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[Music] Auburn California above the fog and below the snow the perfect place rural steep
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Cliffs wooded areas dirt roads there are a lot of places to bury a body [Music] what were you doing that brought you
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here in 2003 I was conditioning a horse to do endurance those Labor Day weekend Saturday that I came up on a my just my
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normal training ride right about here yeah I saw a freshly dug hole in the brush the rest of my ride I kept trying
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to justify why it was there it sort of haunted you it sounds like did it [Music]
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did we had just come home from our summer house up in the Sierra I barbecued at dinner were Don and L at
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Vander shoot their daughter Justine and her boyfriend Danny no one had any idea what nightmare was about to unfold after
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that meal I gave her a kiss on forehead said good night I love you I spoke to her on the phone I told her that I loved
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her I was leaving for work at 5 5:30 in the morning Lynette walks into Justine's
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room Justine is not there the dog is on the bed the front door is open and her car is
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gone 17 years old disappears leaves everything behind without trace it felt Sinister we're going to find her we
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searched and searched everywhere there were searches set the banders shoots organized and then there were searches
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that we did on our own with our search and rescue teams I try to imagine what it was like
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and what it's going to be like when she comes back Danny and his roommate Brandon were on the sheriff's radar
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quickly friends started to come forward about how jealous Danny was of Justine they were interviewed that first day
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they said oh no we were home all night there's a belief right away that they are concealing something about Justine's
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disappearance okay have a seat have you ever seen anyone die Brandon tone changes story changes he
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confesses Brandon claims that Danny killed Justine she's laying down and he's over her and his hands were not
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released but she he explained that Danny was choking her and that he helped bury
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her let's go at the end of the interview Brandon led the in investigators to the
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location of Justine's body Justine vander's body discovered buried in a shallow grave the Auburn Journal had a
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photo of just the brush where Justine had been buried and I went oh my gosh I saw freshly dug hole 3 days prior to her
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disappearance I immediately you know contacted the sheriff's department that was a big piece of evidence that's
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absolutely coldblooded premeditated the vandero family says they are relieved the decision was made
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to accept please to murder from both defendants and give them a life sentence hopefully we can all move on from here
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no one would have ever imagined that 20 years later we would still be fighting for justice for Justine and her family
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in 2020 Brandon Fernandez filed a petition to get out of his murder conviction if Brandon's petition is
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granted one of Justine's Killers will walk free we're fighting for her that's why we're here she doesn't have a voice
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so we're her voice [Music] [Music] [Music] it's 21 years since we've lost Justine
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but it's still very fresh in our mind it was September 18th 2003 when Justine vander's remains were discovered in a
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remote location more than 2 weeks after she disappeared but it's here in this Garden
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outside her bedroom window that her parents da and Lynette still come to find her this is actually Justine's little
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little footprint footprint there MOS of their youngest child and condolence flowers that poured in after her death
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are now permanently rooted here we call this Justine's Garden at the center a towering dogwood tree a reminder of her
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favorite trips to the Sierra mountains and a sobering measure of how long she's been gone when we celebrated the 17th
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anniversary Christine said she's been gone as long as she was here on Earth Justine's older sister Christine sums up
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what those years have been like for her in one word lonely she was my best friend we were only 18
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months apart we did pretty much everything together since day one how would you describe Justine what was her
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personality vibrant charismatic just life of the party she made you laugh every time
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she'd say something she was a spark in our household that's for sure little firecracker cheerleader baseball soccer
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she was always on the go at 17 Justine was on the verge of graduating high school and wanted to pursue a career in
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fashion and Beauty did she know what she wanted to do in life After High School she would sew and design her own shirts
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and shoes she had to stand out and that was what she wanted to do for other people was make them stand out and feel
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beautiful instead her family is now forced to Grapple with her murder and it's aftermath I don't ever want to
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forget about her but I don't want to be reminded of what happened but it's not so easy to just pack it up and put it
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away right no it's not in fact the vandero say it remains an open wound thanks to ongoing efforts by Justine's
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convicted murderers Danny bezer and Brandon Fernandez to get out of prison retired pler County Sheriff Ed boner
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including parole hearings I think the vandero have been back to court seven times in the last seven years always
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facing the possibility it's hard to imagine that both men were once welcome in the family's home first came Brandon
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I believe it was probably 7eventh or eighth grade that I started to become friends with him a few years later he
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introduced the Vander shoots to his friend Dany it was actually at a birthday party for me we had a pool
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party and Danny was actually coming to the house to meet me but it was Danny and Justine who clicked and while she
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was only 15 and he was about 17 they quickly became serious yes from that party on they were always always
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together they even talked about perhaps getting married is that right yeah they were very serious he became kind of like
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a fixture in her family his dad wasn't really in the picture and he didn't really have a mom so to come into our
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household and see how a real family was I think that was something that he was attracted to as well the Vander shoots
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offer Dany the support and stability of a happy family life I considered him like a brother almost Dawn even got Dany
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his first real job working with him at an auto dealership and his own key to the house but looking back the Vander
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shoots now see red flags they didn't recognize then controlling telling her who she could see and who she couldn't
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monitoring her texts and her cell phone calls her frustrations were really starting he was so jealous and very
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possessive over her she couldn't go out and hang out with friends without him freaking out and getting upset and
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pouting Lindsay Morris was Brandon's girlfriend and says Justine confided in her about problems with Dany she even
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said I don't know if I break up with him if he'll ever really let me go towards the end she was trying to pursue certain
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things and he was trying to hold her back from he didn't want anything to change and she was sort of growing up
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and maybe growing apart from him at that point yes I think so retired plaster County detective
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Angela Ford says Danny's fears of Justine leaving him reached a fever pitch in April of 2003 when Justine met
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someone during a spring break trip to Florida Justine had developed a friendship with a Navy sailor there at
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Pensacola did she tell you about the man she met in Florida she did she liked him
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I think it kind of opened her eyes when Justine came back she was definitely about this guy and telling all of her
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friends about how amazing he was and how attractive he was and how she wished she
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could spend more time with him Danny had gotten wind of this he thought he was losing
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her and they say Dany became consumed with the idea that Justine was cheating on him Danny had asked me would I be
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willing to wear a wire so I can get her to confess this he wanted the proof I told him absolutely not and there was
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another troubling Dynamic among Justine Danny and Brandon once Justine came into
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the relationship their friendship wasn't the same as it was before Justine beli Brandon Was a Serial cheater and a bad
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influence so she gave Dany an ultimatum him or her Danny and Brandon lost touch for about a year but by late 2002 they
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reconnected and decided to become roommates it was a triangle that was sort of toxic at that point exactly
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um and it kind of really fueled when Danny and Bron moved in together Justine continued to be a thorn in Brandon's
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side Brandon hated Justine with a passion would constantly say that she was a and that she would
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manipulated Danny in 2003 a few days before Labor Day Justine attended a party at Danny and Brandon's apartment
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we sat on the front porch just talking and we both agreed that we were going to get rid of these guys and that we wanted
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a fresh start and that we could do better Justine was getting ready to go to the next stage Danny was not going to
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allow it [Music] in the early morning hours of Tuesday September 2nd 203 Lynette vanders found
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her daughter's bedroom empty and her truck gone from their driveway this was so unch characteristic of their daughter
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so different from any behaviors in the past she has no money no ATM no credit card no no identification on her at
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all Justine's family frantically turned to the community for help sweater the Vander shoots
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passionate and they got organized this is my sister she's been missing since Tuesday we went through all of Auburn
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hanging the missing poster Flyers tying the pink ribbons around cuz pink was her favorite
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color Justine we love you we're all out looking for you please call us and let us know you're okay pretty soon everyone
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was looking for Justine was Dany assisting in any of these search efforts in the beginning Danny
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showed up a number of times and he would wear the t-shirts he seemed really concerned she's been gone for 3 days now
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and concern is growing the first break in the case came when Justine's truck was located at a parking ride about 5
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miles from the vandero home it was parked right here in this parking space and once we had that then our belief was
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that you know she was not far Matt scrier was out riding his horse when he saw Searchers gathered at the
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parking ride like many in the area he had seen reports of Justine's disappearance I thought well they might
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be searching this area because at the time there was a direct access from the park and ride to this area a week
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earlier he had seen a freshly dug hole along the trail but as he rode through again this time did you know no anything
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different the hole was not there anymore there was debris over the top of it but the significance of
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that would not become clear until later I wasn't thinking like that nobody thinks like
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that as the search continued pler County district attorney Morgan guy says investigators considered the possibility
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that Justine had left the state the park and ride is located on a very busy interstate interstate 80 that runs the
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the length of our country we have a car that is locked and looks as if it was left intentionally did she meet someone
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there and jump on the freeway Danny had told detectives early on about the Navy man Justine had met in Florida Danny was
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actually one of the first people to say well maybe she's off in Florida because there's some guy she likes in Florida
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you have to assume everything's possible our detectives made contact with the naval intelligence service they tracked
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him down right away boom they did an extensive interview with him and it was determined that he didn't
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have anything to do with her disappearance Danny however kept throwing that out there Danny told the
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media about a strange call he had received there's been an inquiry to my credit in Florida someone tried to get a
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credit card there and I'm really hoping it's Justine they call tonight's vigil the vigil of hope her loved ones clung
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to the hope that she was still alive and thought she was possibly being held against her will it's you guys that keep
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us going all the support we're all going to bring her home we're going to find her she's going to get away she's a
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she's a fighter meanwhile Danny appeared to be the distraught boyfriend on the local news 2 and a half years of my life
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been devoted to that girl and now that part of my life is gone holding a photo of Justine and an engagement ring
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appraisal he made his own plea she means more to me and her family than she does
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to you and whoever it is needs to just let her go and let her come home but suspicion
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was growing around Dany and friends were coming forward about his toxic relationship with
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Justine Danny's possessive he's jealous he's angry he believes Justine is cheating on him he's
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angrier and all those things begin to roll detectives also began looking deeper into his relationship with
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Brandon as we interviewed more and more people find these guys were together generally what they did they did
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together by most accounts Danny sort of looked up to Brandon Brandon was known to be smart somewhat cunning he sort of
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had an edge to him they had some things in common like juvenile brushes with the
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law Danny bmer had a history of thefts burglaries possession of stolen property Brandon Fernandez had been prosecuted
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for essentially computer hacking for somebody who was a total geek he was very very confident in himself Dany was
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more of a follower and detectives learned they shared a disturbing fixation with murder they talked about
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killing people they talked about disposing the bodies beating polygraphs well before The Disappearance
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of Justine vandero he had told me there's a couple spots where if I ever wanted to kill you nobody would ever
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find you this was something he had just said as a joke Brandon had created a website ranking levels of violence he
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had pictures of people dead dying things that give you chills up the back of your
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neck one of the levels discussed thinking about committing some form of violence but not doing it another level
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talked about committing the violence contemplated on an animal I mean that's not normal behavior for a young man it
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is not normal behavior and it is certainly consistent with those who find Value and thrill in killing other human
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beings investigators questioned Danny and Brandon throughout the investigation both of them said they had
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spent the evening alone together in their apartment the fact that each boy was the other's Alibi is a red flag and
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that wasn't the only red flag as detectives retraced Justine's last steps they knew her cell phone shut off in the
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area where her truck was found but then they found something very interesting they got the last two incoming phone
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calls to her on the night she was murdered they were both from Branda [Music] Fernandez as the search for Justine
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vandero entered its third week day 15 that Justine Banner shoot has been missing there was no sign of the missing
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teen alive or dead we had no body we didn't have a lot Sheriff's detectives decided to up the ante they Enlisted the
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help of the FBI to interview Dany and Brandon again we needed separate them number one but have one roll on the
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other on September 17th 2013 detectives questioned Danny bezer at Sheriff's headquarters tell me why you didn't do
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it CU I was sleeping the same afternoon detective Angela Ford and FBI agent Jeff
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reyck and his partner drove Brandon Fernandez from his job to the FBI building in Sacramento did he seem
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nervous I mean when the FBI shows up at your job and wants to talk to you he he didn't seem nervous he seemed like he
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had nothing to hide Brandon told the agents he had jet skied all day with co-workers and after going home he went
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out to run an errand because he wasn't feeling well I went down to uh get a VA juice I had the flu at this point he
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said he got pulled over for running a stop sign and accidentally called Justine twice Justine's cell phone is
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right next to my girlfriend's number he said he returned home and went to bed Brandon said Dany had also been home
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after having dinner with the Vander shoots but the agents were about to catch Brandon in a big lie Danny and
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Brandon first said no we were by ourselves well now it turns out that they weren't Sheriff's detectives had
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received a tip from Brandon's cousin Clayton Cole he told them that he and a friend had stayed at Brandon and Danny's
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place the night Justine went missing and saw them leave they knew that Danny and
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Brandon didn't come back until much later we're going to play something to you what is this what Brandon didn't
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know is that the investigators had a recorded phone call after receiving that tip detectives had asked Clayton to call
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Brandon and recorded the conversation to my dad about soul and I had to go to the cops today on the call
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Brandon repeatedly told Clayton to lie to police and to say that Clayton and his friend weren't there that
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night seriously like you anything and at that point he knew we had a lot more information
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with Brandon now rattled agent ryck asked a key question have you ever seen anyone
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DME Brandon yes he went white Brandon broke and admitted he knew where Justine was but
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first he said he needed protection from Danny can you take me somewhere safe can
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you bring my girlfriend somewhere safe he wants to tell you a little bit more but he's pointing it towards Dan it's
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all towards the end I had nothing to do with it he's scary intelligent he has built everything in lies he is a great
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actor he's a monster it's all right how long was it planned to hurt Justine long like he had
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planned it forever almost Brandon told them he knew Dany had tapped Justine's phone to catch her cheating and confront
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her I didn't know what was going to happen that but Brandon insisted he had no idea Danny would seek revenge that
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night he says as far as he knew they were just going to meet up with Justine to steal marijuana plants from a farm he
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now said those calls to Justine's phone were him trying to get hold of Danny to back out and Dany said no man you need
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to come up here Brandon said he met up with Danny and Justine at the parking ride around midnight and they got in his
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car with Danny giving directions when he parked he said Danny wanted to talk to Justine alone so he walked away for a
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bit I went down this hill and I was looking around and I figured oh he's still up there for a while after a few
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minutes he says he heard the car horn followed by a scream he hurried back to find Dany had strangled Justine his
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hands still around her neck and a taser next to her lifeless body he looked at me and he just was Psycho his eyes were
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just bulging out and he was laughing he was saying I win I win Brandon said those words were in reference to a song
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called the game the Danny had playing on a loop in Brandon's car a soundtrack to her murder
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the lyrics detail a girlfriend's infidelity and her ultimate Murder by her boyfriend and interspersed with that
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song are vignettes of Justine own words as she's talking either to another boy or about another boy and some of the
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lyrics Just excruciating you always wanted people to remember you don't you know your wish is coming true today
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another victim dies tonight the fear that she must have faced I can only imagine if you saw it in a movie you
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probably wouldn't believe it even though Brandon had initially said Justine was dead when he made it back up the hill
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his story began to evolve what he was doing was slowly putting himself at the scene of the death did
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you hear her exhale yes it was like it was like a a really screwed up breath like kept happening according to
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Brandon she was still alive at that point and also according to Brandon she was already dead at that point his own
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statements internally are inconsistent and demonstrate where he's trying to lie to get out of this Brandon said Dany
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removed her clothing and put her in a grave they dug that night and poured a liquid over her to decompose the body he
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says he prayed for it to end I said please just go you wanted her to die so it' be
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over I thought she might have still been alive but he was going to do something more brutal than she was he's watching
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her die and he's not helping her he's not helping her no but Brandon said he was scared Dany would kill him too
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he made me beer and he made me promise and say that I was his brother that I would never say anything and he said he
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would kill himself or others and then he had mentioned my girlfriend and Justine's family he said he was going to
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take them out next after a 4 and 1 half hour interview Brandon agreed to take them to the scene it was about 9:30 at
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night so dark walking through this I can only imagine when we first pulled up to
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come here there was something shiny on the ground it was a piece of her jewelry it was two little cherries put
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together a few yards away in a clearing among the trees her grave lay hidden under an old
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[Music] mattress Danny yes I'm Sergeant McDon I want to show this to you it wasn't long
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before detectives informed Danny who said very little during his 6-hour interrogation that they'd found the
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grave site I just got back from there guess who took us there and guess who he's blaming
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for the whole thing the next morning a team of investigators digging through the hard clay dirt une Earth Justine
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Vander shoots remains there's a relief and then there's pain Danny and Brandon were both
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arrested and charged with Justine's murder after 2 and 1 half weeks the search was finally over but Justice
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would prove elusive I drove home and I see the chaplain and I see detectives my mom's
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crying and my dad said your sister's not coming home I passed out literally and it's
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still hard to relive that moment yeah on September 18th 2003 Justine's family shared their heartbreak with the
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community I almost sensed Lynette just crumbling and I put my hand on her shoulder I just kind of propped her up
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and we announced that uh this family's worst fears had come true Danny bezer and his
00:27:51
roommate Brandon fernandz were arrested Wednesday if the two gentlemen that are in custody now are responsible for this
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uh they need to burn in hell detectives interviewed Danny bezer again and told him they needed
00:28:06
information about Brandon Fernandez's role in the murder just talk about Brandon don't talk about Dan believing
00:28:13
Brandon has a deal with the FBI Danny tried to haggle how can I get the same brand I don't have the authority to play
00:28:21
Let's Make a Deal okay ultimately he broke down and started talking I really want to tell you everything
00:28:30
do Danny admitted he had started to strangle Justine but then she said four words that just changed my
00:28:42
mind those words for Danny I love you but he said Brandon was the one who encouraged him to keep going he tells me
00:28:52
it's too late now it's already attempted murder Danny admitted he had poured drain cleaner over Justine's body but
00:29:01
said Brandon had poured it down her throat there was a black tar substance on top of her and then after the autopsy
00:29:10
there was a black tar substance inside of her lungs Justine's official cause of death
00:29:16
was listed as homicidal violence but further testing suggested she had also ingested
00:29:23
dirt there is no other way to be that far down and into the bronchial canals means she inhaled it she was
00:29:33
alive taking into consideration the family's wishes to avoid a painful prolonged trial prosecutors at the time
00:29:41
offered a plea deal as a condition of his plea agreement Dany spoke with detectives again and gave new details
00:29:49
about Brandon's role what was the story he started to tell Danny tells a story ultimately that involves Brandon as the
00:29:58
Mastermind Brandon is claiming he is merely a victim of circumstance and he panicked and participated in the cleanup
00:30:04
and the getaway so we know the truth lies somewhere in the middle it really does and Brandon does a pretty good job
00:30:12
of incriminating Dany and Danny does a pretty good job of incriminating Brandon in 2005 Danny bezer pleaded
00:30:21
guilty to first-degree murder in exchange for a sentence of 25 years to life Brandon Fernandez pleaded to second
00:30:31
degree murder and received 15 years to life a piece of Justice was served at least we can put some of this behind us
00:30:39
part of their plan was to receive a life sentence that allowed them to at least become eligible for perole and maybe
00:30:44
have a chance someday Justine's family made it their mission to ensure that would never happen Brandon Fernandez
00:30:52
came up for parole in 2017 and was denied every time they get denied I Justice for her the family breathed a
00:31:00
sigh of relief but their lives would soon be upended once again in 2018 California changed the law of murder in
00:31:09
2020 Brandon Fernandez filed a petition to get out of his murder conviction based on the new
00:31:15
law the new law reduced the fault of defendants who didn't actually do the killing like a getaway driver Brandon
00:31:23
wanted to have his life sentence for second deegree murder thrown out and to be be resentenced as an accessory after
00:31:30
the fact he still has not taken any responsibility he's guilty just as much as Danny Brandon's defense attorney Steve D
00:31:39
philippus maintains his client was only guilty of being taken in by Danny schemes clearly Brandon was in the wrong
00:31:48
he shouldn't have participated in the cover up of this and that's what he did and absolutely he should be convicted of
00:31:54
that but shouldn't be held responsible for a murder the judge presiding over the resentencing case in 2020 denied
00:32:01
Brandon's motion but that ruling was reversed by the court of appeals and sent back due to yet another shift in
00:32:09
the legal standard both sides would now have to fight it out in court in an evidentiary hearing we had to call all
00:32:17
of the witnesses and we had to prove Mr Fernandez's guilt the district attorney has to prove the case Beyond A
00:32:22
Reasonable Doubt and the judge has to make findings Beyond A Reasonable Doubt in May 2024 it would be up to
00:32:30
Deputy da Tim WS to prove that Brandon Fernandez helped plan and Carry Out Justine's murder once they started
00:32:39
kicking this idea around they they built off each other his key witness was Danny
00:32:44
besser who over several days testified how he and Brandon Fernandez were two pillars in the plot to lure Justine to
00:32:52
her death Danny talks about how he doesn't want let Brandon down when they're out
00:32:59
there digging the grave and Brandon says this better not be for nothing Danny described how he and Brandon assumed
00:33:05
different responsibilities Danny was going to kill her and Brandon was going to be involved
00:33:10
into the coverup side of things the forensics as he described it Brandon purchased the chemicals that were poured
00:33:16
over Justine according to Danny he and Brandon pre-dug the grave over several days the last time they go to the Grave
00:33:24
before they bring Justine there is that Mondays during the day to check it out in the light and possibly do some
00:33:31
digging and Danny says Brandon provided the tools used to dig including a pickax
00:33:36
he took from his parents house after they kill Justine and bury her they throw them over the fence at Brandon's
00:33:43
parents house and the police go and corroborate that the prosecution says it found other evidence at Brandon's
00:33:48
workplace that he never mentioned like pieces of the recording device used to tap Justine's phone and in his Shredder
00:33:57
a receipt for a brand new set of tires he was already covering his tracks the day after what we call in the in the
00:34:05
prosecution World consciousness of guilt Brandon's defense attorney insists Brandon was only trying to hide his role
00:34:13
in the cover up not the murder and he says that relying on Danny besser's testimony is a sign of the prosecution's
00:34:22
desperation they don't have a case I often wonder will I ever get a 100% of the truth I don't think we ever
00:34:39
will you think he's still a danger yes definitely Brandon's defense attorney Steve D philippus says Danny besser is
00:34:48
the real danger and points out it was Danny who broke bread with Justine's family knowing he was going to kill her
00:34:56
that night this said t Bundy in the making somebody who has no conscience somebody who has no empathy for other
00:35:03
people basically a psychopath and he argues Dany will say anything in court to improve his chances of being paroled
00:35:11
he wants everything to look like Brandon made him do this he's at that point told
00:35:17
either four or five different stories about what happened in his cross-examination D philippus picks
00:35:23
apart inconsistencies in Danny's statements about Brandon's involvement you can't corroborate any of his story
00:35:30
and that's deliberately done by him because he knows that it can't be refuted in fact he argues that the
00:35:36
evidence contradicts Danny's story for one thing he says if Brandon was really in charge of forensics he wouldn't leave
00:35:43
a trail of evidence the guy who is in charge of forensics is not going to do any of the things that Brandon did
00:35:51
Brandon takes the shovel and leaves it at his parents home why would you put something involved in the homicide at
00:35:59
your parents' home why would you drive your car up to the scene knowing that you're going to leave tire tracks on the
00:36:05
dirt he wouldn't do that and another discrepancy Danny's claim that he and Brandon pour drain cleaner on Justine
00:36:12
doesn't match the autopsy findings instead those results indicate she ingested methanol a toxic chemical
00:36:20
compound found in a variety of products but not drain cleaners but Tim warts counters that Danny has no reason to lie
00:36:29
about that I don't know what theory under which the parole board might look favorably upon Drano but unfavorably
00:36:36
upon methanol being poured on her the only explanation is that he's honestly mistaken and the only way he'd be
00:36:42
mistaken is if he wasn't the one that bought it and D philippus says Brandon has an alibi for that Monday afternoon
00:36:49
before the murder when Danny claims they went to the grave site we know that Brandon was up to the lake that day WS
00:36:56
points out that there was a 2-hour window when Brandon left to pick up tools to fix a broken jet ski it's just
00:37:03
not an alibi there's plenty of time for him to done what he said D philippus says the timing still doesn't match up
00:37:10
with Danny's story Danny also said that the digging was later in the day it was not in the morning time which is when
00:37:17
Brandon got the tools and went back but the prosecution argues that the defense can't get around Matt scribner's
00:37:23
testimony that he saw a freshly dug hole three 3 days prior to the murder which is consistent with Danny's account of
00:37:32
digging the grave over several days this wasn't a panicked dig that they did at the last minute where Brandon's
00:37:39
terrified for his life the way it actually pans out Brandon is given immense power Brandon knows where the
00:37:44
body is after more than two weeks of testimony the judge gets the case if Brandon's motion is granted he will walk
00:37:53
free it's a familiar fear for the Vander shoots the hand shaking and just trying
00:37:58
to get ready just brings the emotions up all over again you don't know what to expect on August 1st 2024 before a
00:38:07
courtroom packed with the Vander shoots and their supporters as well as Brandon Fernandez who appeared via video
00:38:14
conference and his parents the judge issued his ruling was there a palpable concern for the Vander shoots that one
00:38:22
of their daughter's murders could go free that fear that concern you could cut it with a knife cameras were allowed
00:38:31
in court but we were not allowed to record audio the judge denied Brandon Fernandez's motion and upheld his
00:38:39
conviction so I was very nervous I let out a big sigh as soon as he said it so it was just yay feels really good some
00:38:48
justice justice for Justin again he did not get out very relieved the judge said
00:38:55
it was difficult to parse the truth truth from lies told by both Danny and Brandon but he says ultimately it was
00:39:03
evident Brandon was in on the murder plot and easily LED investigators to Justine's body through rugged terrain in
00:39:11
the dark Brandon brought you here and pinpointed exactly I mean he knew exactly where it was he did he gave us
00:39:20
instructions and um even said you wouldn't find it on your own the rolling is a big win for the Vander shoots but
00:39:28
only temporary relief in 2 years we've got two more parole hearings coming up we're not going away we're never giving
00:39:34
up I'll be there with my cane I think this one right here is my favorite they're critical of evolving laws that
00:39:41
have allowed Brandon Fernandez to keep Rel litigating his role in Justine's murder I kind of like feel at times
00:39:49
we've been on pause we really haven't been able to move forward because we have to relive it in issuing his ruling
00:39:55
the judge acknowledged that the legal system can seem unfair to the victim's families and to survivors I
00:40:01
wholeheartedly agree often times it feels as if the only rights we are trying to respect are those of the
00:40:08
convicted and the guilty and not grieving family member that underlies the problems with this law because it
00:40:15
decreases people's faith in the system that there's finality it's something the vanders
00:40:21
shots are trying to change by advocating for victim's rights we're trying to do everything we can to prevent this
00:40:29
happening to somebody else's family they also partnered with the pler County DA to sponsor new state legislation
00:40:36
Justine's law as it's called passed in 2023 and provides teen Dating Violence prevention education in high schools
00:40:45
throughout California what do you want Justine's Legacy to be now to help educate other
00:40:54
boys and girls even if it saves one life it's worth everything Matt scrier says he can't
00:41:01
ride through these Trails without thinking of Justine in one aspect it's quiet they cleaned the area up it's
00:41:09
beautiful in some ways it's almost like Justine is shining here I believe that we think of her as hummingbirds
00:41:19
come to us a lot of times when we're back here working in their Garden I'll have a little hummingbird
00:41:26
she'll come right up to my face and I'll I'll talk to her and I think of her she's saying hi to
00:41:39
[Music] me you've probably heard of the NCIS from the hit TV series but we're about
00:41:50
to take you inside its real life work listen to 48 Hours NCIS early and AD free on the 48 hours Plus subscription
00:41:58
on Apple podcasts