An extradition hearing for a doctor accused of murdering her former lover last November in Keystone State Park began Monday in Canada with the judge ordering a publication ban on the evidence.
Chief Justice Derek Green of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland said in a St. John's courtroom that the ban was needed to protect Dr. Shirley Turner's right to a fair trial if she is extradited to the United States to face a first-degree murder charge.
"In this information age ... it is appropriate to make such an order," Green said, referring to media reports that would reach Westmoreland County, where the killing occurred.
Publication bans are common in Canadian legal proceedings in which untested evidence will be presented.
A spokesman for the Canadian Broadcasting Co., which covered the hearing, said the judge was presented with documents supporting the request to extradite Turner, 41, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, to Pennsylvania. A weeklong hearing on the extradition request is expected, the CBC spokesman said.
Pennsylvania State Police allege in an arrest warrant that last November Turner fired five shots into her former boyfriend, Dr. Andrew Bagby, a resident at Latrobe Area Hospital. Bagby's body was found Nov. 6 near his vehicle in Keystone State Park, just south of New Alexandria.
Authorities suspect the 28-year-old Bagby was shot because he had ended the relationship with Turner. It is believed that Turner fled to Newfoundland, where she grew up.
Turner was arrested in St. John's in December and released on bail pending the outcome of her extradition hearing. John Peck, Westmoreland County district attorney, has waived the death penalty, which satisfies a Canadian stipulation that prohibits deporting people who could face execution if convicted.
Her lawyer, Randy Piercey, says Turner is pregnant with Bagby's child, but the father of the child has yet to be determined by authorities. She is due to give birth in July.
John Ennis, a lawyer for Bagby's parents, said they were aware that Turner and Bagby were friends but did not know if Bagby was the father of Turner's unborn child.
Peck said yesterday he does not expect that Turner will be extradited before she gives birth. She has a right to appeal the extradition request, which would likely keep her in Canada until after the baby is born, Peck said.
Peck said he did not receive any official report on yesterday's proceedings, which dealt mostly with procedural arguments on disclosure of evidence. Turner sat in the public gallery.
According to court documents, Turner met Bagby in the late 1990s when both were studying medicine at Memorial University in St. John's. After graduation, the relationship soured. Bagby moved to Pennsylvania, and Turner went to Iowa.
Larger text
Smaller text
Print this article
E-mail this article
