Mr. SIMPSON: I said, `Do not meet her in private.' I would have to dream up some reason to go over, there in the middle of the night, to--for me to just appear on her doorstep, Mr. BAGBY: Turned out I wasn't. -. Dear Zachary was a hit at Slamdance! Ms. TURNER: (Audio recording) I was really upset when you took him today, because I feel like I did the day you saw him at Unified Family Court. And so he set out to collect the memories of Andrew's family and giant circle of friends. (Driving through rainy street; correctional facility sign; Andrew; Kurt, Unidentified Woman #8: They would drive two hours to the jail. Or it's in the car. While the police investigation was still underway, Turner, a Canadian citizen, packed off to St. Johns, Newfoundland. In November 2002, when, Zachary was four months old, a Canadian judge ruled that a properly instructed, jury would likely find Shirley Turner guilty and ordered her incarceration, while awaiting a decision from justice officials to surrender her to the, United States. ), 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. Specific in nature? I didn't even know why I was going, other than Mom didn't want. The International Film Music Critics also nominated his musical score for Best Documentary Score of 2008. In that time, it becomes clear that, thankfully, baby Zachary has his fathers penchant for emotional maturity and gravitates not towards his mother, but to his grandmother. Right, right. Imagine it. 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. Zachary didn't seem like. Based on the title alone, it sounds like one of those saccharine documentaries that only the filmmaker and the subject would ever really care about. MORRISON: And go she did, back to Newfoundland, Canada. I said, `Do not meet her in private.' MORRISON: Andrew tried to make a clean break with Shirley in October 2001. keep him safe, which they feared was about to become even more difficult. At one point, one friend says that if he had one tenth of the people who cared about him half as much as they do about Bagby, he would be happy. news about his mother and baby brother, and was slammed with instant blowback. ', Mr. SIMPSON: And I told him, I said, `You know, Andrew, when I break up with somebody and put them on a plane and send them 1300 miles away,' I said, `They knock on my front door, I'm going out the back door and I'm calling the police.' (Shirley and Zachary at birthday party; birthday party), KATE: He didn't want to open presents, you know, he wanted to get, down. ', KATE: (Audio recording) Yeah. Wow." The Hornet was just back from patrolling . It also recently won Best Documentary at the Orlando Film Festival and the Audience Award at the St. Louis International Film Festival. This abridged version was prepared personally by Kurt Kuenne in order to comply with CBC Newsworld's time constraints but preserve the film's impact while reaching a wider audience in Canada. COLLECTOR'S EDITION DIGIPAK only from Oscilloscope Laboratories: Curated newsletters for curious minds. Ad Choices. The couple was also involved in a support group for parents of murdered children and sat through three murder trials to try and help other surviving parents deal with their incredible grief. because it's hard to get off Newfoundland. The pair planned to take care of the minutiae of dealing with a lost loved one, fly back to California and kill themselves. Bill C-464 was introduced in the House of Commons on October 22, 2009, passed the House of Commons unanimously on March 22nd of this year and passed the Senate of Canada last Thursday, December 9th, where it was sponsored by Senator Tommy Banks of Alberta. https://www.saltwire.com//california-couple-want-as-many-/ saltwire.com California couple want as many people as possible to know their story | SaltWire Meeting her at 6. I had a husband I loved. And Kate kissed him and held him and kissed him some more. If you were to dream up the perfect set of parents, it would be Kate and David Bagby. But the tributes Kuenne collected remain the spine of the movie, alternating throughout with exposition of the murder and its aftermath. She was, pregnant, and the baby was Andrew's. Andrew, despite his obvious abilities, was turned down by every medical school in the country. They also have Andrews friends, like Kuenne, who remain in their current lives and with whom they can talk about Andrew. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. thoughts, his wife sees something that rocks her to the core. Help contribute to IMDb. January 15, 2008: And thus the decision from which all else followed. And then, November 2001, Andrew Bagby was shot dead in a state park not far from the hospital in which the young doctor was a resident, and his devoted parents all but lost the will to live. There were moments when something happened that had my heart beating so fast I became lightheaded and had to refocus myself. They began a drawn-out court battle to protect their grandson from the woman who had almost certainly murdered their son. If nothing else is accomplished with this film, it will absolutely attach you to the too-short life that was Andrew Bagby's, and you're going to be sad that you didn't get a chance to know him -- but glad all the same that you know ABOUT him now." They've retired, hang out with friends and travel a bit, David Bagby said. See details above! I mean, we would never, disagree with her or fight with her about anything unless there was real. Unidentified Man #22: We will develop policy specific to children. GARDNER: (Audio recording) Yeah. On Monday, March 22, 2010, the House of Commons in Ottawa unanimously passed Bill C-464 - An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (justification for detention in custody). Mr. BAGBY: He's now engaged to this lovely girl, and he's going to go to med school. He was such a good baby. But I used to look at her hand and think, it. Right? The Bagbys, who recently marked their 50th wedding anniversary, say it sustained them for nearly a decade as . Andrew came to St. John's. -, "It's Kate and David Bagby who are the moral center of this film. KATE: I had a great childhood. MORRISON: How'd you feel about having a much younger brother come, Mr. SHEARS: I thought it was great. Its good to see him again, hear his voice, he said of the images of Andrew. Kind of panic sets in, I guess, and that's when it all hit the fan, I guess. She was here.' It turns out Shirley Jane Turner is pregnant. One for such a wonderful young man that you raised. hoped Shirley Turner would be returned to the US to face a murder trial. 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. Authorities later determined his former lover Dr. Shirley Turner,. He travelled across the country, and to England, to collect these reminiscences, which reveal Bagby to be a caring physician and a beloved and charismatic goofball. Mr. SIMPSON: Things people should know about Andrew, he was never late. Dear Zachary is now available on DVD! MORRISON: Shirley Turner, also a doctor in training, was 12 years older than Andrew, twice divorced, a mother of three. Which is to say, the woman who killed Dr. Andrew Bagby is pregnant with Dr. Andrew Bagbys baby. You dont get over it. The Bagbys have done their best to resume life in California. Mr. SIMPSON: Andrew, you know you can do a lot better. David and Kate Bagby moved to St. John's. They forged a relationship with the woman they believed killed their son so they could see Zachary, their only grandchild. Mr. KUENNE: I vowed to collect every memory for you before they, MORRISON: As for Andrew's parents, David and Kate, they were, (Graduation photo of Andrew, Kate and David; Shirley with child). Mr. BAGBY: What a flake. MORRISON: And tell me about your mum with Zachary. MORRISON: Shirley, meanwhile, seemed to be preparing for her, extradition, and perhaps she was looking for a way to exclude the Bagbys from. (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.). Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008) 1 Video. If I, just kill her, Zachary will be safe. USA | Canada | UK, Original poster artwork by Evan B. Harris, Proceeds from this film benefit the Dr. Bagby Scholarship and the Dr. Andrew Bagby and son Zachary Bursary, Watch this short film to see the quest to complete Dear Zachary and amend Canadian bail law. 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. The reason we go through the lawyers is so that we. The 10th Anniversary Blu-Ray and DVD are also available from other retailers listed below, and the digital edition is now available for purchase or rent on iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, and Google Play. A court mandate allowed David and Kate Bagby to spend time, with their grandson, babysitting, even sharing in joint activities with. MORRISON: The sea at midnight was endless black. Cpl. It would take two weeks. An autopsy report would show that an anti-anxiety drug, prescribed by the very psychiatrist who put up Shirley's bail money had been, mixed into Zachary's formula. September 28, 2008: Such choices make for a disorienting viewing experience, especially if youre accustomed to the conventions of slicker documentaries. I got to go to the trial. Six-month-old Zachary was, returned to her. I was like, `Oh, OK, yeah.' MORRISON: Ah, but there was a lot to say about Andrew. 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. Play trailer 2:39. Just like Andrew, you know, happy. Mr. KUENNE: He liked playing bad guys a lot. Mr. BAGBY: By this time we're pretty damn sure she's complete. (Photo of Andrew and Kurt; Kurt editing film; collection of videotapes with, Mr. KUENNE: It was no longer just my search for what was left of, (Collection of videotapes of raw footage), Mr. KUENNE: I thought, I'm kind of the keeper of all this footage that is. Ms. TURNER: (Audio recording) Well, I have that for protection. 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. What a flaky person. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. It left me looking for the impossibility of marking the film above the highest grade available on the festival's voting ballot. They are warm. An abridged version of "Dear Zachary" will premiere on CBC Newsworld in Canada on Sunday, October 25th at 10 PM ET/PT. 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. Then, in August 2003, Shirley killed herself and the one-year-old Zachary by jumping into the Atlantic Ocean. I dont understand how that can be ignored.. doesn't take much to pull a trigger, does it? I'm absolutely sure. Except this story is worse. Mr. BAGBY: We fret and worried and everything. MORRISON: The Bagbys said that Shirley would later apologize for, her reaction. The bill now moves to the Senate where it is expected to be embraced in a similar fashion. 1 suspect was his estranged girlfriend, Shirley Turner, also a medical doctor, who was raised in western Newfoundland and was then practicing in Iowa. 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. I praise Kurt Kuenne for having the heart and determination to perfectly put together one of the most powerful documentaries I have ever watched. They recorded them. Unidentified Man #24: Two I have ever known. Turner - the son of Andrew Bagby whom she gave birth to after Bagby's death. her. This is how Kuenne represents his emotion at hearing the news that the woman who killed his friend had also killed his friends son. GARDNER: (Audio recording) Yes, ma'am, I am. 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. MORRISON: Coming up, Andrew dead. In that time, it also becomes clear that Andrews fate is in danger of also becoming his sons. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference. 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. They told us that they'd found the body. Hoping to gain custody of the child, the Bagbys moved to Newfoundland. David and Kate Bagby channeled their grief & anguish into changing some Canadian laws. MORRISON: It was August 2003, the wee hours of the morning by the ocean. MORRISON: There might have been a particular reason for this. This documentary starts out like a love letter. See rank. And if that picture never reveals itself, it feels like a letdown, not a tragedy. They might as well have sent a taxi to her to help take him out and drown him. The Bagbys could scarcely believe. MORRISON: Was she taunting them, they wondered? ', MORRISON: But they'd have to wait almost a month. If you were to dream up the perfect set of parents, it would be Kate and David Bagby. But he was accepted here, St. John's, Newfoundland, the easternmost point in North America. This is not the worst instance in this story of someone seeing something bad coming but not being able to stop it. And when, after his first year at med school, Heather broke off the engagement, Andrew was crushed. Jackson, Kentucky. substance to it. (Trailer park; parking lot; water; Kurt on boat; excerpts from "Dear Zachary"; houses seen through rainy window; Kate and Zachary). 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?