22-year-old Denali Brehmer of Alaska has pleaded guilty to murdering her ‘best friend’ after she met a man online who promised her $9 million if she sent him images and video of her committing the murder.
According to the Alaska Department of Law, Brehmer pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the killing of Cynthia Hoffman that occurred back in June 2019.
Court documents reveal that 19-year-old Hoffman died from a gunshot wound to the back of her head, after which her body was dumped in the Eklutna River.
Brehmer, who was 18 at the time of the murder, had begun to plan the gruesome crime after meeting a man online who offered to pay her in exchange for evidence of her killing someone.
The man, who referred to himself as Tyler’, had a short lived relationship with Brehmer. However, authorities revealed that the man had catfished her by creating this fake persona of a Kansas-based millionaire.
Authorities shared that the man’s real name is Darin Schilmiller, who resides in Indiana.
Apparently the pair had planned several crimes in exchange for money, which included the “rape and murder of someone in Alaska.”
Eventually Brehmer decided on Hoffman as her victim and recruited four other friends to help her commit the crime in exchange for “substantial shares of money.”
Hoffman was tricked into coming to Thunderbird Falls under the guise of a hiking trip with a group of friends.
After the group bound her hands, feet and mouth, she was shot in the head and dumped into the river. During the crime, pictures and video were sent to Schilmiller by Brehmer.
Court records show that Brehmer was arrested back in 2019 and indicted on five murder counts.
