‘Buried in the Backyard’ True Crime Series Re-Visits Parent’s Worst Nightmare Case [Exclusive Clip]
The latest episode of Oxygen’s True Crime series Buried in the Backyard opens the case of Justine Vanderschoot, a 17-year-old California teen who goes missing in the middle of the night and becomes one of the town’s most shocking cases.
Set in the pastoral town of Applegate, California, Justine’s parents had just returned home after celebrating Labor Day weekend at their mountain home. Justine’s father Don recalled firing up the barbecue and making dinner for the family.
Justine’s boyfriend Danny Bezemer, who was friendly with the family, stayed for dinner. “Danny probably stayed until about 8 or so after dinner and then left,” Justine’s mother, Lynette recalled in an exclusive clip shared with Showbiz Cheat Sheet.
‘Buried in the Backyard’: Justine’s mother thought her daughter snuck out of the house
Meanwhile, Justine was busy talking on the phone with her sister, who was away at college. Even as Don and Lynette headed off to bed, they find Justine was still on the phone with her sister.
But the next morning, something was wrong. It was still dark when Lynette was preparing to head off to work. “I noticed the front door was open,” Lynette recalled. “Her [Justine’s] truck was gone. So I went back to her bedroom. Her bedroom door was shut so I opened it. The dog was there, the TV was on, but she wasn’t in bed.”
Lynette’s first instinct was to assume that Justine left the house in the middle of the night, so she was mad. “I thought she probably went to Danny’s apartment and maybe she fell asleep,” Lynette said. “So I went to work, called her cell phone, and said, ‘You call me as soon as you get this, you’re in trouble.'”
But her annoyance turned to worry when no one knew where Justine was
Lynette started to worry when Danny called her, wondering why Justine never made it to work. He had taken lunch to Justine at work, but they said she never showed up.
“I called Don and said something’s wrong,” Lynette said.
Where was Justine and where was her truck? Now investigators are involved and the clock is ticking to find her.
What happened to Justine Vanderschoot?
The 2003 case of Justine Vanderschoot ended up being a parent’s worst nightmare. What began as a missing persons case ended in a murder with shocking and horrific twists.
Weeks later, Justine’s parents recalled the fateful night when they learned that their daughter was dead. “‘There’s no easy way to tell you this,'” her parents remember hearing. “‘Your daughter’s not coming home.'”
So who would want Justine dead and why?
Placer County honored Justine. “Justine was a beautiful and intelligent young woman whose life was taken under the most horrific and cruel circumstances. Our community will continue to honor Justine and fight to ensure her murderers remain where they belong – in prison. Placer County will never forget.”
This episode of Buried in the Backyard airs on Saturday, August 5 at 8-9 p.m. ET/PT on Oxygen True Crime.
