On Monday, February 12, 2024, one of the individuals charged in the 2019 murder of Alaska teenager Cynthia Hoffman got a 99-year prison sentence. Authorities identified the individual as Denali Dakota Skye Brehmer. According to court records, at age 18, Brehmer initiated an online connection with 21-year-old Darin Schilmiller from Indiana.
Schilmiller, presenting himself as a millionaire, tricked Brehmer by promising to transfer $9 million in exchange for photos and videos showing a homicide. However, he did not specify the intended victim. Brehmer reportedly enticed four friends with the promise of a financial share if they helped her in the evil plot.
In collaboration with then-16-year-old Kayden Mclntosh, Brehmer allegedly lured Cynthia Hoffman on a hiking trip. Sadly, during this hike, they shot Hoffman in the back of the head and then put her in a river. Police officers found Hoffman’s lifeless body a day after she was declared missing.
Sadly, they found Hoffman’s body on the Eklutna River in Chugiak on June 2, 2019, bound with duct tape. According to a criminal complaint obtained by Inside Edition Digital, Brehmer and Mclntosh were the last people to see Hoffman alive.
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Mclntosh told the detectives that the trio “were hanging out and all agreed to duct tape ‘CeeCee’ and take photographs,” according to the complaint. He further stated how Hoffman started panicking and threatened to involve the police, too.
Mclntosh allegedly stated that he shot Hoffman and placed her “twitching” body into a river, showing uncertainty regarding whether Hoffman died from the gunshot wound or drowning. At 23, Brehmer pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in February 2023.
This was after the dismissal of charges, including conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with evidence, solicitation of murder, and second-degree murder. Nearly a year later, spanning three days in January and February 2024, her sentencing happened. The court sentenced her to a 99-year prison sentence, which was the maximum penalty allowed by the court.
Addressing the court, Anchorage Superior Court Judge Andrew Peterson termed Hoffman’s murder as “tragic and senseless.” He noted Brehmer’s lack of remorse post-murder and mentioned her subsequent involvement in other criminal activities. All at Schilmiller’s request.
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The United States Justice Department revealed that Schilmiller and Brehmer collaborated on a scheme to force a minor into creating sexually explicit photos. Both individuals pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to produce child pornography last summer.
Last month, after his deportation to Alaska, Schilmiller also got a 99-year prison sentence from Judge Peterson for being part of the murder. Caleb Leyland, another friend implicated in the murder-for-hire plot, also pleaded guilty.
Leyland pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder in November. This came after they dismissed charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Notably, Leyland’s sentence is set for June. Moreover, it will occur in front of the judge who sentenced Brehmer. However, Mclntosh’s trial in connection to the case remains pending.
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