An Alaska woman pleaded guilty to murdering her “best friend” after a man she met online said he would pay her $9 million if she sent him photos and videos of her murder. Will do
Denali Bremer, 22, pleaded guilty Wednesday to first-degree murder in the June 2019 death of Cynthia Hoffman, the Alaska Department of Law said.
Hoffman, 19, died of a gunshot wound to the back of the head. Her body was dumped in the Eklutna River about 27 miles northeast of Anchorage, court documents state.
The Anchorage District Attorney’s Office previously said Brehmer, who was 18 at the time of the crime, began planning the murder after she met a man online who told her he would offer her money in exchange for evidence of someone’s murder. Will give
Bremer knew the man as “Tyler” and began a relationship with him, but authorities said he had catfished her and created a fake persona as a millionaire from Kansas. Authorities said his real name is Darrin Schilmiller of Indiana.
Court documents state that Bremer and Schillmiller began planning a series of crimes in exchange for money, including “the rape and murder of someone in Alaska”.
According to authorities, Bremer chose Hoffman as the victim and recruited four friends—Kayden McIntosh, Caleb Leland, and two other unidentified teens—to help him. Bremer tells them that they will receive a “substantial chunk of money” for helping him kill Hoffman.
Authorities said Bremer and two teenagers tricked Hoffman into coming to Thunderbird Falls under the guise of a hiking trip. They bound her hands, feet, and mouth with duct tape, shot her in the back of the head, and dumped her body in a river, court documents show.
Authorities said that as the crime was being committed, Bremer sent photographs and videos to Schilmiller.
After killing Hoffman, the group destroys some of his personal belongings and leaves a message to his parents that they have dropped him off at a park. Police said there was no evidence that Hoffman had been sexually assaulted.
The Alaska Department of Law said Wednesday that Bremer “acknowledged the facts contained in the complaint initially filed in the matter.” The Anchorage Police Department, the FBI and other agencies assisted in the investigation of Hoffman’s death.
Bremer was arrested in 2019 and charged with first-degree murder, first-degree conspiracy to commit murder, first-degree solicitation of murder, tampering with physical evidence, and two counts of second-degree murder.
The Alaska Department of Law said that after pleading guilty to first-degree murder, the other charges were dropped. He is to be sentenced in August and faces 30 to 99 years in prison. His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
Schilmiller was arrested and indicted on five counts of murder, online court records show.
McIntosh and Leland were charged with four counts of murder, according to court records. McIntosh was also charged with tampering with evidence. All three have pleaded not guilty and await trial. His lawyers could not be immediately contacted.
According to The Anchorage Daily News, Hoffman’s family previously said they believed she was targeted because she had a learning disability that “put her at a developmental age of 19.”