Zachary Andrew Turner (18 July 2002 – 18 August 2003) was a Canadian child from
St. John's,
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
, who was killed by his mother, Shirley Jane Turner, in a
murder–suicide
A murder-suicide is an act in which an individual murder, kills one or more persons either before or while suicide, killing themselves. The combination of murder and suicide can take various forms:
* Murder linked with suicide of a person with a ...
. At the time, Shirley had been released on
bail
Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required.
In some countries ...
and awarded custody of the infant, even though she was in the process of being
extradited
Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdi ...
to the United States to stand trial for the murder of Zachary's father, Andrew David Bagby. The case led to a critical overview of Newfoundland's legal and
child welfare
Child protection is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the protection of children in and out of the home. One of the ways to e ...
systems as well as Canada's
bail laws.
A 2006 inquiry found serious shortcomings in how the province's social services system handled the case, suggesting that the judges, prosecutors, and
child welfare
Child protection is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the protection of children in and out of the home. One of the ways to e ...
agencies involved were more concerned with presuming Shirley's innocence than with protecting Zachary. The inquiry concluded that Zachary's death had been preventable. 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.
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
Kurt Kuenne is an American filmmaker and composer. He has directed a number of short and feature films, including ''Rent-a-Person'', the YouTube film ''Validation'', described as "a romantic epic in miniature", and the documentary '' Dear Zachar ...
.
Perpetrator
Shirley Jane Turner (28 January 1961 – 18 August 2003) was a
Canadian-American
Canadian Americans is a term that can be applied to American citizens whose ancestry is wholly or partly Canadian, or citizens of either country that hold dual citizenship.
The term ''Canadian'' can mean a nationality or an ethnicity. Canadians ...
daughter of a U.S. serviceman and local woman from
St. Anthony, Newfoundland and Labrador. She was raised with three siblings in
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...
, but moved to Newfoundland with her mother after her parents
separated; the parents later divorced. In 1980, Turner enrolled at
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Memorial University of Newfoundland, also known as Memorial University or MUN (), is a public university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, elsewhere in Newfoundland and ...
in
St. John's, seeking to embark on a medical career.
Marriages and children
Upon becoming pregnant, Turner married a long-time boyfriend during Memorial University's 1981 winter recess. The child, a boy, was born on 9 July 1982. Turner's husband raised the child as a
stay-at-home dad
A stay-at-home dad (alternatively, full-time father, stay-at-home father, house dad, househusband, or house-spouse) is a father who is the main caregiver of the children and is generally the homemaker of the household. The female equivalent is ...
while Turner continued her studies. In 1983, Turner moved to
Labrador City
Labrador City is a town in western Labrador (part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador), near the Quebec border. With a population of 7,412 as of 2021, it is the second-largest population centre in Labrador, behind Happy Valley-Go ...
and worked as a science teacher. Two years later, she gave birth to a daughter. During this period, she resumed a previous relationship with a fisherman from
Corner Brook
Corner Brook ( 2021 population: 19,333 CA 29,762) is a city located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Corner Brook is the fifth largest settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador. ...
.
Following the end of her first marriage on 29 January 1988, Turner married her boyfriend from Corner Brook the following July. She also had an
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
that July, but the father was not known. Turner gave birth to her second daughter on 8 March 1990, one year before she and her second husband separated. Turner completed her undergraduate education while raising her children with help from her second husband.
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. Newfoundland social service workers interviewed the children, who stated that their "disciplinarian" mother punished them with
spanking
Spanking is a form of corporal punishment involving the act of striking, with either the palm of the hand or an implement, the buttocks of a person to cause physical pain. The term spanking broadly encompasses the use of either the hand or im ...
s and
beatings by belt. Turner's second husband claimed that she only used the belt as a threat in his interview. The case was closed on 11 January 1994 without an interview with Turner. Three years later, Turner and her second husband divorced, and she was granted custody of their daughter. Within days of the ruling, however, Turner sent her daughter back to live with her father in
Portland Creek while her other two children were sent to
Parson's Pond
Parson's Pond is a community in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada.
History
Parson's Pond was originally called Sandy Bay. It is located on the Great Northern Peninsula. The first census was in the late 19th century and had a po ...
to live with their paternal grandmother.
Since 1982, Turner had taken out
baby bonuses for her children from a scholarship fund with the expectation of sending them to university. 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. Turner insisted that she would earn "big money" after completing her post-residency training and would repay the savings for her children's post-secondary education.
Medical residencies
Turner received her undergraduate degree from Memorial University in May 1994; four years later, she earned her
medical degree
A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...
. Between 1998 and 2000, she served as a
resident physician
Residency or postgraduate training is specifically a stage of graduate medical education. It refers to a qualified physician (one who holds the degree of MD, DO, MBBS, MBChB), veterinarian ( DVM or VMD) , dentist ( DDS or DMD) or podiatrist ( ...
at
teaching hospital
A teaching hospital is a hospital or medical centre that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals. Teaching hospitals are almost always affiliated with one or more universities and are often co-located ...
s across Newfoundland.
During a 1999 residency at a
family practice
Family medicine is a medical specialty within primary care that provides continuing and comprehensive health care for the individual and family across all ages, genders, diseases, and parts of the body. The specialist, who is usually a primar ...
in St. John's, Turner's professionalism drew harsh criticism by her supervising physician, who stated she would become "quite hostile, yelling, crying, and accusing me of treating her unfairly." During her remedial second residency period in early 2000, Turner missed nine days of her three-month rotation and falsified clinical reports. A patient of the clinic refused to return after an encounter with Turner. The staff became "so concerned about Shirley Turner's approach to confrontation and the truth that we would never give her feedback or hold any major discussion
ith her
The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany.
Geography
Location
The Ith is immediatel ...
alone." These incidents left the supervising physician with the impression that:
I felt I was being manipulated whenever I spoke with Shirley Turner. When negative items would come up she would change the topic to one of my failings. She could be charming friendly and lively but when caught in an untruth she would become angry, accusatory and loud. I always felt Shirley Turner was putting on a show, as if she were playing the role but had no feeling for her work. 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.
In a later interview with an assessment officer at the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate, the supervising physician, in hindsight, described Turner as "a manipulative, guiltless
psychopath
Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent Anti-social behaviour, antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and Boldness, bold, Disinhibition, disinhibited, and Egotism, egotistical B ...
." The experience with Turner led that St. John's practice to make "constructive changes" in its residency evaluation process. By the summer of 2000, Turner had completed the requirements of her residency training and was qualified to practice medicine.
Stalking case
In March 1996, Turner began a relationship with a St. John's resident, Miles Doucet, who was thirteen years her junior. After Doucet broke up with Turner and moved elsewhere in Newfoundland, she began inundating him with phone calls. In November 1997, Turner confronted him in
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...
, and struck him in the jaw with her
high-heeled shoe
High-heeled shoes, also known as high heels, are a type of shoe with an angled sole. The heel in such shoes is raised above the ball of the foot. High heels cause the legs to appear longer, make the wearer appear taller, and accentuate the ...
. After consulting with his parents, Doucet moved to
Westtown Township, Pennsylvania
Westtown Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,827 at the 2010 census.
History
County Bridge No. 148 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
Geography
According ...
, United States in 1998. Turner followed the man to Pennsylvania, leaving threatening voicemails over the following year and making unannounced visits to his apartment. On several occasions, he had summoned
state troopers
State police, provincial police or regional police are a type of sub-national territorial police force found in nations organized as federations, typically in North America, South Asia, and Oceania. These forces typically have jurisdiction o ...
to order her to leave. He expressed fear to police of "what Dr. Turner would do next."
On 7 April 1999, Doucet found Turner lying semi-conscious outside of his apartment, having ingested a combined 65 milligrams of
over-the-counter drug
Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are medicines sold directly to a consumer without a requirement for a prescription from a healthcare professional, as opposed to prescription drugs
A prescription drug (also prescription medication or prescripti ...
s in a suicide attempt. Turner was wearing a black dress, carried a bouquet of red roses and had two
suicide note
A suicide note or death note is a message left behind by a person who dies or intends to die by suicide.
A study examining Japanese suicide notes estimated that 25–30% of suicides are accompanied by a note. However, incidence rates may depe ...
s on her. One note had been addressed to Doucet and the other to her psychiatrist; the latter read, "I am not evil, just sick." Turner was rushed to a hospital, where she received a
gastric lavage
Gastric lavage, also commonly called stomach pumping or gastric irrigation, is the process of cleaning out the contents of the stomach. Since its first recorded use in early 19th century, it has become one of the most routine means of eliminating ...
. The following day Doucet received a voicemail from a female caller who stated, "Dr. Turner died last night."
Andrew Bagby murder
Background
Beginning in early 1999, Turner began dating Andrew David Bagby (25 September 1973 – 5 November 2001), an American medical student studying at
Memorial University
Memorial University of Newfoundland, also known as Memorial University or MUN (), is a public university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, elsewhere in Newfoundland and ...
for his third year. Bagby came from
Sunnyvale, California
Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwest Santa Clara County in the U.S. state of California.
Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real and Highway 101 and is bordered by portions of San Jose to the nort ...
, and was the son of Kathleen Daphne Bagby (''née'' Barnard), a
registered nurse
A registered nurse (RN) is a nurse who has graduated or successfully passed a nursing program from a recognized nursing school and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar government-authorized licensing body to o ...
and
midwife
A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery.
The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...
from
Chatham
Chatham may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions Canada
* Chatham Islands (British Columbia)
* Chatham Sound, British Columbia
* Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi
* Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...
, England, United Kingdom; and David Franklin Bagby, an American former
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
serviceman and computer engineer.
In August 2000, Turner moved to
Sac City, Iowa
Sac City is a city in and the county seat of Sac County, Iowa, United States, located just southwest of the eastern intersection of U.S. Routes 20 and 71 in the rolling hills along the valley of the North Raccoon River. The city is one of 45 ...
, to begin work for Trimark Physicians Corporation. Meanwhile, after graduating from Memorial University in May 2000, Bagby landed a surgical residency at the
State University of New York Upstate Medical University
The State University of New York Upstate Medical University (SUNY Upstate) is a public medical school in Syracuse, New York. Founded in 1834, Upstate is the 15th oldest medical school in the United States and is the only medical school in Central ...
at
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
. Despite the distance between states, Turner and Bagby initially tried to maintain a
long-distance relationship
A long-distance relationship (LDR) or long-distance romantic relationship (LDRR) is an intimate relationship between partners who are geographically separated from one another. Partners in LDRs face geographic separation and lack of face-to-face ...
. By Turner's account, she visited Bagby's residence in Syracuse seven times while he visited her once in Sac City. During one of these visits, Turner is believed to have
burglarized Bagby's apartment. In the fall of 2001, Bagby moved to
Latrobe, Pennsylvania
Latrobe is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in the United States and part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
The city population was 8,338 as of the 2010 census (9,265 in 1990). It is located near Pennsylvania's scenic Chestnut Rid ...
, and began his residency at a family practice under the supervision of T. Clark Simpson.
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
Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha–Council Bluffs ...
, where she was hired by
Alegent Health System
CHI Health (formerly Alegent Health) is a regional healthcare network headquartered in Omaha. The combined organization consists of 28 hospitals, two stand-alone behavioral health facilities, and more than 150 employed physician practices in Iowa ...
of
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
. In October 2001, Turner obtained a permit to buy a firearm and purchased a
Phoenix Arms HP22 handgun and
.22 ammunition, which she used during firearms lessons.
Meanwhile, Turner exhibited possessive behavior towards Bagby and harassed him over the phone. On 13 October, Turner told Bagby that she was three months pregnant. Bagby agreed to talk with her about the pregnancy during a wedding that Bagby was scheduled to attend. When Turner visited him in Latrobe in late October 2001—immediately after the last of her firearms lessons in Omaha—the two frequently argued over his relationship with a new girlfriend. On 3 November 2001, Turner confessed that she had been lying about her pregnancy in an effort to remain with Bagby permanently. Furious about this, Bagby drove Turner to the
Arnold Palmer Regional Airport
Arnold Palmer Regional Airport is in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, two miles (3 km) southwest of Latrobe and about southeast of Pittsburgh. It was formerly Westmoreland County Airport; it was renamed in September 1999 ...
and broke up with her over lunch, sending her on a plane back to Iowa.
Murder and investigation
On 4 November 2001, Turner made a total of three phone calls to Bagby's residence in Latrobe. At approximately 1:00 p.m.
local time
Local time is the time observed in a specific locality. There is no canonical definition. Originally it was mean solar time, but since the introduction of time zones it is generally the time as determined by the time zone in effect, with daylight s ...
, Turner embarked on a 16-hour, drive to Latrobe with her gun and ammunition inside a gun box in her
Toyota RAV4
The is a compact crossover SUV produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. Considered the first ever compact crossover SUV, it made its debut in Japan and Europe in 1994, and in North America in 1995, being launched in January 19 ...
. In the early morning of 5 November 2001, she confronted Bagby at his residence, located across the street from his practice. 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. Turner later drove home and left a message on Bagby's answering machine.
The following morning, Bagby's body was found in a day-use parking lot at
Keystone State Park in
Derry Township, Pennsylvania. He had been shot five times in the face, the chest, the buttocks, and the back of the head with
CCI .22 bullets. Acting on statements by Simpson and others, the Pennsylvania State Police contacted Turner. Despite her claim to have been in bed sick on 5 November, cell phone and Internet records showed that she had made cross-country calls both to and from Latrobe, accessed
eBay
eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...
and
Hotmail
Outlook.com is a webmail service that is part of the Microsoft 365 product family. It offers mail, Calendaring software, calendaring, Address book, contacts, and Task management, tasks services.
Founded in 1996 by Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smit ...
from Bagby's home computer, and used his home phone to call in sick. When confronted with this evidence, Turner claimed that she met with Bagby at Keystone State Park but that he put the gun in his trunk. Turner alternately told her shooting instructor that her gun had been stolen.
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. Later, a Derry resident reported having seen Bagby's
Toyota Corolla
The is a series of compact cars (formerly subcompact) manufactured and marketed globally by the Toyota Motor Corporation. Introduced in 1966, the Corolla was the best-selling car worldwide by 1974 and has been one of the best-selling cars in ...
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. The lot number on a box of
condom
A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of in ...
s found in Turner's Council Bluffs apartment matched a box purchased by Bagby in Latrobe on the night of the break-up. Also in Turner's apartment were
MapQuest
MapQuest (stylized as mapquest) is an American free online web mapping service. It was launched in 1996 as the first commercial web mapping service. MapQuest vies for market share with competitors such as Google Maps and Here.
History
MapQuest's ...
printouts for road directions to Latrobe. Despite the evidence gathered, Turner had fled the country by the time authorities obtained a
warrant for her arrest.
Legal proceedings
![SCNL TrialDivisionOnDuckworth](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/SCNL_TrialDivisionOnDuckworth.JPG)
On 12 November 2001, Turner abandoned her residence in Council Bluffs and flew to
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, eventually resettling in St. John's with her oldest son. Acting in collaboration with the Pennsylvania State Police, the
Royal Newfoundland Constabulary
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) is the provincial police service for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary is one of three provincial police forces in Canada, alongside the Ontario Provincial ...
's (RNC) Intelligence Unit conducted surveillance on her movements. On 2 December, the Unit seized her trash and discovered printouts for an
ultrasound
Ultrasound is sound waves with frequency, frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing range, hearing. Ultrasound is not different from "normal" (audible) sound in its physical properties, except that humans cannot hea ...
taken on 29 November, showing a fetus that was conceived with Bagby the previous month.
The RNC arrested Turner on 12 December, the same day
extradition
Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...
proceedings commenced against her. However, Newfoundland Justice Gale Welsh believed Turner, then 40, wasn't a threat to society, despite the murder charges awaiting her in Pennsylvania. Turner was released from
Her Majesty's Penitentiary's Clarenville
Clarenville is a town on the east coast of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Clarenville was incorporated in 1951. It is located in the Shoal Harbour valley, fronting an arm of the Atlantic Ocean called Random ...
Correctional Centre for Women, and was required to post
CAD$
The Canadian dollar (currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, code: CAD; french: dollar canadien) is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, there is no standard disambiguating form, but the abbreviation Can ...
75,000 bail, turn in her passports, pay weekly visits to the RNC, promise not to leave the area, and make no attempt to contact Bagby's family. Turner posted bail with help from her psychiatrist, John Doucet, a former co-worker from Memorial University.
The news that Turner was pregnant with Bagby's child turned the extradition case into one involving
child custody
Child custody is a legal term regarding '' guardianship'' which is used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent or guardian and a child in that person's care. Child custody consists of ''legal custody'', which is the righ ...
, and subsequently led to a complicated legal saga. 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.
Custody case
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. She went so far as to discharge her family law lawyer because of his positive attitude towards the Bagbys.
On several occasions, it was noted that Zachary had poor attachment to his mother and preferred the company of other adults, particularly his grandparents. This preference was made especially clear during Zachary's first birthday party at a St. John's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
, after which Turner said to Kathleen, "He obviously loves you more than me, so why don't you take him?"
Turner was returned to jail in November 2002 pending a decision by the federal justice minister regarding whether she should be extradited to the United States. 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.
Murder–suicide
![NLA Topsail tango7174](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/NLA_Topsail_tango7174.jpg)
On 4 July 2003, Turner met a young man at a bar in St. John's. The pair dated and were sexually intimate on two occasions afterward. The man then broke off the relationship after learning from a friend about Turner's connection to Bagby's murder. Turner subsequently made a total of 200 threatening phone calls to the man over the following month. Turner claimed that she was pregnant by the man, but no evidence was found showing this to be the case. The man contacted the RNC on three occasions to complain about Turner's harassment, which both violated the terms of her bail and was considered grounds to lose custody of Zachary. However, because the man did not identify himself and declined to file any criminal complaint against Turner, no investigation was launched by the RNC. When a constable contacted Turner's lawyer about the harassment, she denied the allegations.
On 18 August 2003, Zachary was scheduled to be in his mother's custody. Turner first purchased her prescription of
lorazepam
Lorazepam, sold under the brand name Ativan among others, is a benzodiazepine medication. It is used to treat anxiety disorders, trouble sleeping, severe agitation, active seizures including status epilepticus, alcohol withdrawal, and c ...
from a St. John's pharmacy. She then drove with Zachary to nearby
Conception Bay South
Conception Bay South is a town located on the southern shore of Conception Bay on the Avalon Peninsula of the island of Newfoundland, Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The town is commonly called C.B.S. Conception Bay South is the ...
, where the man she had met at the bar lived. Turner left her car parked near his home in the Kelligrews area of the town, with photographs of herself and Zachary, as well as a used
tampon
A tampon is a feminine hygiene, menstrual product designed to absorb blood and vaginal secretions by insertion into the vagina during menstruation. Unlike a Sanitary napkin, pad, it is placed internally, inside of the vaginal canal. Once inser ...
, on the front seat. Police concluded that she was attempting to frame the boyfriend for the planned murder–suicide.
After mixing her lorazepam into Zachary's
baby formula
Infant formula, baby formula, or simply formula (American English); or baby milk, infant milk or first milk (British English), is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age, usually prepar ...
and ingesting a toxic dosage herself, Turner strapped the infant to her chest with her sweater and jumped off a fishing wharf at Foxtrap Marina into the Atlantic Ocean. Turner drowned. It was determined that Zachary Turner was rendered unconscious by the lorazepam and did not suffer.
Turner's body was found on a beach by a vacationing couple, with Zachary's body discovered nearby.
Subsequent events
Investigations and findings
On 3 May 2006, a disciplinary board convened by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Newfoundland and Labrador found Doucet guilty of professional misconduct for his involvement in helping to post Turner's $75,000 bail. He was ordered to pay a fine of $10,000—covering one-third of the $30,000 incurred by the college for the inquiry—and was ordered to undergo psychiatric counseling. Doucet said he was "disappointed" by the verdict, while David Bagby stated that he was happy with the
precedent
A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Common-law legal systems place great valu ...
his case would be setting. According to filmmaker Kurt Kuenne, Doucet later left Newfoundland and relocated elsewhere in Canada.
In October 2006,
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
-based
coroner
A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...
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." 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. Markesteyn ultimately concluded that internal disagreements between caseworkers and managers weren't openly discussed and that an intervention by an outside office should have been made. The
provincial Government of Newfoundland and Labrador accepted the report's conclusions and its 29 recommendations.
Bagbys' activism
On 23 October 2009,
Scott Andrews, then a
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
MP from Newfoundland and Labrador, introduced Bill C-464, or "Zachary's Bill", which would change the Criminal Code of Canada to allow the courts to justify refusing bail to those accused of serious crimes in the name of protecting their children. The bill received unanimous support in the Canadian
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
, and received support from Liberal
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
Tommy Banks
Thomas Benjamin Banks (December 17, 1936 – January 25, 2018) was a Canadian pianist, conductor, arranger, composer, television personality and senator.
Television and musical career
Banks was the host of nationally - and internationally ...
. It was finally
signed into law
A bill is proposed legislation under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature as well as, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an '' ...
by
Governor-General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
David Johnston
David Lloyd Johnston (born June 28, 1941) is a Canadian academic, author, and statesman who served from 2010 to 2017 as Governor General of Canada, the 28th since Canadian Confederation. He is the commissioner of the Leaders' Debates Commis ...
on 16 December 2010. Andrews later said that the law "gives
he Bagbyssome sense that someone has heard their cries so this will not happen again, to change the law to make sure something this tragic will never happen again."
David Bagby penned a book about the case, ''Dance with the Devil: A Memoir of Murder and Loss'', which was published in 2007.
''Dear Zachary'' film
Written and directed by
Kurt Kuenne
Kurt Kuenne is an American filmmaker and composer. He has directed a number of short and feature films, including ''Rent-a-Person'', the YouTube film ''Validation'', described as "a romantic epic in miniature", and the documentary '' Dear Zachar ...
,
MSNBC Films and
Oscilloscope Laboratories
Oscilloscope Laboratories is an independent film company and distributor founded by Adam Yauch and former TH!NKFilm executive David Fenkel. It also has a recording studio and film production facilities. Fenkel returned to the company on May 4, 20 ...
released ''Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father'' on 31 October 2008. The film is partly composed of
home movies
A home movie is a short amateur film or video typically made just to preserve a visual record of family activities, a vacation, or a special event, and intended for viewing at home by family and friends. Originally, home movies were made on ph ...
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. A portion of the film also shows Kuenne meeting Zachary in Newfoundland in July 2003 to celebrate his first birthday, one month before his death; Shirley Turner is present during the visit, but Kuenne avoids her. The film premiered at the
Slamdance Film Festival
The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival takes place in Park City, Utah, in late January and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization, which als ...
, and was broadcast by
MSNBC
MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
on 7 December 2008.
The
National Board of Review of Motion Pictures
The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered an early harbinger of the film awards season that culminat ...
named the film one of the five top documentaries of 2008. The organizations that named it one of the best films of 2008 included: ''Time Out Chicago'', ''
The Oregonian
''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...
'', the ''
Times Herald-Record
The ''Times Herald-Record'', often referred to as ''The Record'' or ''Middletown Record'' in its coverage area, is a daily newspaper published in Middletown, New York, covering the northwest suburbs of New York City. It covers Orange, Sullivan ...
'', ''
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'', and
WGN Radio Chicago.
The website
Film School Rejects
Film School Rejects is an American blog devoted to movie reviews, interviews, film industry news, and feature commentary. It was founded by Neil Miller in February 2006.
The site was nominated for Best News Blog by ''Total Film'' magazine and na ...
placed the film third in their "30 Best Films of the Decade" list. ''The Film Vault'' included the film on their list of the "Top 5 Good Movies You Never Want to See Again".
The
Chicago Film Critics Association
The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) is an association of professional film critics, who work in print, broadcast and online media, based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The organization was founded in 1990 by film critics Sharon LeMa ...
nominated ''Dear Zachary'' for its Best Documentary award, and the
Society of Professional Journalists
The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, letter ...
presented the film with its
Sigma Delta Chi Award
The Sigma Delta Chi Awards are presented annually by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) (formerly Sigma Delta Chi) for excellence in journalism. The SPJ states the purpose of the award is to promote "the free flow of information vital ...
for Best Documentary. The film also received the Special Jury and Audience Awards at the Cinequest Film Festival, was named an Audience Favorite at Hot Docs, received the Audience Awards at the
St. Louis International Film Festival
The St. Louis International Film Festival (also known as SLIFF or Cinema St. Louis) is an annual film festival in St. Louis, Missouri, which has been running since 1992. The coordinating organization changed its name to "Cinema St. Louis" in 200 ...
and the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival, and was named Best Documentary at the
Orlando Film Festival
The Orlando Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Orlando, Florida, for independent filmmakers to showcase their work. The festival attracts upwards of 1,000 entries from filmmakers in more than 30 countries every year.
History
The ...
.
[
]
Scholarships
Two scholarships have been established in tribute to Andrew David Bagby and his son. 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. The ''Dr. Andrew Bagby and son Zachary Bursary Fund'' supports students at the Memorial University of Newfoundland
Memorial University of Newfoundland, also known as Memorial University or MUN (), is a public university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, elsewhere in Newfoundland and ...
.
References
Notes
External links
* Markesteyn, Peter H.; Day, David C. (September 2006). ''Turner Review and Investigation''
Volume I
Volume II
Volume III
Table of contents
Appendix A
Appendix B
. St. John's, NL: Office of the Child and Youth Advocate. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bagby, Andrew & Turner, Zachary
Murder in Newfoundland and Labrador
2001 murders in the United States
2003 murders in Canada
Child abduction in Canada
Child welfare
Deaths by person in Canada
Mariticides
Infanticide
Murder–suicides in Canada
2001 in Pennsylvania
Murder in Pennsylvania
2003 in Newfoundland and Labrador
November 2001 events in Canada
August 2003 events in Canada
Latrobe, Pennsylvania
History of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Conception Bay South
Extradition in Canada
November 2001 events in the United States
Incidents of violence against boys
Violence against men in North America