Zachary Turner

Zachary Andrew Turner (July 13, 2002 – August 17, 2003) was a Canadian citizen born in St. John's to Shirley Jane Turner, an American general practitioner. He lived for 13 months before her act of infanticide when he was drowned by his mother in a joint murder-suicide in the ocean near the city prior to ongoing legal action in the local family court.

The baby's father was Dr. Andrew Bagby, 28, a sometime boyfriend of Turner, then 41. A short while before discovering she was pregnant, she allegedly shot and killed him in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, on November 5, 2001. She then avoided prosecution and trial by fleeing to Canada, where she fought extradition in the Canadian courts for nearly 2 years, and remained free on bail. The evidence was circumstantial as there were no witnesses to the killing.

The retired father and mother of Bagby, David and Kate, and therefore the grandparents of Zachary, actively involved themselves in efforts to force Turner's rendition to stand trial in the Pennsylvania court system. They also sought to obtain custody of the baby in the interim, which had been unsuccessful, although they had access. Just 2 months prior to the deaths, Ottawa had approved the transfer to U.S. jurisdiction, a decision which was being appealed by Turner's lawyer, and caused further delay. It is believed that Turner, rather than stand trial and a possible life sentence, decided to end her and the baby's lives.

Grief-stricken and angry, David Bagby, the grandfather, wrote a book titled "DANCE WITH THE DEVIL, A Memoir of Murder and Loss" which in journal form details the story from the beginning, and also illustrates his ongoing efforts to force change within the family court system locally and nationwide.

External links

* [http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/search/s_153296.html Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, issue September 4, 2003] How the legal system failed
* [http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/search/s_439059.html Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, issue April 1, 2006] Pychiatrist's ethical violation
* [http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/westmoreland/s_473567.html Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, issue Oct. 5, 2006] Coroner's conclusion
* [http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117935933.html?categoryid=31&cs=1 "Dear Zachary, a Letter to a Son About his Father"] Variety review of documentary screened at Slamdance, issue January 25, 2008