Buried in the Backyard on Oxygen: When did Justine Vanderschoot disappear?

Justine Vanderschoot's parents describe the incident involving their 17-year-old daughter as an act of "jealousy, control and teen-dating violence." She went missing from the family home in Christian Valley after dinner on Labor Day, i.e., September 1, 2003.

After a week-long search proved unsuccessful, police arrested Justine's then-boyfriend Daniel Bezemer and his roommate/friend Brandon Fernandez in connection with the disappearance. The suspects led investigators to a remote Applegate area, where they buried the teen alive after strangling her.

Daniel and Brandon pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the slaying and were sentenced to 25 years and 15 years in prison, respectively.

Buried in the Backyard on Oxygen is scheduled to chronicle Justine Vanderschoot's murder case in an episode titled Last Song You'll Ever Hear. The upcoming episode airs on the channel this Saturday, August 5, 2023, at 8 pm ET.

The official synopsis of the episode states:

"When a California mother wakes to find the door wide open and her daughter missing, law enforcement travel the country to find her until they discover a dark plot that began at the teen's doorstep."

---

Both suspects in Justine Vanderschoot's killing admitted to strangling and burying her alive in a remote Applegate area in California

According to Gold Country Media, Justine Vanderschoot, a 17-year-old Maidu High School student, went missing after dinner with her family and boyfriend Daniel Bezemer from her Christian Valley home on September 1, 2003. She was reported missing by her family, and a search for the missing teen started almost immediately.

On September 3, Justine's abandoned silver-colored pickup truck was located at the Clipper Gap park and ride. A weeks-long search proved unsuccessful until police arrested her then-boyfriend Daniel Bezemer, 18, and his friend, Brandon Fernandez, 21, who resided in the same Auburn apartment as his.

The arrests were made following searches and interviews conducted by the Placer County Sheriff's Department and FBI Sacramento office agents. Detectives believed Justine was murdered shortly after her family reported her missing and that she met Daniel and Brandon of her own accord that night.

CBS News reported that Daniel and Brandon murdered Justine Vanderschoot because the former feared she was considering breaking things off with him. Both admitted to strangling her before burying her alive in a wooded Applegate region, several miles east of Interstate 80 off Boole Road.

After FBI investigators questioned Brandon, who led detectives to the remote gravesite where Justine's buried remains were found several weeks after she was reported missing. Both suspects were charged with murder. The victim's father, Don, stated that they "found Justine and she is no longer with us."

Gold County Media reported that Don Vanderschoot further said:

"I don't know that they [Daniel and Brandon] have admitted anything. I do know that the information they gave led officers to her whereabouts."

Justine Vanderschoot's best friend from the time, Michaela Jamison, 16, claimed that the former was unsure about her relationship with Daniel Bezemer and alleged that "towards the end she, I think, got kind of tired of him." The couple reportedly first met two years before the incident through Brandon Fernandez at a barbecue and swim party at the Vanderschoot family's house.

In February 2005, Brandon pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The following month, Daniel also accepted a plea deal, as part of which he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Both convicts have been denied parole in the past years.

---

Learn more about Justine Vanderschoot's murder on Oxygen's Buried in the Backyard this Saturday.