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Film / Dear Zachary

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"There is no indication of a psychological disorder that would give concern about potential harm to the public generally."
Judge Gale Welsh

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son about His Father is a 2008 documentary detailing the life and death of one Dr. Andrew Bagby, a resident at a family practice in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. In November 2001, Bagby was found dead under suspicious circumstances in a local park, to the anguish of many. Suspicion immediately fell on an ex-lover, Shirley Turner, well-known among Andrew's friends and family for her one-sided obsession with Bagby—an obsession that led to her driving sixteen hours back to his home after their final breakup the day before Bagby's body was discovered. Copious evidence against Turner gradually came to light, and suspicion of her was compounded when she fled the country to her home in Newfoundland.

Shortly after being taken into custody, Turner announced that she was pregnant with Andrew's child, a boy she named Zachary. Initially, Andrew's close friend Kurt Kuenne, a filmmaker, intended the film as a personal memorial and scrapbook so that Zachary could know the kind of person his father was. However, as events transpired, the focus shifted to the incompetence of the Canadian courts in keeping Turner behind bars, as well as the plight of Bagby's parents, David and Kate, as they battled to get custody of the last remnant of their slain son.

Despite being a documentary, this film revolves around a major plot twist in its second half, and many of the trope names themselves are spoilers for it. It is recommended that you watch the film first before reading on (though do be warned it is NOT an easy or pleasant watch in the slightest. You Have Been Warned).


This film provides examples of:

  • Abhorrent Admirer: Shirley's romantic history documents a series of one-sided obsessions on her part, including attempting suicide on the front porch of one ex-lover. For the duration of her and Andrew's relationship, friends and family alike noted her to be clingy at best and manipulative at worst—one of Andrew's friends says that they were only together because Andrew's self-esteem was so low, he thought he couldn't do any better.
  • Abusive Parent: Though no outright evidence is provided in the film, witnesses noted that Zachary always, without fail, went to Kate over Shirley, leaving it to speculation how he was being treated when no one was watching. Tragically, Shirley kills Zachary in a murder-suicide.

  • The Bad Guy Wins: Thanks to the incompetence of the Canadian courts, not only is Shirley Turner never held accountable for murdering Andrew, but she's allowed to keep primary custody of Zachary, ultimately resulting in his death. David Bagby speculates that this was Shirley's idea of victory: when Andrew and Zachary both rejected her, she punished them.
  • Bad Liar: Turner claims that she was "home sick" on the day of Andrew's death, despite proof that she had made phone calls along a sixteen-hour route to Andrew's home and back again. When the police found a single live round of .22 at the crime scene, they linked it back to Shirley's own firearm, which her trainer noted was prone to ejecting live ammo. Shirley claimed that she had simply given the gun to Andrew.
  • Bail Equals Freedom: Despite being a wanted fugitive and a proven flight risk, Shirley Turner, a suspect for murder, was allowed to post bail—which was almost exclusively paid for by her own psychiatrist. After killing herself and Zachary, it was unanimously agreed that it would have never happened had Shirley been denied bail. The Bagbys went on to become activists calling for reformation for bail laws, which would ultimately succeed in Bill C-464, "Zachary's Bill."
  • Big Bad: The documentary depicts the living hell laid upon the Bagbys by Shirley Turner. After murdering their only son, she goes on to keep them as far away from their grandson as she possibly can, often only allowing them to be together if she was around—forcing them to play house with their son's murderer. She then murders said grandson in a murder-suicide.
  • Child Hater: Shirley Turner is recorded as considering children to be a waste of time and money and not being worth the effort, despite having four children.
  • Death of a Child: The original purpose of the documentary—to provide Zachary Bagby with the true story of his family—is completely undone when Shirley kills Zachary and herself by jumping into the Atlantic Ocean. The rest of the documentary details the fallout of this tragedy, including Kate and David's activism changed bail laws for suspects of dangerous crimes.
  • Decoy Protagonist: The original purpose of the documentary was to provide Zachary Bagby with the true story of his parentage and an explanation of everything his grandparents did to protect him. However, following Zachary's death, Kuenne was left to wonder what the point of the documentary was. He realized that it was no longer for Zachary, but for Kate and David, serving as a testament to their strength.
  • Department of Child Disservices: Not only is Shirley Turner, a suspect for murder, allowed to post bail and walk free, but she's also granted almost full custody of her son despite documented proof of being a dangerous individual. She eventually kills Zachary in a murder-suicide. This resulted in a mass outrage against the Canadian court system. The published Turner Review and Investigation said in no uncertain terms that Zachary's death would have never happened if the courts hadn't allowed Shirley to post bail.
  • Dies Wide Open: The officer who found Zachary's corpse described him as looking up to the sky. He made sure to wrap Zachary in a blanket (rather than a bag) and kept him as far away from Shirley's corpse as he could.
  • Downer Ending: Shirley plays the Canadian justice system like a fiddle and keeps Zachary as far from the Bagbys as she can, culminating in her killing Zachary in a murder-suicide. Kate and David thus lose their son and grandson to the same evil woman—and the former might still be alive today had the court system not let Shirley walk free. The only silver lining is that the Bagbys' activism and the eventual turning of a bill they drafted actually becoming law, but it's still meddled by the fact Zachary had to die for the Canadian Justice System to actually do something about it...
  • Faux Affably Evil: Shirley keeps up the facade of a innocent and kind-hearted woman to everyone around her. She told the police to make sure Kate was with David when they told her of Andrew's death, which she caused. She discussed Christmas gifts for Zachary with the Bagbys, including a framed photo of her and Andrew.
  • From Bad to Worse: The Bagbys' lives become hell from the second Shirley enters Andrew's life. Their one-sided and obessive "relationship" ends with Shirley killing Andrew. Shirley finds out she's pregnant. The courts allow her to post bail, letting her walk free. The Bagbys have to fight tooth and nail just to see Zachary at all. And finally, tragically, Shirley kills Zachary.
  • Hell Is That Noise: The Reveal that Shirley killed herself and Zachary in a murder-suicide is accompanied by a hellish, tortured scream as the screen goes red.
  • Hope Spot: Although it comes with strings attached in the form of constantly being around their son's murderer, Kate and David at least succeed in getting some time with Zachary. The fact that Shirley was recorded numerous times as being unable to provide for Zachary (begging David and Kate for food and diapers), also gave hope that they might succeed in winning full custody. This hope is brutally extinguished when Shirley kills Zachary on one of her visitations.
  • If I Can't Have You…: David Bagby believes that this is Shirley's motive for both Andrew and Zachary's murders. They both rejected her, and she responded by killing them.
  • Insane Troll Logic: Justice Welsh's justification for letting Shirley go on bail was that Shirley's crime "though violent [...] was specific in nature." In other words, she only wanted to kill Andrew, she did, and thus she wasn't a danger to anyone else. David Bagby emphasizes this bizarre line of thinking, particularly pointing out that Shirley could very well just find another "specific" target, i.e. anyone who angered her. Tragically, this is proven exactly right when she kills Zachary.
  • Ironic Echo
    • Justice Gail Welsh justified allowing Shirley to walk because there was "no evidence" of Shirley having mental dysfunctions that made her a danger to society. This quote is repeated over and over as Kuenne describes plenty of evidence of just that: fifteen-minute suicide watch while imprisoned, threatening to stab another inmate, restraining orders against Shirley by eight different people, previously attempting suicide on an ex-lover's property, etc.
    • Kate and David remember that Andrew was born late. This is tragically cut with one of Andrew's friends remembering that he was never late—which is how he knew, when Andrew didn't arrive to his house as planned, that something was terribly wrong.
    • Shirley's message of "Mommy loves you" to Zachary is replayed following The Reveal that she killed him in a murder-suicide.
  • Karma Houdini:
    • Shirley Turner not only never sees justice for Andrew's murder, but by committing suicide, she gets away with Zachary's murder as well.
    • The film doesn't mention what consequences Jusitce Gail Welsh faced for allowing Shirley Turner to walk free, which resulted in Zachary's death.
  • Manipulative Bitch: Shirley managed to manipulate her psychiatrist, the judge, and overall the entire court system in her favor to not only walk free, but to also keep custody of Zachary. Audio recordings document her trying to manipulate the Bagbys as well by playing family, but they were unmoved.
  • May–December Romance: Shirley Turner was twelve years older than her boyfriend Andrew Bagby.
  • Narrator: Kuenne himself (he also wrote, directed and composed the soundtrack) describes the events of the Bagbys' tragedy, and explains to the audience that the documentary is not only a remembrance of Andrew and Zachary, but a testament to the strength of Kate and David. Due to his personal connection with what happened, Kuenne audibly chokes up a few times, most notably when describing the bullet wounds inflicted on Andrew and the moment when Shirley jumped into the water with Zachary.
  • Never Speak Ill of the Dead: Discussed by friends and family interviewed about Andrew, although their memories of him are largely raving.
    You know how loved ones you've lost take on sort of a rosy glow in your memories? That's not what's happening here.
  • Offing the Offspring: Zachary ends up killed by his wicked mother to spite his family and the Canadian courts, while also getting away with murdering his father.
  • Posthumous Character
    • Kurt Kuenne embarked on the documentary following the murder of his best friend, Andrew. Thus, the film largely revolves around Andrew's death and the impact it had on his friends and family.
    • The documentary was also made with the intention of being given to Andrew's son Zachary to explain the full story of his family. However, the intended audience of the film was tragically killed by his mother, and thus—just like his father—the rest of the film focuses on the impact of his death.
  • Plot Twist: When Kurt Kuenne first began making the film, it was with the intent of giving it to Zachary Bagby, to explain who his father was, what happened to him, and everything his friends and family have tried to do for him. Tragically, however, Zachary himself was murdered by his mother as well. The rest of the documentary describes the fallout of Zachary's death, but for his family and for the judicial system.
  • Real Life Writes the Plot: Andrew's murder occurred prior to filming, obviously, and the film was originally intended as a private home movie for the boy. The story took an extreme turn midway through when Shirley and Zachary died, and Kuenne eventually decided to release it publicly.
  • The Sociopath: The documentary never details a specific diagnosis for Shirley, but every witness account of her is that of a deranged obsessor who takes fatal revenge on those who wrong her.
  • Someone to Remember Him By: Following the death of Andrew, Shirley Turner is discovered to be pregnant with his child. A usually heartwarming occurence is made horrifying due to Shirley herself being the one who killed Andrew.
  • Stalker with a Crush: A fatal example. Turner had eight restraining orders against her, and in one case tried to commit suicide on an ex-boyfriend's porch. In Bagby's case, she drove thousands of miles after Bagby put her on a plane to return to him and kills him upon meeting him. Andrew's friend tried to warn him to stay away from Shirley, but sadly, Andrew still agreed to meet her in private.
  • There Should Be a Law: Zachary's death led to an activist movement led by Kate and David themselves to change the law so that suspects of dangerous crimes cannot post bail. They eventually succeeded in the form of Zachary's Bill, which allows courts to refuse bail with the justification of protecting the suspect's children.
  • Trauma Conga Line: The Bagbys' ordeal in a nutshell. First, Andrew Bagby is murdered in premeditated fashion by Shirley Turner; then just as U.S. law enforcement gets an arrest warrant, Turner flees to Canada; then the Bagbys find out that Turner is pregnant with Andrew's child, turning the extradition case into a custody battle as well; then the Bagbys are forced to stand by while the Canadian courts ignore Turner's history of emotional disturbances and let her walk free (with the U.S. still seeking her extradition, mind you) and then give her unsupervised visitation rights to Zachary; and then endure another round of grief when Turner has another psychotic episode and drowns herself in the ocean along with Zachary.
  • The Unfair Sex: Apparently the rationale behind the Canadian legal system's decisions relating to Shirley was that she needed to remain in Zachary's life simply because she was his mother. They were more concerned with protecting her parental rights than with determining whether she was capable of hurting Zachary.
  • Wham Line: The documentary was supposed to be for Zachary to learn about his father. But then, halfway through, Shirley disappears with Zachary. Friends and family alike are sent into a panic, until finally:
    "Turner, son found dead."
  • Would Hurt a Child: Shirley kills her own one-year-old baby boy in a murder-suicide. David Bagby speculates that it was her way of punishing Zachary for loving Kate and David more than her.
  • Yandere: Shirley Turner exhibited obsessive, one-sided behavior throughout many of her past relationships, once even attempting suicide on the property of an ex-lover for rejecting her. After Andrew broke up with her and sent her back home, she immediately drove sixteen hours back to murder him.

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