Where are Daniel Bezemer and Brandon Fernandez now? Details explored ahead of 48 Hours on CBS

The 2003 murder of 17-year-old, Justine Vanderschoot by Daniel Bezemer and Brandon Fernandez will be the subject of the upcoming episode of 48 Hours on CBS. Two years after Justine’s disappearance, Bezemer and Fernandez pleaded guilty to her murder.

According to Placer County News, Bezemer was convicted of first-degree murder in 2005 and is currently serving his sentence at Valley State Prison in Chowchilla, while Fernandez was convicted of second-degree murder in 2005. He is incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison.

Season 38 episode 19 of 48 Hours, titled Justine’s Voice will focus on this case. It airs on CBS on February 15 at 10 pm ET.

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Justine Vanderschoot’s brutal murder

17-year-old Justine Vanderschoot went missing on September 1, 2003. Her family filed a missing complaint at the Placer County Sheriff’s Department the following day.

The investigation was led by Placer County detectives, who spoke to Justine’s close friends and learned that Justine had a fling with a boy from the Navy during her spring break vacation and that Bezemer (Justine Vanderschoot’s boyfriend) was a controlling and jealous boyfriend.

As per CBS News, detectives further narrowed down their suspects to Bezemer and Fernandez (the former's friend). A breakthrough in the case came when Brandon Fernandez was interviewed by FBI agent Jeff Rinek and his partner Chris Hopkins. Fernandez, under pressure from detectives, confessed that Bezemer strangled Justine and forced him to help bury her.

He led authorities to an abandoned area on a hill in Applegate, northeast of Auburn, California, where Justine’s body had been buried on September 5, 2003. Justine had been brutally strangled and authorities speculated that she was buried while she was still breathing.

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Daniel Bezemer and Brandon Fernandez's motive behind the murder

Justine Vanderschoot was buried alive (Image via Unsplash)

According to Oxygen True Crime, Bezemer’s motive behind Justine’s murder came out of jealousy and control. Bezemer, who was in a rocky relationship with Justine, felt betrayed when he believed she was having a fling with another boy and planned on leaving him. During the investigation, Bezemer and Fernandez shifted blame onto each other complicating the narrative of the crime.

Fernandez told the detectives during his confession that they decided to confront Justine about her alleged fling. They invited her for a ride, during which they played the phone recordings of her conversations with another boy. This left Bezemer betrayed, and he strangled her out of anger.

A local horse trainer Matt Scribner while riding in the Sierra Nevada foothills, discovered a freshly dug hole in a dumping yard on September 1, 2003. After reading about the discovery of Justine’s remains in a local newspaper, Scribner reached out to the Placer County sheriff’s department, realizing the importance of his earlier observation.

Scribner’s testimony helped to corroborate the timeline and circumstances surrounding Justine’s murder, helping the jury understand the events, as per CBS News.

According to the jury, the crime was premeditated, as Daniel Bezemer and Brandon Fernandez had dug a grave beforehand, as reported by CBS News.

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Daniel Bezemer and Brandon Fernandez’s sentencing

Daniel Bezemer and Brandon Fernandez pleaded guilty to the murder of Justine Vanderschoot in March 2005. Bezemer was charged with first-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years to life, while Fernandez was charged with second-degree murder and 15 years to life.

Daniel Bezemer is currently serving his sentence at Valley State Prison in Chowchilla. Bezemer was denied parole in March 2023 and his next hearing for parole is scheduled in March 2028. Fernandez is incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, he was denied parole in July 2022 for the second time. His next parole hearing is scheduled for July 2027, as per Gold Country Media.

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To learn more about this case watch the upcoming episode of 48 Hours on CBS.