He said, `The psychotic bitch. kate and david bagby still living KATE: It was shocking, but not a surprise. Dear Zachary is as devastating as it is because it unravels the way bad things unravel in real life. MORRISON: But Shirley would make it tough for Andrew to do that. Our SaltWire team is always watching out for the place we call home. And I don't know, I just lay on top of her and we, MORRISON: T.J. opened the door to police, too, and heard the. Mr. BAGBY: (Talking in group) This is about making public exactly what, MORRISON: The Bagbys' public outrage had some results. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Kind of panic sets in, I guess, and that's when it all hit the fan, I guess. The psychotic bitch.) The bullets in Bagbys body were of the same type that Turner had used at a shooting range shortly before, in a gun she had recently purchased. substance to it. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. They are selfless. Unidentified Man #22: We will develop policy specific to children. Ms. TURNER: (Audio recording) Then I can't consent to more time right now. (Shirley in court; Supreme Court of Newfoundland sign), Mr. BAGBY: And then they started slogging through the courts with one issue, MORRISON: In the meantime, Andrew's parents made a momentous. When he returned to the States, Shirley showed up soon after. would now have to be something else, a visual letter to Andrew's baby. He was such a good baby. A 10th Anniversary Collector's Edition Blu-Ray and DVD with special artwork and packaging is available only from Oscilloscope Laboratories at the link below. The film is by the phenomenal writer, director and composer Kurt Kuenne. Turner, the daughter of a U.S. serviceman and a woman from St. Anthony, met Andrew while they were attending medical school at Memorial University in St. Johns. It also recently won Best Documentary at the Orlando Film Festival and the Audience Award at the St. Louis International Film Festival. I didn't have. The memory of their son and grandson are never far.. Shirley and Zachary, then 13 months old, had been staying with the couple. ), DEAR ZACHARY 10TH ANNIVERSARY HD REMASTERED EDITIONNOW AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY, DVD, and DIGITAL, For the film's 10th anniversary, Kurt Kuenne remastered "Dear Zachary", its epilogue, and its bonus features for HD, converting the original standard definition elements to HD shot-by-shot, while remixing the film in 5.1 surround, so that it now looks and sounds as originally intended on today's platforms. They recorded them. They also have Andrews friends, like Kuenne, who remain in their current lives and with whom they can talk about Andrew. And if they don't charge her, they had no way to restrict her travel. Our 100 journalists strive to inform and improve our East Coast communities by delivering impartial, high-impact, local journalism that provokes thought and action. KATE: I knew exactly what my son looked at before he died. murderer in check. No less than seven of those friends had asked Bagby to be the best man at their weddings. Kate went to the floor, and I kicked the door and--oh, we, just--just like with Andrew, there's nothing you can do. Pain, loss never end after tragedy strikes couple - East Bay Times he was fussy at all. Kate & David Bagby will now be called as witnesses before the committee, the bill will be revised and strengthened, and eventually brought back into the House and Senate for a vote. He had returned to the US and had discovered a passion for family practice, where his love for people--and theirs for him--seemed as natural, as comfortable as the quiet town in Pennsylvania in which he'd chosen to live. (Photo of Shirley; Zachary; photo of Shears and Zachary), Mr. SHEARS: There was a conversation one time she had with me and Erica, in, regards to if something ever happened to her and she had to go to jail or. David remembers uttering, "It's really him," and recalls how the two cried over the body, tears falling on to Andrew's face. 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. Dear Zachary was the most honored film at Cinequest 18 in San Jose, receiving sustained standing ovations from packed houses at all 3 screenings and winning 2 awards - a Special Jury Award for Documentary Feature and the Audience Award. thoughts, his wife sees something that rocks her to the core. One of those forgettable pieces of solipsistic pseudo-art that is essentially just a scrapbook that was released to the public and then everyone just said it was good because no one wanted to hurt anyones feelings. kind of the only way that this little boy is going to get to know his dad. They were good friends; it was he who Bagby had told about the fatal meeting with Turner beforehand. I had a husband I loved. Authorities later determined his former lover Dr. Shirley Turner,. MORRISON: Two weeks after Andrew's murder, cell phone records, would show that Shirley Turner drove all the way from Iowa to Andrew's, neighborhood in Pennsylvania, arrived there the day of the murder, and then, she, or at least her cell phone, returned to Iowa. We were done," Kate Bagby said, finishing her husband's 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. We urge everyone to write your MP (if Canadian) or the Attorney General of Canada (if not) urging them to support MP Andrews and his bill as it moves toward a vote in the near future. Serious crime is rare in this country. I didn't even know why I was going, other than Mom didn't want. -, "Some of the week's biggest flicks aren't at Sundancefilmmakers have praised Slamdance film. Mr. KURT KUENNE (Director): I decided to go on the road to interview people, because I thought, you know, he's never going to have a wedding. And I know, you love me, and--yeah. The bill, if passed into law later this year, would justify detention in custody for those accused of a serious crime who are a potential danger to their own children under the age of 18. But something kept me going, and. Kuenne began making Dear Zachary before Turner revealed her pregnancy. Andrew, despite his obvious abilities, was turned down by every medical school in the country. We're thrilled with MP Andrews' initiative and efforts, and support him 100% as he moves this bill forward. It turns out Shirley owned a .22 caliber handgun, which she acquired while living in Iowa. David and Kate Bagby know all about the unlikely power of love funneled through rage. They should have been given custody of Zachary to begin with. Dear Zachary has been acquired for theatrical release and DVD distribution by the newly formed Oscilloscope Pictures, and will be released in New York on October 31st, and in Los Angeles and Chicago on November 7th. There was plenty of turmoil in the industry, but many shows continued to nourish, illuminate, and delight. For the Bagbys, shock might have, (Photo of David and Zachary; photo of Kate and Zachary; Shirley being escorted, from court; court documents; court exterior; court documents; Kate and David), KATE: I'd sat in the back of the room while Judge Green said to her, `I'm so, sorry, Dr. Turner, your life is on hold, and I know the law is slow.' March 18, 2008: (Driving through rainy street; correctional facility sign; Andrew; Kurt, Unidentified Woman #8: They would drive two hours to the jail. It was like Andrew died and then was reborn for a second chance. But the tributes Kuenne collected remain the spine of the movie, alternating throughout with exposition of the murder and its aftermath. Bagby, that man about whom no one had a bad word, was left lying face down in a Pennsylvania state park with five bullets in him. Mr. BAGBY: (Audio recording) You don't like this answer, but I'm going to, give it to you again. Read the DocuWeek Q&A with writer/director/composer Kurt Kuenne HERE. He seems to be talking about the unfathomable grief Shirley Jane Turner left behind. Nearly 2 decades after the murder of a physician and his son a legacy I had a job I loved. Mr. KUENNE: He liked playing bad guys a lot. Just like Andrew, you know, happy. You will laugh, you will smile, you will cry, and you might even want to stand up and shout at the screen. a--with a hand grenade in the kitchen with the pin already pulled. We urge you to write your MP (if you're Canadian) or the Attorney General of Canada (if you're not) in support of MP Andrews' bill; the next few months are a crucial time. In the early years, that included David writing a book, Dance With the Devil, about his sons and grandsons murders, and Kuennes documentary. And in that way this tragedy remains hers and hers alone. MORRISON: Andrew Bagby. Mr. BAGBY: That's one of the options, and that's the one we hoped for. After Canadian mother killed herself and their only grandchild, U.S GARDNER: (Audio recording) Would you be willing to turn the gun into your local police department so they could get it to us to let us look at it? It stays so close to Bagby and to the people who loved him that theres never any question that its their side of the story being recounted. How dreadful the knowledge of the truth can be, wrote Sophocles, when theres no help in truth.. Did. 'Nothing to lose' | Gilroy Dispatch | Gilroy, San Martin, CA Also, today MP Scott Andrews of Newfoundland introduced a bill in Parliament for its first reading that proposes a modification to Canada's bail code that would justify detention in custody for a suspect who is a potential danger to their own minor children. HEATHER: You are the most amazing, strongest people I've ever. MORRISON: She kept trying to get between you and the baby. All rights reserved, Click here for information on becoming a member. If you were waiting to find out where exactly the comfort was in this litany of suffering, it is in Bagbys parents. Kuenne finished his documentary and dedicated it to the memories of both Bagby and Zachary. CONTRIBUTED BY DAVID AND KATE BAGBY Sixteen years have passed but for the Bagbys the story of the deaths of their only son and grandson resurfaces all the time. MORRISON: As Kurt tracked down Andrew's friends for the documentary he was making, he discovered that not a one had anything favorable to say about Shirley. Dear Zachary was a hit at Slamdance! Cpl. Bill C-464 when enacted will justify detention in custody for a person accused of a serious crime who is a potential danger to their own minor children. The Bagbys couldn't have been happier, particularly since. MORRISON: A couple of hours later, there was another knock at the, Mr. BAGBY: Told us what happened. Understood? Mr. BAGBY: (Audio recording) Just got up. . IE 11 is not supported. "Kurt Kuenne has crafted a documentary that began as a legacy of a friend in the form of a letter to that friend's child, and that is powerful enough to endure as legend. Blood red screen. None of his friends liked Turner because she was often inappropriate and even harassed one of Bagbys exes and just generally appeared to be an incredibly unstable, crude, and unlikeable personbasically Bagby's exact opposite. The pair planned to take care of the minutiae of dealing with a lost loved one, fly back to California and kill themselves. thing, because up until Andrew was murdered, I was a Pollyanna. MORRISON: What thought or feeling did that give you? I sat there. It will make you question your faith in the world. Mr. SHEARS: It seemed like it to me, yeah. She was, pregnant, and the baby was Andrew's. When Kate reached down to wipe one away, she accidentally knocked out the plug used to mask his facial wound. Some of, those frames even at the dollar stores will say--there'll be little sayings on, Ms. TURNER: (Audio recording) if you want to say `Mommy and Daddy' on a. frame and stick a picture of me and Andrew in it, I don't know. As religious as that may sound, that is a comfort. I got to go to the trial. And he was crying, so I went into the ladies room and sat there, KATE: Made her very angry. -, "It's Kate and David Bagby who are the moral center of this film. Woman #11: Doesn't matter what happened. I said, `Do not meet her in private.' Senator Tommy Banks of Alberta will be the bill's sponsor in the Senate, and will shortly be distributing DVDs of "Dear Zachary" to all members of the Senate, just as he and MP Andrews distributed the film to all members of the House of Commons last fall when he introduced the bill. Sometimes, if you are paying attentionclose attentionyou can see it coming, even if only barely. In the course of the next two yearsas Turners extradition process dragged on, as Bagbys parents moved from California to Newfoundland to fight for custody of the baby, and as the case eventually took an even more terrible turnthe film came to be about those events as well. On December 15, 2010, Governor General David Johnston gave Royal Assent to Bill C-464: An Act To Amend the Criminal Code (justification for detention in custody), making it law in Canada. I think they just poured all of their love and, MORRISON: A week after Kurt's visit, Zachary turned one. Zachary, how's our baby today? MORRISON: But she was allowed to go back to Newfoundland? Remember these two things as I go on. The committee passed the bill unanimously, which is how it came to be heard in the House for a final vote this week. Zachary's life, even talking to her eldest son and his girlfriend about it. You are born, you grow up, you make friends, you get a job, a partner, a house, maybe a car, maybe a kid, maybe more. Someone found a car that didn't belong. It then played SXSW in Austin, Texas, where it left audiences stunned and in tears. Dance with the Devil: A Memoir of Murder and Loss If Shirley, Turner had her way, they wouldn't have met Zachary at all, claiming she didn't. Instead, the films dramatic nodes are scenes such as the one in which Bagbys parents, David and Kate, recall going to identify their sons body. 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 . I kind of need to move on from that because, like I. said, I'm a Bagby male. Man #14: I admire you and respect you so much for two things. RELATED:California filmmaker remasters documentary on the lives and murders of Andrew Bagby and Zachary Turner. It was all incorrect from the beginning, that all this, innocence and everything she's told you was a lie. They had to be nice to Turner, to keep her mellow, and not fight with her. decision. Wow." GARDNER: (Audio recording) Yeah. Cpl. Mr. and Mrs. David Bagby will be notified of the award, and may request background information on the recipient to facilitate any contact between the recipient and the Bagbys. October 22, 2009: Had the case played out in the U.S. court system, they believe Zachary would still be with them. I was like, `Oh, OK, yeah.' Dance with the Devil: A Memoir of Murder and Loss - Goodreads She would never go away. Such choices make for a disorienting viewing experience, especially if youre accustomed to the conventions of slicker documentaries. MORRISON: The rage was tempered with a yearning to know just why Andrew had been assassinated. And then we'd do it through the lawyers. ', MORRISON: But they'd have to wait almost a month. doesn't take much to pull a trigger, does it? Cpl. Dear Zachary - For those who've asked how Kate & David - Facebook Well, you dont have to look far, said Dr. T. Clark Simpson, who worked with Bagby. Ms. TURNER: (Audio recording) That you aren't trying to take my place. Dear Zachary recently won the Sigma Delta Chi Award for Best Documentary of 2008 from the Society of Professional Journalists. My TV-consumption habits for the past several months have been awash in murder, and Netflix knows itwhich is how, fresh from binge-watching Making a Murderer and hungry for more, I recently came across Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father. This odd documentarywhich deals with the death of a young physician named Andrew Bagby, who was a childhood friend of the films director, Kurt Kuennemade a small splash when it was first released, in 2008, but its worth revisiting now, in the midst of the recent bonanza of true-crime hits. And I saw that night her malignancy. We just want as many people as possible to know this story, the documentary, for the practical reasons in my fantasies, I suppose some judge, some place, actually gets it and denies bail to somebody who could kill again, said David. Ms. TURNER: (Audio recording) Or what about the one of me and Andrew? An unusually personal and powerful story of a murder, it may offer something of a counterweight to the forces of bias and prurience that often pull the genre off-track. MP Andrews was inspired to create Bill C-464 after seeing Dear Zachary for the first time in March; he and Senator Tommy Banks distributed DVDs of Dear Zachary to every member of the House of Commons for their review immediately following the December 4th discussion. Only Kate and David, MORRISON: Perhaps the most irksome part of the deal with Shirley. Turner killed herself and Zachary before she could be tried for murder. One contains the remains of their son, Dr. Andrew Bagby. to let out hints that Shirley Turner was the prime suspect. Asked if he would have done anything different back then, David replies, kill Shirley Turner.. ', KATE: (Audio recording) Yeah. HEATHER: I knew he'd been struggling with me moving on and dating other people. David bagby, left, and kate bagby, right, celebrate with their son andrew bagby at his graduation from medical school at memorial university of newfoundland in june 2000. contributed by david and kate bagby. Slamdance Film Festival book signing! Newfoundlanders tend to trust each other, perhaps it's because, generally, With a skilled lawyer on hand to do Shirley Turner's bidding, the. GARDNER: (Audio recording) Is this Dr. Turner? The Bagbys, who recently marked their 50th wedding anniversary, say it sustained them for nearly a decade as . I had lovely family. David and Kate Bagby know all about the unlikely power of love funneled through rage. Ensure local journalism stays in your community by purchasing a membership today. Mr. BAGBY: He's now engaged to this lovely girl, and he's going to go to med school. Well never understand how anybody can ignore the fact that murderers are dangerous, he said. Keith Morrison reports. Nobody drives 16 hours after you've just broken up with them.' Mr. SIMPSON: He said, `You'll never guess who showed up on my doorstep at 5:30.' And one, of the first to see her there was T.J. Shears, the eldest of Shirley's three. I said, `When do you think you'll be done?' Oh, my. I extend my deepest thanks and greatest respect to MP Scott Andrews, his associate Ken Carter, Senator Tommy Banks, his executive assistantThrse Gauthier, MP Peter Stoffer, Senator Anne Cools, Gord McIntosh and everyone in Parliament who saw across party lines to support this bill's passage into law. Mr. SHEARS: Yeah, I guess it did at the time, but I still didn't have, MORRISON: How difficult must it have been to ingratiate, themselves with their son's suspected killer? How the fuck do you live like that? Thought that maybe he had found somebody that he could really be happy with. dropping Shirley and their grandboy off at her son T.J.'s home (Photo of Zachary sleeping in car seat; streets passing), KATE: She said, `Wake up, Zachary and say goodbye to your grandparents.'. He says his mother was so often, unavailable, especially from the time she started medical school. But it will also introduce you to some of the most inspiring, strong and caring people ever to grace the big screen."" December 10, 2007: It's. For one thing, Shirley, required the Bagbys to bring Zachary to visit her once a week in jail. Simpson advised his friend to call the cops and to not under any circumstances meet Shirley Jane Turner alone. They're like, `What do you mean?' And not just because its real. Six-month-old Zachary was, returned to her. David Bagby. And this is where director Kurt Kuenne is really smart. What kind of headfuck must that be? Dr. Andrew Bagby was killed on November 5, 2001, by an older woman named Shirley Jane Turner, who he had dated at a low point in his life. -, "When this haunting, shattering film made its premiere at Park City's Slamdance Film Festival, it received the most sustained ovation of any film I saw this year in Park City. Instead, the film's dramatic nodes are scenes such as the one in which Bagby's parents, David and Kate, recall going to identify their son's body. They are warm. There won't be any question about whether she can hurt, MORRISON: Coming up, as David Bagby wrestles with these terrible. Click here for ticket information! Ms. TURNER: (Audio recording) His parents don't even know, do they? MORRISON: The Bagbys said that Shirley would later apologize for, her reaction. news about his mother and baby brother, and was slammed with instant blowback. It also recently screened at the Calgary International Film Festival and the Edmonton International Film Festival to standing ovations from Canadian audiences, where it inspired many audience members to write their Parliament in support of bail reform. MORRISON: But as Kurt made his way around the globe, his tribute materialized into something far bigger, and much darker, than anyone could have imagined. (A huge thanks to the folks at Different by Design in Los Angeles, CA and Anarchy Post in Glendale, CA for making this possible and affordable.). He said, `What do you mean?' I mean, she. David Bagby wrote Dance with the Devil: A Memoir of Murder and Loss, a best-seller in Canada in 2007, about his family's ordeal. Kate said Shirley insisted on keeping Zachary in, the deep pool, which frustrated him because he couldn't move on his own. We're churning. because it's hard to get off Newfoundland. Parents Kate and David Bagby's story of identifying Andrew's body is devastating.