Defendants in Vanderschoot Slaying Sentenced

In an Auburn courtroom Wednesday morning, the defendants in the Justine Vanderschoot murder trial learned they'll spend much of their adult lives in prison.The sentencing hearing was delayed for about 20 minutes while attorneys in the case conferred about a move by 19-year-old Daniel Bezemer (shown above) to change his guilty plea and seek a jury trial. When they emerged, Bezemer withdrew the request and indicated a willingness to accept the judge's sentence.Bezemer and Brandon Fernandez, 22, were in court to be sentenced for the 2003 murder of 17-year-old Justine Vanderschoot. Both men had earlier pled guilty to participating in the killing. Bezemer was the young woman's former boyfriend.As the hearing got underway, Bezemer's father shouted "Dan, fire your attorney" to his son. The comment drew a sharp rebuke from the judge.It is believed that Bezemer's eleventh hour effort to change his guilty plea and seek a jury trial was the result of influence from his family. Relatives are reportedly upset that Fernandez drew a lighter sentence than Bezemer.During the hearing several members of Vanderschoot's family spoke, including her father. "Brandon and Danny, you'll never be forgiven," said Don Vanderschoot. "You'll rot in hell. There should be no parole, ever."Just prior to sentencing, Bezemer was allowed to speak. Dressed in a robe and slippers because he is on suicide watch, Bezemer rose and said, "I do accept responsibility for what was done, for what happened."The judge sentenced Bezemer to 25 years to life in prison for first degree murder. Fernandez, who was charged with second degree murder, was sentenced to 15 years to life.Fernandez and Bezemer, who were roommates, confessed to killing Vanderschoot on the night of September 1, 2003, then burying her body on a hill in Applegate, northeast of Auburn.Fernandez led investigators to Vanderschoot's body about two weeks after the murder. Because her remains were so badly decomposed, an autopsy was unable to determine the cause of the girl's death. However, investigators believe Vanderschoot was strangled and may have been alive when she was buried. The apparent motive for the crime was Bezemer's jealousy over Vanderschoot's interest in another man. Prosecutors contended that Fernandez disliked Vanderschoot because of her intrusions in the apartment he shared with Bezemer and agreed to go along with the murder plan.