A woman from Alaska pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of her “best friend,” Cynthia Hoffman, in June 2019.
The Alaska Department of Law revealed that Denali Brehmer, who was 18 years old at the time of the crime, had planned the murder after a man she met online promised to pay her $9 million in exchange for evidence of the killing.
The man, whom Brehmer knew as “Tyler,” had catfished her and identified himself as a wealthy resident of Kansas. However, his real name is Darin Schilmiller, and he is from Indiana.
Officials say Brehmer recruited four others, to assist in the murder, promising them “substantial shares of money” in exchange.
They tricked Hoffman into going on a hiking trip and then bound her, shot her in the back of the head, and dumped her body in the Eklutna River.
Brehmer sent photos and videos of the murder to Schilmiller while it was happening.
Brehmer pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, and the other charges against her were dismissed. She is scheduled to be sentenced in August and faces 30 to 99 years in prison.
Schilmiller, McIntosh, and Leyland were indicted on multiple murder counts, and all three have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial. Hoffman’s family believes that she was targeted due to her learning disability.
