A prominent Placer County murder case is back in the spotlight just weeks before the holidays. 

One of the men convicted in the 2003 killing of 17-year-old Justine Vanderschoot is now scheduled for another parole hearing, only two years after he was last denied.

Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire says the decision blindsided both prosecutors and the Vanderschoot family.

Gire says the pain of Justine's disappearance and murder still lingers in the community more than two decades later.

"It shook everyone. The days and weeks that went by before Justine was found was unimaginable," Gire said.

The district attorney became even more frustrated after learning that the state's parole board had granted Justine's killer, Daniel Bezemer, an advanced hearing, despite commissioners issuing a five-year denial in 2023.

"In a word, infuriating," Gire said. "The idea that a man who brutally and senselessly murdered a 17-year-old girl, who received a five-year parole denial, would have his hearing advanced two and a half years early."

CBS13 covered Justine's disappearance on Labor Day weekend 2003. At the time, Bezemer, her boyfriend, appeared emotional in front of the cameras.

"I tried to imagine what it was like, and what it's gonna be like when she comes back," he told CBS13 in 2003.

But in a 2023 parole hearing, Bezemer admitted the full extent of what he did: he strangled Justine, poured chemicals on her face and body, and helped bury her alive. An autopsy showed dirt in her lungs.

Despite the brutal nature of the crime and the existing five-year denial, Bezemer's parole hearing has been moved up. It's now scheduled for Dec. 18, landing just a week before Christmas.

When asked why stability in the parole process is so important, Gire said victims' families deserve consistency.

"A denial should mean exactly what the commissioners say it means," Gire explained. "Five years should mean five years, not two and a half."

Justine's family says each new hearing forces them to reopen trauma they've spent years trying to heal.

In a 2023 interview with CBS13, her mother, Lynette Vanderschoot, described the emotional toll. 

"Just reliving the nightmare again. Just as you start to get back into normal life, then it pops up again and just starts your emotions all over," she said.

Gire says the parole system needs to restore trust and stability, especially for victims.

"We will continue to be a loud voice for change, to demand stability and accountability," he said. "We expect the parole board to follow through with their decisions and not meaninglessly advance hearings to reduce numbers in prison."

Brandon Fernandez, the other man convicted in Justine's killing, was denied parole in 2022. His next hearing is tentatively scheduled for July 2027.