If you’ve ever sat through the documentary Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father, you know it isn't just a movie. It’s a trauma response. It’s a visceral, loud, and incredibly painful piece of filmmaking that leaves most people staring at a blank screen for twenty minutes after the credits roll. At the heart of that wreckage are two people who became the faces of a parent's worst nightmare: Kate and David Bagby.
People still search for them constantly. They want to know if they’re okay. They want to know if the couple who moved across continents to protect a grandson—only to lose him to the same woman who murdered their son—found any semblance of peace.
By 2023, the Bagbys had spent over two decades in the public eye, though not by choice. Their story didn't end when the cameras stopped rolling on Kurt Kuenne’s documentary. It shifted into a long, quiet stretch of legacy building and survival.
The Reality of Kate and David Bagby in 2023
Honestly, the most recent "big" update for the Bagbys came around the time of Andrew’s 50th birthday milestone. Andrew Bagby, their son, was murdered in 2001. If he were alive today, he’d be a middle-aged doctor, likely with his own established practice. In late 2022 and heading into 2023, his friends and parents reportedly gathered to mark what would have been that 50th birthday.
It’s a strange thing, aging while your child remains frozen at 28.
The Bagbys have mostly retreated from the aggressive activism that defined their lives in the mid-2000s. Back then, they were powerhouse lobbyists. They were the ones who pushed for "Zachary’s Bill" (Bill C-464) in Canada, which changed the Criminal Code to allow courts to refuse bail if a suspect is deemed a danger to their own children. They won that battle.
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In 2023, their life in California is much quieter. They have remained in the Sunnyvale/Gilroy area, staying close to the community that supported them when they returned from the horrors of Newfoundland. David, who wrote the raw and searing memoir Dance with the Devil, hasn't published a follow-up, and honestly, why would he? He said everything that needed to be said about the "monster" who took his family.
Maintaining the Andrew Bagby Memorial Scholarship
One thing that hasn't stopped is the work at Latrobe Hospital. The Andrew Bagby Memorial Scholarship is still a very real thing. It’s a scholarship for family medicine residents, and it’s how the Bagbys have chosen to keep Andrew’s "gregarious" spirit alive.
- It supports medical students in Western Pennsylvania.
- It serves as a living thank-you to the town of Latrobe.
- It has funded dozens of doctors who now practice medicine across the U.S.
By 2023, some of the recipients of this scholarship were children when Andrew was killed. That’s the kind of longevity we’re talking about. The Bagbys aren't just "the people from the sad movie" anymore; they are patrons of a whole new generation of healers.
Why We Can't Stop Thinking About Them
There’s a specific kind of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) that comes with the Bagbys. They are experts in grief.
They didn't just survive; they stayed married. Statistics for couples who lose a child are notoriously grim. Most don't make it. But Kate and David Bagby have been married for over 50 years now. They often finish each other's sentences in interviews, a quirk that many viewers of the documentary found both heart-wrenching and beautiful.
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Their dynamic is a study in "rage-fueled love." David was the vocal, angry protector. Kate was the one who, in her British accent, would describe the smallest details of her grandson Zachary’s face just to keep the memory from fading.
Addressing the 2023 Misconceptions
There are always rumors. When a story is this tragic, people on Reddit or true crime forums often speculate if they’ve passed away.
As of 2023, Kate and David Bagby are very much alive. There was some confusion in late 2025 regarding a different David M. Bagby from Kentucky who passed away, but that was not the David Bagby from the documentary. The "Dear Zachary" David Bagby continues to live a private life in California.
They don't do many interviews anymore. They don't need to. The documentary is still one of the most-watched true crime films on platforms like Amazon Prime and YouTube, constantly introducing new people to their story. Every time a new person watches it, the Bagbys' inbox likely fills up with messages of support.
The Legacy of Zachary’s Bill
You can't talk about the Bagbys in 2023 without mentioning the legal landscape in Canada. The "Zachary’s Bill" reform was a turning point. Before this, Shirley Turner was able to walk free on bail despite being a prime suspect in a first-degree murder case.
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Today, that loophole is much tighter.
Is it perfect? No. The Canadian legal system still faces criticism for how it handles bail and child welfare. But the Bagbys gave a name and a face—a very cute, 13-month-old face—to the consequences of judicial negligence.
Moving Forward: How to Honor the Story
If you’re looking for a way to engage with their story in a meaningful way today, it’s not about digging for new "updates." The update is that they survived the unsurvivable.
The best way to respect what they went through is to support the causes they actually care about. You can look into the Andrew Bagby Memorial Scholarship at Excela Health (now Independence Health System) or simply advocate for better child protection laws in your own jurisdiction.
They wanted people to be angry, yes. But they also wanted people to remember that Andrew was a good doctor and Zachary was a beautiful baby.
To keep their legacy going, focus on the living impact of the Andrew Bagby Memorial Scholarship. If you're moved by their story, consider a donation to a local victim advocacy group or a scholarship fund for medical residents. These are the tangible ways the Bagbys have tried to turn their "dance with the devil" into something that saves lives.