What happened to Justine Vanderschoot? Details explored ahead of 48 Hours on CBS

Season 38 episode 19 of 48 Hours on CBS will replay the 2003 murder of Justine Vanderschoot.

17-year-old Justine Vanderschoot was strangled and murdered on a hill in Applegate, California, on the night of September 1, 2003.

The upcoming episode of 48 Hours, which will focus on this case, is titled Justine’s Voice. It will air on February 15, at 10 pm ET. The logline for the same reads:

“The brutal murder of 17-year-old Justine Vanderschoot in 2003 devastates the community of Auburn, Calif; 22 years later, Vanderschoot’s family continues to fight to keep her killers behind bars.”

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Justine Vanderschoot’s sudden 2003 disappearance

On the morning of September 2, 2003, Justine Vanderschoot’'s mother called her husband, Don, and her older daughter, Christine, when she discovered that Justine wasn’t at home, and her vehicle, usually parked in their driveway, was missing. After asking about her whereabouts from friends, the family filed a missing complaint at the Placer County Sheriff’s Department.

According to Oxygen True Crime, District Attorney Criminal Investigator Angela Ford and her team led their investigation. They interviewed Justine’s then-boyfriend, Daniel Bezemer, and then followed up with his roommate, Brandon Fernandez. Brandon told the investigators that they were in their apartment the entire night.

On September 3, 2003, Justine’s vehicle was found a few miles from her house in an incentive parking lot, as reported by Oxygen True Crime.

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Daniel and Brandon become prominent suspects in Justine's murder

As reported by Oxygen True Crime, investigators spoke to Justine’s friends 12 days after her disappearance. They learned that Justine had a fling with a man named Dave from the Navy during a Florida spring break vacation. Investigators questioned Dave and discovered Dave and Justine cut off all contact a month before her disappearance.

After talking to Justine’s friends and Dave, investigators narrowed down their suspects to Bezemer and Fernandez. As reported by her friends, Bezemer was known to be jealous and possessive, which might have led him to believe that Justine was cheating on him.

Investigators then double-checked Bezemer and Fernandez’s alibi. This led them to Clayton and Gary, two friends from Alabama, who were in the duo’s apartment the night Justine vanished. Gary and Clayton attempted to support the duo’s alibi but ended up cooperating with the investigators.

According to Oxygen True Crime, investigators recorded Clayton's phone call to Brandon, in which he told Brandon, his father believed he should tell the police all he knew, however, Brandon disagreed, stating that he should stick to the plan and not speak with the police.

Placer County investigators took the help of FBI agents, Jeff Rinek and Chris Hopkins to re-interview the duo. Fernandez was interviewed at the FBI building in Sacramento, while Bezemer had been questioned by investigators at the sheriff's headquarters.

According to CBS News, Agent Rinek had a reputation for getting confessions, especially in situations involving children, so he asked Fernandez one important question:

"Have you ever seen anyone die, Brandon?"

Fernandez under immense stress confessed and alleged Bezemer strangled Justine and forced him to help bury her. He led the investigators to Justine's body. During Bezemer's interview, he not only confessed that he strangled Justine, but he also alleged Fernandez of being the mastermind.

According to Justine Vanderschoot's autopsy, she was still breathing when they buried her.

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Justine Vanderschoot’s killers pleaded guilty to her murder in 2005

Bezemer was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree murder. Bezemer was denied parole in 2022 and 2023. He is currently waiting for another hearing in March 2028.

Fernandez pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. He was denied parole twice in 2017 and 2022. He is scheduled to have his third parole hearing in July 2027, as reported by Gold Country Media.

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To learn more about this case, watch season 38 episode 19 of 48 Hours on CBS this Saturday.