After Turner mademultiple failed attempts to arrangefor the children to reside with differentfamily members, they eventually settled in with their respective fathers. During my time abroad, we were encouraged not to wear athletic clothing to fit in with the European culture. Although it's hard to watch, it's a must-see. The bullets found in Bagby were also a match for the ones in Turners gun. [4] The Bagbys had to give Zachary back to Turner, but they were able to arrange a visitation schedule. The fam bam is here, and you sadly wave good bye to your dorm room. "Dear Zachary" (2008) is Kurt Kuenne's directoral debut, a homage to his murdered friend, addressed to said friend's child. WebDear Zachary is the sort of documentary that, in delivering its debilitating news, ensures that every person in the theater leaves their seat with the strongest reminder to continue to cherish those they love, and to reminisce without mercy for those they've loved and lost. Jeffrey Epsteins unredacted flight log finally uncovered, Here's why Dayana Espinoza is an actor to watch. I'm grateful this story was told, even if it was painful to experience. [4] The case led to the passage of Bill C-464, or Zachary's Bill, strengthening the conditions for bail in Canadian courts in cases involving the well-being of children. Despite the evidence gathered, Turner had fled the country by the time authorities obtained a warrant for her arrest. You may even be procrastinating right now while you read this article! No shade to them, everyone has their own style that they like and feel confident in. On Aug. 13, 2003, Turner, still fighting extradition, took Zachary to Conception Bay. 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. "[11] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 82 out of 100 based on 11 critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Released in 2008, the film makes the cut as one of the greatest documentaries of all time. Andrew tried to leave Shirley entirely in November 2001. Turner was wearing a black dress, carried a bouquet of red roses and had two suicide notes on her. WebDear Zachary is a documentary, and there is a fallacy about documentaries that this one proves wrong- that they are all logic and lack heart. Would sell my soul for a drink at Residuals right now, Location: 8472 Melrose Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90069, Location: 916 S San Fernando Blvd. When I saw the title, next to a 94 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, I wasnt convinced. Related: 10 Terrifying True Stories of Killers Who Knew Their Victims. Your brain hurts. At this point, Turner had completely gone off the deep end, which culminated in themurder-suicide of both herself and young son, Zachary. When, in November 2002, a provincial court ruled that enough evidence pointed to Turner as Bagby's killer, Turner was again arrested, and Bagby's parents were awarded custody of Zachary. Which 'Tiger King' Character Would You Want To Be In Quarantine With? While this fraught situation dragged on, Kuenne traveled to the United Kingdom and across the U.S. to interview Bagby's friends and extended family. The conception of Zachary came shortly after this phone call. I cannot recall a trainee like Shirley Turner in that her approach lacked personal commitment and her relationships with people seemed, at least to me, to be superficial when compared to the over 400 residents I have supervised during the past 21 years. [2]:85 During this period, she resumed a previous relationship with a fisherman from Corner Brook. Were excited to hear from you! There arent many documentaries likeDear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father. This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator. Look no further! 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. Bagby and Turner's relationship began to crumble, and Turner became increasingly possessive. Feb. 7, 2017. Knowing I would cry no matter what we watched, I shrugged and agreed. Turner fled from America to Canada, her home country, after ending the life of her former lover, 28-year-old Andrew Bagby, but the courts repeatedly put off her extradition hearing. Cataloging the most poignant Dear Zachary moments may seem like a fools errand, Jennifer Kustanovich, SUNY Stony Brook5. It would be insulting to Kuenne to go into this film with any preconceived notions, one simply has to experience it on their own. If youre fascinated by the world of true crime, sign up for our newsletter. Released in 2008, the filmmakes the cut as one ofthe greatest documentaries of all time. Radhi, SUNY Stony Brook3. You simply must see this film." 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. The music takes control of my vacant body and for a solid three minutes I am nowhere to be found. Bagby's parents, friends, and associates were uneasy about the relationship because of what they saw as Turner's off-putting behavior. The child, a boy, was born on 9 July 1982. [11] She then drove with Zachary to nearby Conception Bay South, where the man she had met at the bar lived. Documentary Biography Crime A filmmaker decides to memorialize a murdered friend when his friend's ex-girlfriend announces she is expecting his son. I hear the last words of the song and I lift my head cautiously. Burbank, CA 91502, Location: 11042 Ventura Blvd, Studio City, CA 91604, Location: 6377 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028, Location: 1611 N El Centro Ave Los Angeles, CA 90028, Location:1810 Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90028, USA, Location: 250 N. 1st St. Burbank CA 91502, Location:14741 Calvert St. Van Nuys, CA 91411, Location: 800 S. La Brea Ave, Los Angeles CA 90036, Songs About Being 17Grey's Anatomy QuotesVine Quotes4 Leaf CloverSelf Respect, 1. He found Turner draped in a black dress and holding a dozen roses, coupled with two letters -one of them a suicide note. The experience with Turner led that St. John's practice to make "constructive changes" in its residency evaluation process. [19] The website Film School Rejects placed the film third in their "30 Best Films of the Decade" list. On 10 July 2001, less than a year into her ten-year contract with Trimark, Turner left their Sac City clinic and moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where she was hired by Alegent Health System of Omaha, Nebraska. 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. She hung the fake pregnancy over Bagby's head and used it to harass any woman who was close withhim. After the films release, Kuenne sent four hundred copies of Dear Zachary to every member of the Canadian Parliament to campaign for a bill to give more protection to children in custody disputes. I dont know how well we ended up fitting in, especially when we were speaking English most of the time, but nonetheless. She's been all around Europe and loves Scotland, London, and Russia. Have the Island Boys lost their net worth after alleged murder? Poor attempt at coping with finals, but hey, you can't think about that biology exam anymore, you're just numbing your pain. The news that Turner was pregnant with Bagby's child turned the extradition case into one involving child custody, and subsequently led to a complicated legal saga. Knowing his grandson was in danger in the care of Turner, who repeatedly established how unfit she was to be a mother, David lay in bed at night thinking of what he could do to save the child. Swinging back and forth to the strums of the guitar gently echoing, she smiles. Near the end of his time at Memorial University in Newfoundland, Bagby began a relationship with Shirley Turner, a twice-divorced recent graduate of MUN's medical school who was nearly thirteen years his senior. Last night, I watched the best documentary I have ever seen. After graduating in 2000, Bagby moved to New York to work as a surgical resident, and Turner moved to Iowa, also for work, but they maintained a long-distance relationship. He had been shot five times. Investigators interviewed Turner's shooting instructor, who explained that her handgun ejected live rounds during lessons; this was consistent with an unspent round recovered near Bagby's body. Clare Regelbrugge, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Sign in to comment to your favorite stories, participate in your community and interact with your friends. In high school, I worked in a casual restaurant that served soup so I wasnt dressing to impress there either. Turner wrote to the judge who locked her up and, contrary to normal legal procedure, received advice on how to appeal her arrest and imprisonment. Little did I know this documentary would send me into a fit of hyperventilation and ugly crying. It's hands down one of the most mind-blowing true-crime movies in recent memory, fiction or nonfiction. Dear Zachary, which unfolds chronologically, has not one but two major twists. It does away with the barrier of police procedure and legal hoopla and strikes directly at the humanity or rather, inhumanity of the crime. Screaming is absolutely inevitable. 7 Different Types of Legal Defenses In Criminal Law. Well send you all the relevant quizzes, articles, polls, and news you could want to your inbox. She was arrested in December 2001, but released on bail while her extradition to the United States worked its way through the Canadian courts. According toCBC News: "The social services system in Newfoundland and Labrador failed [Zachary].". On November 6, 2001, Bagbys body, shot five times, was found in a park near his hometown of Latrobe, Pennsylvania. [17] On October 23, 2009, MP Scott Andrews of Avalon, moved after attending a screening of the film,[10] introduced Bill C-464 (also known as "Zachary's Bill") to the House of Commons of Canada. 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." WebDear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father is a 2008 American documentary film written, produced, directed, edited, and scored by Kurt Kuenne. Andrews doomed relationship withShirley Turner began in Canada, whereAndrewattended medical school at Memorial University of Newfoundland. On 4 July 2003, Turner met a young man at a bar in St. John's. In August 2000, Turner moved to Sac City, Iowa, to begin work for Trimark Physicians Corporation. 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. It is about Kuenne's close friend Andrew Bagby, who was murdered after Bagby ended a relationship with a woman named Shirley Jane Turner. Afterward,hed come over for a beer. Bagby's parents moved to Canada to attempt to gain custody of their grandson. In his approach, Kuenne succeeds in presenting a full portrait of Bagbys life, showing just how many lives Bagby affected and the deep grief that accompanied his death. On 3 November 2001, Turner confessed that she had been lying about her pregnancy in an effort to remain with Bagby permanently. The rays of music may salsa on her skin, but they dig deep into mine. [7] By Turner's account, she visited Bagby's residence in Syracuse seven times while he visited her once in Sac City. The goal of the bill was to protect children and force "judicial decision makers" to keep the safety of children in mind during bail hearings and in custody disputes, particularly when a child is in the custody of someone who has been charged with a "serious crime". [6] Turner's psychiatrist was found guilty of misconduct for helping her post bail,[7] and the director of Newfoundland's child welfare agency resigned. Benefiting off of the fact her student loanswere calculated on the assumption the childrenremained in her custody, Turner often used her family as an excuse for absences during residency. It chronicles the completion and release of Dear Zachary and the subsequent efforts to amend Canadian law. However, Turner was later released on bail after a judge ruled she was. This decision was made with thepublic knowledgethat Turner had attempted to take her life on Andrew's front porch, was on suicide watch in jail, and at the time had eight orders ofrestraint against her. Among those who named it one of the best films of 2008 were Time Out Chicago, The Oregonian, the Times Herald-Record, Slant Magazine, and WGN Radio Chicago. We play detective, piecing together the fragments of a story until we get the satisfaction of looking at a complete picture. I also want to get the Early Bird Books newsletter featuring great deals on ebooks. I personally would not watch it again, though I'm grateful that the filmmaker stuck with the project through it all and did not give up, as many would have. A Timeline Of The Horrific Case Behind 'Dear Zachary'. The pair dated and were sexually intimate on two occasions afterward. also takes steps to highlight the flaws in the Canadian legal system & Bagbys parents exhausting battle to find justice for their lost son and grandson. It was concluded thather eldest daughter and son were often left unattended for days on end, and -when Turner was home -she would strike them with a variety of objects, ranging from open hands to belts. Canadian authorities' decisioncontradicted the advisement of Pennsylvaniaprosecutors. The couplingdidnt make sense to Bagbys friends. The Dr. Andrew David Bagby Family Medicine Scholarship is for medical students at Excela Health Latrobe Hospital, and almost four dozen students pursuing Bagby's speciality of family practice have benefited from the award. WebTheres no shortage of harrowing documentaries, but Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father is one of the most intense. You will curse the Canadian justice system for showing no concern for human life. [12], Turner's body was found on a beach by a vacationing couple, with Zachary's body discovered nearby. Sometimes, however, there is no satisfying ending. Before police could apprehend her, Turner moved back to St. Johns, Newfoundland, and her arrest was impeded by a complicated extradition process. The extradition process was repeatedly prolonged by Turner's lawyers based on legal technicalities, and Turner gave birth to a boy she named Zachary on July 18, 2002. The next twist is like a punch to the gut. She arranged to meet Bagby at Keystone State Park that evening, where Bagby was found dead the following morning, having been shot five times. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Dear Zachary has an approval rating of 94% based on 51 reviews, with an average score of 8.10/10; the site's critical consensus reads: "Dear Zachary is both a touching tribute to a fallen friend and a heart-wrenching account of justice gone astray, skillfully put to film with no emotion spared. Kuenne began collecting footage from his old home movies and interviewed Bagby's parents, David and Kathleen, for a documentary about his friend's life. [16] The provincial Government of Newfoundland and Labrador accepted the report's conclusions and its 29 recommendations. Happy finals week! I remember feeling relieved when I had a conversation with my boyfriend and he explained that he would love me regardless of what I wear (the only exception being the ill-fitting cat eye glasses I wore in high school but thats beside the point). Turner's overbearing and obsessive actions included child abuse,the physical andpsychological harassment of her lovers, as well asher eventual slayings and suicide. Horrifying as it was, she pushed it back in herself. He expressed fear to police of "what Dr. Turner would do next. Turner posted bail with help from her psychiatrist, John Doucet, a former co-worker from Memorial University. But heres the plot. The 2008 documentary is directed by Kurt Kuenne, who began filming when his childhood friend The documentary Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father gathers the fragments of a true crime story about young doctor Andrew Bagby and the terrible events surrounding his death. The top five things on your summer bucket list this year. It's widely believed that if she hadn't been released, Zachary would probably still be alive today. Andrews parents, David and Kate Bagby, have relocated toCanada to be closer to Zacharyand pursue justice for Andrew. On 13 October, Turner told Bagby that she was three months pregnant. Two years later, she gave birth to a daughter. At times I tried to keep up with the trends but most of the time I found that I was always late to them. - Elliot V. Kotek, Moving Pictures Magazine Upon returning, Bagby discoveredsomeone hadrobbed him. [15] The website Film School Rejects place the film third in their list of the "30 Best Films of the Decade". 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. Frankie Stein is from Italy, but lives in Ingolstadt, Germany. Meanwhile, Turner exhibited possessive behavior towards Bagby and harassed him over the phone. Despite the distance between states, Turner and Bagby initially tried to maintain a long-distance relationship. The police discovered through phone records that Turner had returned to Pennsylvania the day before the murder. Those two exams just stripped you of your pride. Later, a Derry resident reported having seen Bagby's Toyota Corolla parked next to Turner's RAV4 ten minutes after Bagby made his last phone call to Simpson and the Corolla parked alone the following morning. Youve finished packing and found out you passed all of your classes! The film is partly composed of home movies Kuenne and Bagby shot together as teenagers in California, and features interviews with Bagby's parents, extended family, friends, classmates, and colleagues, both before and after Zachary's murder. Police concluded that she was attempting to frame the boyfriend for the planned murdersuicide. She could be charming[,] friendly and lively but when caught in an untruth she would become angry, accusatory and loud. She went so far as to discharge her family law lawyer because of his positive attitude towards the Bagbys. 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. "Dear Zachary" (2008) is Kurt Kuenne's directoral debut, a homage to his murdered friend, addressed to said friend's child. This site uses cookies to improve user experience. During her remedial second residency period in early 2000, Turner missed nine days of her three-month rotation and falsified clinical reports. You will want to do something because this film will ignite a fire within you, about injustice and family. So here it is: If theres one documentary you need to watch before you die, its Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son about his Father. Bagby acted in many of Kuenne's amateur movies and, as these films became more professional in quality, he invested in them with some of the money he was saving up for medical school. [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. Join our team and let's create something amazing together! David remembers uttering, "It's really him," and recalls how the two cried over the body, tears falling on to Andrew's face. - Elliot V. Kotek, Moving Pictures Magazine Andrew Bagby was a childhood friend of filmmaker Kurt Kuenne, and Kuenne's project began as a "cinematic scrapbook" for Zachary. Turner was 40 at the time, Andrew was 28. The bill, which helps protect children in relation to bail hearings and custody disputes, was signed into law the following year. She was released on bail in January 2003 by Judge Gale Welsh, who felt Turner did not pose a threat to society in general. However, I truly believe i is something that needs to be experience by everyone and it s something you cannot go into without an open mind. Andrew Bagby, a medical student, was murdered by his girlfriend Shirley Jane Turner soon after he ended their stormy relationship in 2001.