Woman who killed best friend after $9M catfish offer sentenced to 99 years

Publish date: 2024-05-09

An Alaska woman who admitted to killing her “best friend” after being “catfished” by someone offering to pay $9 million for images of the crime has been sentenced to 99 years behind bars.

Denali Brehmer, now 23, pleaded guilty in February 2023 to first-degree murder – admitting that she had killed 19-year-old Cynthia Hoffman on June 2, 2019.

The Anchorage woman was sentenced Monday to 99 years in prison for the murder-for-hire scheme, the Alaska Department of Law said in a release.

Brehmer was 18 when she and two other teens were catfished online by 21-year-old Darin Schilmiller, who pretended to be a millionaire named “Tyler” and persuaded them to sexually assault and kill Hoffman.

Denali Brehmer, 23, was catfished by a man in Indiana, who was posing as a millionaire and convinced her to murder Cynthia Hoffman. AP

The Indiana man offered $9 million for the “rape and murder of someone in Alaska” — and told the teens to send him photos and videos as they committed the heinous crime.

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Brehmer and her alleged accomplices lured Hoffman to Thunderbird Falls in Chugiak, an unincorporated community in Anchorage, under the guise of a friendly hike.

Hoffman — who thought of Brehmer as her “best friend” — was duct-taped and shot in the back of the head with a 9mm pistol.

Cynthia Hoffman was killed by her “best friend” who was offered millions online for her murder. Facebook/Cynthia Hoffman

The group sent multiple Snaptchat videos and images to Schilmiller before pushing Hoffman’s body into the Eklutna River, officials said. They had tried to burn her body before sending her family a text that she had been dropped off elsewhere.

In January, Schilmiller was also sentenced to 99 years in the slammer after he was extradited to Alaska and pleaded guilty to soliciting a murder to fulfill his sick fetishes.

Denali Brehmer was sentenced to 99 years in prison. Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Kayden McIntosh, who was 16 at the time, was charged with murder for allegedly shooting Hoffman in the head after he was duct-taped. His trial is pending.

“The court should find that Miss Brehmer engaged in one of the most serious crimes that we have in Alaska,” Anchorage Assistant District Attorney Patrick McKay said, the Alaska Daily News reported.

“She executed Cynthia Hoffman in a murder-for-hire plot. She conspired with numerous other individuals in and outside of Alaska, including juveniles, forever altering everybody’s life,” he said.

“She may not have pulled the trigger, but this never would have happened it if it weren’t for Denali Brehmer,” McKay added.

Another person involved in the case, Caleb Leyland, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in November. He is scheduled for sentencing on June 10.

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