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Filmmaker Kurt Kuenne grew up making low-budget home movies with his best friend, Andrew Bagby. Kuenne eventually grew up into a full-fledged writer and director while Andrew pursued the medical field. But Kuenne’s most famous work would spawn from one of the greatest tragedies he and the Bagby family would ever have to endure...
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Filmmaker Kurt Kenney grew up making low-budget home movies with his best friend, Andrew Bagby
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Kenney eventually grew up into a full-fledged writer and director, while Andrew pursued the medical field
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But Kenney's most famous work would spawn from one of the greatest tragedies he and the Bagby family would ever have to endure
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So, today we're detailing the tragic tale of why Dear Zachary is the most heartbreaking documentary ever
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Dear Zachary primarily deals with the life and tragic death of Andrew Bagby and his small family
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as assembled by director, filmmaker, and friend, Kurt Kenney. Dr. Andrew Bagby met Dr. Shirley Turner in 2000 while they were both studying medicine
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Despite Turner being 13 years Andrew's senior, the two began an on-again, off-again relationship
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that became more toxic as time went on. Their relationship would later be described as wrought with problems, with a jealous and increasingly possessive Turner being the crux of all the issues
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Bagby decided to make their off-agains permanent on November 4, 2001. The following day, Bagby was found slain in Keystone Park, Pennsylvania
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Kurt Kenney's project began shortly after Andrew Bagby's death. Kurt's initial plan was a video scrapbook of their childhood fun together
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interspliced with interviews from his family and loved ones, to give to Bagby's infant son Zachary once he was old enough
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Kenny's intent was for Zachary to have some way of knowing his father
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despite the fact that they would never meet. Details of the crime are explained to the viewer as clips of Andrew as a child are juxtaposed throughout
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The videos helped showcase who Andrew was as a person, and how he was missed, loved, and remembered by all the people in his life
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In an attempt to connect both Zachary and the viewer more strongly with Andrew and his story
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many parts of Dear Zachary features footage and details from his life
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as well as interviews with those who knew him best. One notable section touches on Andrew's relationship with his Uncle Bob
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The two saw each other sparingly, maybe only once per summer, but still became extremely close
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When his uncle Bob passed away from lung cancer, it marked one of the most significant
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and resonant losses in Andrew short life Uncle and nephew had their ashes scattered alongside each other in a park outside of St Louis In addition to footage of Andrew there are several clips of his son Zachary
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One video shows a normal birthday celebration at McDonald's, displaying what appears to
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be a typical happy domestic scene. However, underneath it all, a darker truth was festering with Zachary's mother, Shirley
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Jane Turner. When the dust had settled after Bagby's murder, jilted lover Shirley Turner was swiftly identified as the number one suspect
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A warrant was made for her arrest in Pennsylvania, which caused her to flee back home to Newfoundland, Canada
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In December of 2001, Turner was apprehended by the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary
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but the courts would go on to repeatedly delay her extradition hearing
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Her psychiatrist and old friend from medical school, Dr. John Doucette, posted her $65,000 bail
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and she was released from custody, despite her status as a primary murder suspect and
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against the advice of Pennsylvania prosecutors. Justice Gail Welsh was impressed with Turner's
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professional background and reasoned that Turner's crime was specific enough in nature
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that she was not likely to harm anyone else. In other words, she'd already murdered the person
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she hated, so she probably wouldn't harm anyone else. Additionally, Justice Welsh determined that
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there was no indication of a psychological disorder that raised any red flags. Apparently
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the homicide didn't count. The only problem with that assessment was the public knowledge that
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Turner had attempted to take her own life on Andrew's front porch and had eight restraining
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orders filed against her. To sum it all up, if Turner's past had been properly assessed
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she probably wouldn't have been released. Doucette would later face considerable criticism
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He was eventually found guilty of professional misconduct, and his involvement would become
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the linchpin for new laws involving courts releasing suspects on bail when children under
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18 could be endangered. Andrew's parents, Kate and David Bagby, loved their son dearly
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and when Andrew was killed, they initially planned to end their own lives
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However their desire for justice and the knowledge that their son Andrew had a child on the way convinced them otherwise When Zachary was born David dark thoughts never fully went away In fact knowing his grandson was in the care of the dangerous Turner
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who repeatedly established herself as an unfit mother, caused many sleepless nights
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According to David, he would lay in bed night after night, trying to think of what he could do
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to get his grandson out of this deranged situation. He even considered some extreme measures
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including taking the child and living under an assumed name for the rest of their lives
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or getting rid of Turner just to keep Zachary safe. But ultimately, neither David nor Kate could bring themselves to go through with any of the schemes
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After Shirley Turner was briefly incarcerated in November 2002, Kate and David Bagby were given temporary custody of Zachary
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The custody agreement demanded daily phone calls with Turner and weekly visits to her in prison
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This meant a nearly two-hour drive through the bitter and unforgiving Canadian weather
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on top of spending time with the women who took the life of their only child
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David described how his blood pressure would spike as he was forced to be civil with Turner during these visits
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And if she wasn't accusing them of trying to take her place, Turner would be criticizing their skills as caregivers
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David was right to be concerned about Turner. She was severely mentally ill, which had manifested itself in different dramatic ways throughout her life
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Turner was in and out of treatment throughout the course of her life, after a visit from Newfoundland Social Services in 1993
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Furthermore, Turner had a history of harassment and stalking, which resulted in a litany of restraining orders against her
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When she met Andrew Bagby, she was twice divorced and had three children from previous marriages
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but none of her older children were in her care. Shirley Turner wasn't just belligerent to the
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Bagby family either. Her history of disturbing behavior ran deep, and it seemed nothing was
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off-limits for her vitriol. For instance, during a memorial service for Andrew in Newfoundland
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Turner showed up and made a giant spectacle of her grief. She then approached Andrew's ex-fiancee
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Heather, and asserted that her and Andrew's love was more special than anything they had
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during their engagement And she didn stop there To further drive the point home she stated that since Andrew had passed away Turner and his love would remain eternal Turner was zealously strict about how much time Kate and David got with their grandson
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despite repeatedly turning to them for financial assistance. The Bagbys were oftentimes providing food and diapers for the boy
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as well as comfort and love, leading to Zachary preferring them over his mother
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according to the grandparents. And while Turner would often dismiss her son as a cranky baby, Kate Bagby called her grandson a wonderful boy
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Turner grew resentful of this, even mentioning that Kate should just take Zachary since he preferred her so much
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Turner's irrational behavior hit a boiling point. And suddenly, the documentary Kenny had been assembling for Zachary would be one that Zachary would never see
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The straw that broke the camel's back in Turner's decision to end her life came as the result of a man she had gone out with twice
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After meeting a new beau in a bar in St. John's, the two started a brief relationship
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But when he tried to break it off, Turner began harassing him, allegedly menacing him with over 200 threatening phone calls over the next month
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The rejection, paired with Turner's history of mental instability, is believed to be the push that sent her over the edge
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Whatever the case, she hatched an unthinkable plan to get back at the lover who had jilted her
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It was later discovered she meant to implicate her brief lover in her death by planting a used tampon and photos of herself and Zachary on his lawn
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and dropping false claims about her life being in danger. On August 18, 2003, after planting evidence at the man's home, the 42-year-old Shirley gave 13-month-old Zachary Turner a toxic amount of lorazepam in his formula
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She staged her car to further implicate her new ex in what came next, and jumped into the ocean at Conception Bay South off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, with baby Zachary strapped to her stomach
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Neither survived. Dear Zachary abruptly became a heartbreaking tribute to a father and a son, and a plea for legislative reform
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In 2009, as a direct result of the film, Bill C-464 was introduced and signed into law, helping children in custody disputes from then on