The 2008 documentary about the murder of Andrew Bagby is Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father, commonly shortened to Dear Zachary.
Filmmaker Kurt Kuenne made the film as a cinematic letter for Zachary Turner, Bagby’s son, who would never know his father. Kuenne combined home movies, interviews, photographs, and recollections from Bagby’s family and friends. What began as a private memorial became a public documentary as the case developed.
Andrew Bagby was killed in Pennsylvania in 2001 after ending his relationship with Shirley Jane Turner. Turner later revealed that she was pregnant with Bagby’s child and fled to Canada, where a legal fight over extradition and bail followed. The case became even more tragic when Turner killed Zachary and herself in 2003.
A common mix-up is treating the film as a conventional true-crime investigation. It is also an intensely personal portrait of friendship, family grief, and the consequences of legal decisions. Its release helped inspire Canada’s 2010 “Zachary’s Bill,” which strengthened child-safety considerations in bail and custody proceedings.