Andrews doomed relationship withShirley Turner began in Canada, whereAndrewattended medical school at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Not enjoying his surgical residency, in 2001 Bagby switched to a family practice residency in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, which he felt was a better fit for him. There arent many documentaries likeDear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father. 10 Haunting Documentaries After receiving a call from the police department telling her to call a coroner's office, Andrew's mother, Kate, gotknocked around to numerous departments and authorities who told her nothing more than the factthere was "terrible news." Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father. On several occasions, he had summoned state troopers to order her to leave. Looking for a way to spend your summer doing something creative and fulfilling? And I realize thats all I have left. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a [15] The website Film School Rejects place the film third in their list of the "30 Best Films of the Decade". The birth of Zachary didn'tend David's dark thoughts, however. Last night, I watched the best documentary I have ever seen. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father is easily one of the most traumatic films I've ever seen. Turner made the travel to visit Bagby seven times, whilehe came to see her only once. After Zachary's birth on 18 July 2002, Turner initially refused to allow David and Kathleen Bagby to see their grandson, fearing they would kidnap him. Turner was arrested as a suspect, and, shortly thereafter, announced she was pregnant with Bagby's child, a boy she named Zachary. 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. by Johnny Brayson. As a writer for Odyssey, youll have the opportunity to share your voice with our community of readers from all over the world. The film, released in 2008 entitled Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father, had been intended as a tribute to Andrew Bagby that Zachary could appreciate when he got older. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father is a 2008 American documentary film written, produced, directed, edited, and scored by Kurt Kuenne. In a market awash with true crime docs,Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father is unique. Throughout my time in college, especially studying abroad, I found that I loved jeans, baggy sweaters, my Air Force 1s that I have worn down to the point its crazy, small rings, and dresses. Turner's overbearing and obsessive actions included child abuse,the physical andpsychological harassment of her lovers, as well asher eventual slayings and suicide. 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. Three years later, Turner and her second husband divorced, and she was granted custody of their daughter. By continuing to browse, you accept the use of cookies and other technologies. However, in January 2003 Justice Welsh again released her, arguing that the murder "was not directed at the public at large" and that Turner was presumed to be innocent.[10]. The speed at which Kuenne rushes through the details of the case would not do at all for any professional true-crime documentary set to lure in an audience with gruesome facts. Backpacking across Europe? Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father 2008 9 Andrew Bagby, a medical student, was murdered by his girlfriend Shirley Jane Turner soon after he ended their stormy relationship in 2001. Turner,still unwilling to leave him alone, went to his home and attempted an elaborate and psychologically disturbing suicide. She claps. From Zero to Hero: Write Your Short in 30 days, Heres How To Watch The Super Mario Bros. Movie Online Free: Is The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) Streaming On Prime Video, HBO Max Or Netflix, Heres How To Watch The Super Mario Bros. Movie Online Free: Is The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) Streaming On Prime Video, HBO Max Or Netflix, Heres How To Watch John Wick: Chapter 4 Online Free: Is John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) Streaming On Peacock, HBO Max, Netflix Or At Home, Heres Where To Watch John Wick: Chapter 4 Free At Home Is John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) Movie Streaming Online now. So Kurt set out to make a documentary about his beloved lost friend. The bill received unanimous support in the Canadian House of Commons, and received support from Liberal Senator Tommy Banks. "[14], The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures named the film one of the five top documentaries of the year. [6] Turner gave birth to her second daughter on 8 March 1990, one year before she and her second husband separated. As Turner was leaving Bagby's apartment to travel home, she decided to turn around. Yes! The 2008 documentary is directed by Kurt Kuenne, who began filming when his childhood friend 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. You will curse the Canadian justice system for showing no concern for human life. It was finally signed into law by Governor-General David Johnston on 16 December 2010. 12 Documentaries With Twist Endings Dear Zachary is the only film that has made me cry. You've been studying all day and still don't understand the majority of the terms. Turner alternately told her shooting instructor that her gun had been stolen. Poor attempt at coping with finals, but hey, you can't think about that biology exam anymore, you're just numbing your pain. It would be insulting to Kuenne to go into this film with any preconceived notions, one simply has to experience it on their own. Last night to party with friends. Meanwhile, after graduating from Memorial University in May 2000, Bagby landed a surgical residency at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University at Syracuse, New York. 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. Released in 2008, the filmmakes the cut as one ofthe greatest documentaries of all time. I always felt Shirley Turner was putting on a show, as if she were playing the role but had no feeling for her work. 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. It is about Kuenne's close friend Andrew Bagby, who was murdered after Bagby ended a relationship with a woman named Shirley Jane Turner. Kuenne adds his own memories to the film, along with his anger & grief over the senseless crime. The police discovered through phone records that Turner had returned to Pennsylvania the day before the murder. David remembers uttering, "It's really him," and recalls how the two cried over the body, tears falling on to Andrew's face. Bagby arrived at work in an "agitated" state and told Simpson about her appearance but dismissed Simpson's advice to not meet with her in private; Bagby subsequently promised to visit Simpson's house after talking to Turner that evening, but he never showed up. Everyone feels the desire for belonging and to fit in with the people around them. Shortly after she was arrested, she announced that she was pregnant with his child, whom she named Zachary. He grew up in Silicon Valley, where at age 7, he met the late Dr. Andrew Bagby, the subject of Dear Zachary. In October 1993, a man boarding with Turner confided to his therapist that he had witnessed Turner physically and emotionally abusing two of her children. Although it's hard to watch, it's a When a constable contacted Turner's lawyer about the harassment, she denied the allegations. 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. You didn't study enough and you're pretty sure that last final dropped your grade at least 10 percent. [16], As part of a campaign to change federal bail laws, Kuenne sent a copy of Dear Zachary to each of the over 400 members of Canada's Parliament. Those two exams just stripped you of your pride. Bagbys childhood friend Kenneth Kuenne made the film as a way to document the memories of Andrews life. Dear Zachary Kurt Kuenne has made a documentary in a way that a film itself is made, with amazing editing patterns and with a story that really grabs you and moves you. Dear Zachary The bill, which helps protect children in relation to bail hearings and custody disputes, was signed into law the following year. At approximately 1:00p.m. local time, Turner embarked on a 16-hour, 1,523-kilometre (946mi) drive to Latrobe with her gun and ammunition inside a gun box in her Toyota RAV4. Dear Zachary The inquiry concluded that Zachary's death had been preventable. [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. If you know me, I literally cry in every movie I see, so this question was not out of the ordinary. Before Turner's awareness of her actual pregnancy, she had fabricated one. Well send you all the relevant quizzes, articles, polls, and news you could want to your inbox. Dear Zachary Shirley Turner, a mother and medical student who played the victim card throughout her life, was not what she seemed - or was she? Bagby came from Sunnyvale, California, and was the son of Kathleen Daphne Bagby (ne Barnard), a registered nurse and midwife from Chatham, England, United Kingdom; and David Franklin Bagby, an American former United States Navy serviceman and computer engineer. Tears fall from my face the same way petals fall from wilted flowers. 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. Acting on statements by Simpson and others, the Pennsylvania State Police contacted Turner. Turner subsequently made a total of 200 threatening phone calls to the man over the following month. She was arrested in December 2001, but released on bail while her extradition to the United States worked its way through the Canadian courts. Turner received her undergraduate degree from Memorial University in May 1994; four years later, she earned her medical degree. Bagbys childhood friend Kenneth Kuenne made the film as a way to document the memories of Andrews life. Andrew tried to leave Shirley entirely in November 2001. The film premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival, and was broadcast by MSNBC on 7 December 2008. Here are some of the topics wed love to hear about: Whether you're an experienced writer or just starting out, we welcome anyone with a passion for writing and a desire to share their perspective. Markesteyn, Peter H.; Day, David C. (September 2006). Others included falsely taking the child and moving around the USunder assumed identities. If youre fascinated by the world of true crime, sign up for our newsletter. On Aug. 13, 2003, Turner, still fighting extradition, took Zachary to Conception Bay. Since 1982, Turner had taken out baby bonuses for her children from a scholarship fund with the expectation of sending them to university. Those awful seven hours of studying paid off, definitely aced that exam. Clare Regelbrugge, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Sign in to comment to your favorite stories, participate in your community and interact with your friends. I think back to the day I met him; the day I started loving someone more than I have ever loved myself. And,with no evidence of tampering, it was highly likely Turner was the culprit. Kuenne adds his own memories to the film, along with his anger & grief over the senseless crime. Turners pregnancy was even announced. The film ends with the Bagbys and their relatives, friends, and colleagues reflecting on the father and son, as well as the impact that Kathleen and David, who Kurt realizes the film is really for, had on all of them. [5] Perpetrator Turner first purchased her prescription of lorazepam from a St. John's pharmacy. WebThe 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. The fam bam is here, and you sadly wave good bye to your dorm room. In high school, I worked in a casual restaurant that served soup so I wasnt dressing to impress there either. It received critical acclaim, particularly for its editing and emotional weight. A Timeline Of Kuennes film transforms into a visual letter to the child that Andrew never got to meet. But heres the plot. Kurt Kuenne is an award-winning filmmaker and composer of both fiction and documentary films.