The grandparents of a Newfoundland toddler drowned by his mother marked the one-year anniversary of his death by calling for more justice.

David and Kathleen Bagby told a crowd gathered at a public vigil for 13-month-old Zachary Turner that the justice system needs to be reformed.

"Sympathy is nice but to save the next Zachary...legal change needs to happen," said David Bagby.

Shirley and Zachary Turner
Shirley and Zachary Turner

The bodies of 13-month-old Zachary and his mother, Shirley Turner, were found on a Newfoundland beach on Aug. 18, 2003. Police concluded it was a murder-suicide.

FROM CBC ST. JOHN'S
* Shirley Turner: The Unheard Case

Turner had been released on bail and was appealing extradition to the United States. She was facing a murder charge following the death of the child's father, Andrew Bagby, who was shot five times in a Pennsylvania park in 2001.

The Bagbys are angry the extradition process took so long and that Canadian courts allowed Turner to go free on bail during her appeal.

David Bagby said he and his wife, who have created a support group called Victims of Homicide, have written to federal and provincial justice ministers asking that accused murderers be denied bail while awaiting trial.

"We have had responses which are sympathetic but the only thing that matters is change," said Bagby.

"During that grey period between the accusation and the trial they are potentially very, very dangerous. Zachary was killed because that obvious fact was not recognized."

About 100 people gathered at the legislature for the noon-hour vigil, which honoured Zachary and 18 other murder victims tied to Newfoundland.

Newfoundland's provincial child advocate has begun an investigation into Zachary's death, and the review should be finished by September.