Justine's Voice | Post Mortem | Forensic Files

[Music] Welcome back to Postmortem. I'm your host, Ann Marie Green, and today we're
going to be discussing the case of Justine Vandershoot, who in 2003 went missing from her parents' home in
Auburn, California. Now, law enforcement quickly suspected Justine's boyfriend and his roommate. With me here to
discuss this case is 48 Hours correspondent Natalie Morales and producer Guyian Cashesian Mendes. Thank
you so much for joining us again, ladies. Good to be with you, Amirie. Thanks for having us. So listen, as
usual everyone, a reminder to you that if you haven't listened to this 48 hours episode, uh you can certainly find the
full audio version just below uh this episode in your podcast feed. So go take a listen or go watch it wherever you get
your 48 hours and then come on back for this conversation. You start the hour with a conversation
with Matt uh Scribner. He's the equestrian who had actually first spotted first a freshly dug hole in the
ground and later he goes back and it looks a lot different. You're on horseback and I think that's something
that maybe might be missed um is that this is an area that's actually kind of hard to get
to. Yes. Yeah. Absolutely. And Matt Scribner, you know, he was key to the testimony in this case by giving
investigators that timeline uh of when he saw this freshly dug hole and then going back later and then seeing a
mattress and debris covering that hole. Now, what was really intriguing about this is that, you know, had he not been
8 or 10 feet above ground on a horse, he probably might not have seen that. But I
loved being able to do the interview on horseback because, you know, that's how he saw it. And it also provided for us a
little bit of a different element and a way into this investigation than we normally do. A key element of the case
is that this location was so hard to get to, at least the prosecution argued, and
Brandon being able to lead detectives right to it without any hesitation in the dark through sort of rugged terrain.
Even the investigator, the original investigator on the case didn't know how to get there. Matt was the only one who
was able to lead us every single time. Um because he just grew up on these trails and so he knew it like like the
back of his hand. There's a couple of road signs, but once you're there to actually get to the spot where the
burial site is there, there is nothing marking it. It's just sort of feeling your way and knowing where to go. And he
couldn't really give us verbal directions. We had to have Matt as a guide every time and he was just very
generous in in doing that. And I learned something about you, Natalie. I did not
know that uh you were an equestrian yourself. And the horses are pretty interesting as well. Yes. Oh my gosh,
the horses are incredible creatures. They are uh I think both of them were wild mustangs that had been um you know
tamed or broken. And the horse that Matt Scribner was riding, his name was Astro.
And they were so amazing to to be on, but also so relaxed and chill surprisingly given that we had camera
crews all around them. And also we use drones and we were a little concerned using the drones because I don't know if
you know this, but when they round up wild mustangs, they they fly helicopters over them. And so there was some some
concern that the drone and that sound that they make, you know, that buzzing noise might freak the horses out a
little bit. Thankfully, you know, we kept the drones far away from them. The horses seemed to be pretty fine with it
and so we got the footage that we needed and we were able to do the interview and
it it all came out great. When I saw kind of the image of the debris, I thought, is that a mattress? What is
that? And then I thought, how do you even get stuff out there? How, you know, what was this place like back then? From
what we've been told and also from some of the evidence photos we've seen, uh, you know, back in the early 2000s, and
this crime happened in 2003, it was really a dumping ground, you know, where you would have maybe unhoused
populations coming through. There was an abandoned trailer there. Um, so just all
kinds of debris. And so a mattress was really not out of place. Wow. Um, so let's talk about the suspects because
police, you know, identify them pretty quickly. Danny Bezimemer and Brandon Fernandez. It's not uncommon for
investigators to look immediately to a boyfriend or a partner. A little less common for them to also suspect the
roommate. You know, tell me about these two guys. Sheriff's detectives tell us that they
zeroed in on these guys early on. And one of the reasons being is that they did everything together according to the
people in the inner circle um in the no who knew Danny, Brandon, and Justine. Um
and they found out that they were lying about their alibi that night. So that was sort of a big red flag right away
that led them to look at these guys. But as they looked at them, they discovered
that they had this fascination with violence, with murder. They talked about being able to kill people and get away
with it. They looked into beating polygraphs. Brandon uh was said to have a website
that sort of ranked levels of violence and based on the, you know, the witness accounts of what they had seen. It was
pretty startling, disturbing stuff. Yeah, they were very close friends. They lived together as you said. And
according to investigators, you know, there was some history there with Brandon not liking Justine. And also,
according to Christine, Justine's sister, Justine had believed that Brandon had been cheating on his
girlfriends in the past, so she didn't like him either. So, you know, there definitely was this tense and toxic
relationship in this sort of triangle between Danny and Brandon and Justine being the one in the middle. According
to Danny's testimony, he at one point was so heartbroken because he believed that Justine was cheating on him. He was
thinking of taking his own life. But Brandon said, "Why kill yourself? why don't you kill her instead? So, that's
sort of where this plan came about. But the defense denies that Brandon ever said anything to encourage him. So, all
of that stuff kind of goes to motive, right? A fascination with violence. Have they been in trouble with the law
before? Because that is quite a leap to go from having a fascination with murder
and actually committing one. Prosecutors tell us that there was nothing serious,
criminally serious in these guys' backgrounds, but they both had brushes with the law as juveniles. Danny
reportedly had been involved in some burglaries and possession of stolen property. Brandon
had been prosecuted for hacking. He was a he was a computer wiz. So, we don't have access to their juvenile records,
obviously. But you know, again, prosecution says nothing that would lead you to believe that they could be
dangerous on this level. So, initially, Danny and Brandon say they're each other's alibis, right? And and that
doesn't work out for them. So, then Danny claims that Brandon was the mastermind of Justine's murder. And
Brandon claimed that he had just participated in the cleanup and, you know, the cover up in the weeks
afterwards. So, let's talk about this 4 and a half hour interrogation between Brandon and the FBI. First, he says he
saw Justine after she was dead. And then he describes her breathing, which would
indicate that she was actually alive as she was breathing. So, he must have seen
her while she was alive as well. And then at the end of this interrogation, he writes one letter to Justine and one
letter to her parents and reads it to investigators. Did not make it into the hour. I want to play some of that right
now. This is to the parents. Donald Lynette, I want you to know that your daughter's
death has not been in vain. I want you to know that I made promises to Justine. I prayed for her.
I did not want any of this to happen. I didn't know what was going to happen. I lied to you because I could not break
my promises to Justine. I promised her I would envision her death. I have. I've protected those she
loves. I was so scared. I wanted to let you know everything. You knew I knew, Don. It hurt you. You knew
I was scared. I lost two friends in one night. I lost Justine. And I lost Danny.
I was left with protecting everybody else. I care. I do. I am sorry it had to be this way. Wow. As you heard there,
Brandon sort of casting himself as a hero. The prosecution felt this was sort of a a telling reaction because um if
Brandon was truly so fearful of Dany that he felt powerless to be able to stop him or to go for help, he should
have cast himself as the victim uh in the letter and his narrative was sort of like I'm the avenger in her death and
you know I'm going to do right by you but yet he was witnessing her take her last breaths. He did nothing to stop
that from happening. Absolutely. Um, what did the FBI agents who interrogated him think? Yeah, Jeff Reinneck, I mean,
he is a a skilled uh interrogator and he he told us that he usually has people write a letter to the victims at the end
or to their families. And so this is sort of part of his strategy, I guess, in a way to maybe see what they reveal,
you know, in writing. and and he said that it was almost as if he was trying to rewrite as if Brandon was trying to
rewrite his role in what happened. Welcome back everyone. Uh Danny Bezamer and Brandon Fernandez ultimately took
plea deals and they're currently serving life sentences in prison. What was it like for Justine's family to realize
that this young man that they welcomed into their home? He was nothing like who he had presented himself to be to them.
The Vanderhoots did everything um to include Danny. He had a key to the house. He was welcomed into their home
whenever that he wanted to come in. Don gave him a job at the Mercedes-Benz dealership where he worked. So he hooked
him up and and this is what happened to them. I think their emotions have really
run the gamut over the last two decades. Um having to you know kind of relive this over and over again. Um every time
that they have to face these guys at a parole hearing or you know now with Brandon um the second goound for the
petition to be resentenced. So, it's just really hard to encapsulate what they're feeling cuz it's just such a
range of emotions, you know, obviously anger in there, but um a determination to make sure these guys don't get out.
You guys use a lot of the local news coverage from when she initially was missing. I thought it was so unnerving
because you see him, right? You see Danny uh and we've seen this before, you know, appealing uh for to the cameras
for help, but he's not just doing that. He's trying to throw investigators off and he does it flawlessly
there. He doesn't look nervous. It is absolutely chilling. It's chilling. It is chilling. And I and I said to
Guyenne, like I kept looking at his eyes, trying to read his body language, trying to get a sense of, you know,
where was his mindset? Like what was he possibly thinking being able to do that?
Go in front of the media the way he was holding up her picture and saying, "I did everything for that girl." And let's
not forget, he had dinner with the Vandershoots on the night that he was planning to then take their daughter
into that forested area and kill her. The level of of depravity and and sickness is is just so outrageous. I
think it's important to point out too that the defense kind of uses Danny's commitment to this lie and just the way
that he's able to do it so flawlessly and to say that, you know, this is the guy, this is the real danger here and um
trying to use that as an argument to say that Brandon was duped by him just as much as Justine was. But that is the
argument that Brandon Fernandez is still using that his sentence should be adjusted. Which brings us to sort of the
other part of this hour, right? A change in the law. You mentioned in the hour in
2018, the California law was changed to reduce the fault of defendants who didn't actually commit the murder, do
the killing. Let's just explain, you know, the change in the law. We're told u that the law was intended to give
relief to people who were inadvertently unintentionally involved in a murder where they neither intended to kill and
they didn't actually do the killing like a getaway driver in a robbery gone bad and then those people used to be
prosecuted at the same level as the person who actually pulled the trigger. This law was intended to fix that. And
unfortunately, according to, you know, prosecutors and Justine's family, the way that the law
was written allowed someone like Brandon, who they say absolutely is not deserving and doesn't fit the bill on
this, to apply and to be given a chance to actually make his case um to a judge.
If you listen to Brandon's defense attorney, he's exactly the kind of person for whom the law was intended
because he says Brandon didn't commit the crime that he saw Justine as Danny had already killed
her and then was so scared that he did what Danny told him, helped dig the grave, bury her, and then proceeded to
lie to cover it up for over two weeks. I mean, he's serving a life sentence now.
He wanted his life sentence thrown out and to be re-sentenced as what they call an accessory after the fact. So,
basically saying, you know, I didn't mean to do this. I didn't take part in it. I just was there and it happened.
Right. And and so as a result, uh the the Vandershoots have had to kind of like reopen this wound over and over and
over again. Seven times in seven years they've been to court. You know, they took a plea deal because they thought
that would be the easiest way to not have to relive the horrific details of their daughter's murder. And yet now
they're having to do that over and over again. So, how is Justine's family doing today? I
mean, they're incredibly brave and I would say the Vanderhoots are among the strongest family I've I've met because
they are taking what is such a horrific loss and their pain and they're turning it into something positive and good.
They have along with the uh prosecutor's office enacted Justine's law to help educate teens in high schools across the
state of California on teen dating violence which unfortunately is becoming more prevalent as we know with social
media. They're really trying to to turn the page on something that was so tragic
in their lives and and really doing something powerful with it instead and really hopefully making an impact in a
positive way to remember their daughter. The judge when he issued the ruling in this case um pointed out that you know
it can seem unfair the law the justice system can seem unfair to victim's families and they definitely that
resonates with them because they feel that it's only the rights of people like their daughters murderers that are being
protected with with the constant you know evolution of these laws that that provide more protections and more
relief. And so they've been advocating for victim's rights and they've been working with, you know, the sheriff's
office as well as the DA's office from the beginning to raise money and um just to raise awareness. We're all parents of
teenagers, tweenagers even here. And you know, you have daughters, I have a son who's 16 and an older son as well. And
and it is something that, you know, you don't necessarily really think about, you know, them getting into a toxic
relationship like this that could lead to something so horrific. But there are telltale signs and there are red flags
and in hindsight, Justine's family, they're trying to point those out because there were signs of controlling
behavior. It really made me kind of question myself, have I had these conversations with my daughter? Should
I? what's the language I should be using? I just and I thought, you know, it's not a conversation that my mom ever
had with me about toxic relationships and red flags, but it may be time to have that conversation. We really wanted
to give people something to think about and to also, you know, spread the word on what the family is trying to do. But,
you know, doing these murders, I have an almost 13-year-old daughter and I tried
to shield her from some of the really uh horrific stuff of, you know, and this definitely is at the top of the list,
but she knows Justine Vandershoot's name. She knows her story, and even though she's too young to be dating,
it's just um you know, it seemed like a natural thing for her to be aware of. I think Natalie and I and and obviously
Justine's family um they just want to be able to help even one person, one family
from having to go through what they have gone through with this um just by paying
attention to the signs that were right there. Absolutely. And it absolutely will. Natalie Guyenne, thank you very
much. Thank you. Thank you. If you like this series postmortem, please rate and review 48 hours on Apple Podcast and
follow 48 hours wherever you get your podcast. You can also listen adree with the 48 hours plus subscription on Apple
Podcast. Thanks again for listening.

Watch "Justine's Voice" and then catch up with CBS News correspondent Natalie Morales and "48 Hours" producer Gayane Keshishyan Mendez on "Post Mortem" as they cover the 2003 murder of Justine Vanderschoot. They discuss the isolated area where Justine's body was found, how this case affected them as mothers, and why Justine's family continues to fight to keep her convicted murderers in prison.

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Justine Vandershoot's case reveals chilling details about her murder and the impact on her family, highlighting issues of dating violence and legal reform.

Key points

The Case of Justine Vandershoot. Justine went missing in 2003, leading to a complex investigation involving her boyfriend and his roommate.
Key Testimony from Matt Scribner. Matt Scribner's horseback discovery of a burial site was crucial to the investigation.
Brandon's Disturbing Interrogation. Brandon's conflicting statements during a lengthy interrogation raised suspicions about his involvement.
Justine's Law and Family Advocacy. Justine's family advocates for awareness on teen dating violence through Justine's Law.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I lost two friends in one night.

Brandon reflecting on the aftermath of Justine's death.

9:24WatchJun 15, 2025

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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