to come to terms first with the 2001 slaying of their 28-year-old son, Dr. Andrew Bagby, and later with the murder of Andrew's son, 13 . Theres nothing you can do about it.