Dear Zachary: The Tragic Murders of Andrew Bagby and Zachary Turner

Dear Zachary: The Murder of Andrew Bagby, the Death of His Son, and a Justice System That Failed Them Both

Two murders. One grieving family. A little boy who should still be alive.

Content warning: This article discusses murder, child homicide, domestic violence, and suicide. It also contains major spoilers for the documentary Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father.

The Documentary That Absolutely Broke Me

I've watched a lot of true-crime documentaries. I've written about some of the most disturbing cases imaginable. And while every murder is tragic, some stories leave you feeling something beyond sadness.

They leave you furious.

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father is one of those stories.

Directed by Kurt Kuenne and released in 2008, the documentary begins as a tribute to a murdered young doctor named Andrew Bagby. His childhood friend wants to preserve Andrew's memory for the son he will never meet.

What unfolds is a story so devastating that I genuinely struggled to comprehend how so many people in positions of authority could allow it to happen.

This isn't simply a story about a murderer.

It's a story about a family desperately trying to protect a child while a system that was supposed to safeguard him repeatedly failed.

And the most infuriating part?

Zachary Turner did not have to die.

Andrew Bagby: A Life Full of Promise

Andrew David Bagby was born on September 25, 1973. By all accounts, he was a kind, funny, intelligent young man who loved his family and friends.

He was also a physician with a promising future.

Andrew studied medicine at Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada, before eventually pursuing family medicine in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

One of the most touching aspects of the documentary is how many people loved Andrew.

His friends and relatives share stories of his humor, generosity, and warmth. Through photpgraphs, home movies, and interviews, viewers get to know someone who seemed to make the lioves of those around him better simply by being there.

His parents, David and Kathleen Bagby, clearly adored him.

And watching their faces as they remember their son is heartbreaking, especially knowing what is coming.

Andrew had his entire life ahead of him.

Unfortunately, he also had a relationship with a woman named Shirley Turner.

Shirley Turner: A Relationship That Turned Deadly

Shirley Turner was a physician whom Andrew met while studying medicine in Newfoundland.

She was considerably older than Andrew, and their relationship became increasingly troubled.

Andrew's friends and family expressed concerns about Turner's behavior. The relationship was marked by conflict, and Andrew eventually decided to end it.

But Shirley apparently wasn't willing to accept that decision.

On November 5, 2001, Andrew was found murdered at Keystone State Park in Pennsylvania.

He had been shot five times.

He was only 28 years old.

Investigators quickly focused on Turner, gathering evidence concerning her movements, communications, and relationship with Andrew.

Rather than face the criminal proceedings in Pennsylvania, Turner returned to Canada.

She was subsequently arrested in Newfoundland as American authorities sought her extradition.

And this is where the story begins to expose a series of devastating institutional failures.

The First Failure: Shirley Turner Is Released on Bail

Despite facing an accusation of murdering Andrew Bagby, Shirley Turner was released on bail in Canada in December 2001.

Let that sink in.

A woman accused of shooting her former boyfriend five times was allowed to remain free while fighting extradition.

To be clear, everyone accused of a crime has legal rights, and an accusation is not the same as a conviction.

But protecting those rights does not eliminate the responsibility to assess whether someone presents a danger to others.

And in this case, the warning signs were serious.

Turner's behavior, the evidence surrounding Andrew's murder, and concerns about her emotional stability should have prompted an exceptionally careful assessment of potential risk.

Instead, the legal process continued while Turner remained in the community.

Then came a revelation that would forever change the Bagby family's lives.

Shirley Turner was pregnant.

And Andrew was the father.

Zachary Turner: A Beautiful Little Boy Born Into Tragedy

On July 18, 2002, Zachary Andrew Turner was born in Newfoundland.

His father had already been murdered.

his mother was accused of committing that murder.

And his paternal grandparents were desperately trying to ensure that their grandson would have a safe and loving home.

David and Kathleen Bagby traveled to Newfoundland and became involved in a difficult custody battle.

Imagine their situation.

They had already lost their only son. Now they were trying to maintain a relationship with his child while navigating legal proceedings involving the woman accused of killing him.

Yet they preservered.

The documentary includes beautiful footage of Zachary with his grandparents.

He smiles. He lauighs. He plays.

And David and Kathleen absolutely light up around ghim.

Zachary was not merely a reminder of Andrew.

he was his own little person, deserving of safety, happiness, and the opportunity to grow up surrounded by love.

Watching those moments, knowing what eventually happens, is almost unbearable.

David and Kathleen Bagby: Grandparents Who Fought For Everything

I don't think I have ever watched a documentary and admired two people quite the way I admire David and Kathleen Bagby.

Their reslilence is extraordinary.

These were grieving parents who had to interact with the woman accused of murdering their son because she controlled access to their grandson.

Can you imagine?

They had to suppress their grief, frustration, and anger because maintaining a relationship with Zachary mattered more than anything else.

They relocated, attended court proceedings, fought for custody, and endured one disappointment after another.

At one point, they temporarily gained custody of Zachary while Turner was detained. But after she was released on bail again in January 2003, Zachary returned to her care.

The Bagbys continued trying to protect him.

What makes this particularly devastating is that Zachary had loving family members who desperately wanted to raise him.

He wasn't a child without anyone advocating for him.

He had people fighting for his life.

And still, the system failed to protect him.

The Warning Signs That Should Have Been Taken Seriously

One of the most disturbing aspects of this case is what investigators later discovered about the handling of Zachary's safety.

Turner was facing extradition for an extremely serious violent crime.

There were concerns about her behavior and psychological well-being.

And authorities had reason to consider how the mounting pressure of criminal proceedings might affect her ability to care safely for a young child.

Yet the necessary protective measures were not taken.

A subsequent investigation into Zachary's death identified serious deficiencies in communication, risk assessment, and child protection practices.

Among the most troubling findings was the failure to conduct an adequate, ongoing assessment of the children's safety.

This distinction matters.

Child protection authorities were not responsible for determining whether Turner was legally guilty of Andrew's murder.

But they were responsible for evaluating potential dangers to children in her care.

And those are two entirely different responsibilities.

A child's safety should never depend on waiting for the conclusion of a murder trial.

August 18, 2003: The Murder of Zachary Turner

This is the part of the documentary that absolutely destroyed me.

On August 18, 2003, Shirley Turner killed her 13-month-old so, Zachary, before dying by suicide.

She entered the waters of Conception Bay in Newfoundland with Zachary secured to her body.

Both drowned.

Zachary was barely a year old.

He had never gotten to meet his father.

He would never attend his first day of school, celebrate another birthday, make childhood friends, or experience the thousands of ordinary moments that make up a life.

And David and Kathleen Bagby, who had already buried their son, now had to endure the death of their grandson.

I cannot begin to imagine the depth of that grief.

What makes this crime particularly horrifying is that Zachary was entirely defenseless.

He was a baby.

He relied on adults to protect him.

And the adults who were desperately trying to do exactly that were repeatedly prevented from providing the protection he needed.

A Justice System That Failed a Child

In October 2006, an extensive review of Zachary's death was released by the Office of the Child and outhj Advocate of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The investigation, conducted by Dr. Peter Markesteyn, examined how government institutions handled the circumstances surrounding Zachary's death.

Its findings were devastating.

The Review identified failures involving child welfare practices, communication between agencies, and assessments of potential danger.

Most importantly, it concluded that Zachary's death was preventable.

Think about the weight oif that conclusion.

Preventable.

Not an unforseeable accident.

Not a tragedy that nobody could have anticipated.

A child's death that might have been avoided had the appropriate protections been put in place.

And while the investigation focused on systemic failures rather than assigning individual blame, its conclusions raised deeply troubling questions about how authorities responded to the danger surrounding Zachary.

The justice system has a responsibility to respect the rights of accused individuals.

But the child protection system has an equally vital responsibility to protect vulnerable children.

Those obligations are not mmutually exclusive.

And Zachary deserved both.

Dear Zachary: A Love Letter That Became Something Else

One of the reasons this documentary is so powerful is that it was never originally intended to be a conventional true-crime film.

Kurt Kuenne was Andrew Bagby's childhood friend.

After Andrew's murder, Kuenne began interviewing the people who knew and loved him.

His original intention was to create a memorial.

When he learned that Andrew had a son, the project evolved into something even more meaningful.

It became a letter to Zachary.

A way for a little boy to someday understand who his father had been.

Through stories, photographs, and home videos, Zachary would have been able to see how deeply Andrew was loved.

But after Zachary's murder, the documentary changed again.

It became a memorial to two lives.

And an indictment of the failures that allowed a second tragedy to occur.

Perhaps the most beautiful part of the film is its eventual focus on David and Kathleen Bagby.

Their love, determination, and refusal to abandon their grandson bcoime the emotional center of the documentary.

Despite everything they endure, their devotion never wavered.

Zachary's Bill: Turning Grief Into Change

David and Kathleen Bagby did not stop fighting after Zachary's death.

Instead, they became advocates for changes to Canada's bail legislation.

Their efforts, along with those of filmmaker Kurt Kuenne and Canadian lawmakers, helped bring attention to the dangers exposed by Zachary's case.

In December 2010, Bill-C-464, commonly known as Zachary's Bill, became law in Canada.

The legislation amended the Criminal Code to explicitly recognize the protection and safety of children under 18 as a consideration when determining whether detention is necessary in the public interest for an accused person charged with a serious offense.

The law cannot bring Andrew or Zachary back.

It cannot erase the grief of their family.

But it represents something important.

Their deaths helped bring about a legal change intended to protect other children.

And while no law can guarantee that another tragedy will never occur, recognizing child safety more explicitly in bail decisions is a meaningful part of Zachary's legacy.

Remembering Andrew and Zachary Bagby

I keep coming back to David and Kathleen.

I think about everything they endured.

I think about the emotional strength it must have taken to continue fighting for Zachary while grieving Andrew.

And I think about how much love existed in that family.

This case also raises a question that extends far beyond Newfoundland, Canada, or the events of 2001 through 2008.

How many tragedies occur because institutions become so focused on procedures that they lose sight of the vulnerable people those procedures are supposed to protect?

As someone who works in education, I find that question particularly disturbing.

Children depend on adults to recognize danger, communicate concerns, and intervene when necessary.

When those responsibilities are neglected, the consequences can be irreversible.

But UI don't want the final words of this article to belong to Shirley Turner.

She has already occupied far too much space in this story.

I want them to belong to Andrew and Zachary.

Andrew was a beloved son, friend, and physician whose life was taken before he could fulfill his potential.

Zachary was a beautiful little boy whose life had barely begun.

And David and Kathleen Bagby are two people whose love for their family deseves to be remembered just as strongly as the crimes that devastated it,.

Dear Zachary is not simply a documentary about murder.

It is a documentary about love, grief, resilience, and the terrible consequences of institutional failure.

And if there is one lesson we should take from it, it is this:

When a child's safety is at stake, recognizing danger is not enough. Someone has to act.

Rest in Peace to the Deceased.

-Morticia