An Alaska woman who orchestrated the murder of her best friend after being paid $9 million has been sentenced to 99 years in prison.
Denali Dakota Skye Brehmer, 23, covered her face as the verdict was read Monday in Anchorage Superior Court.
She pleaded guilty last year to first-degree murder in the death of her friend, 19-year-old Cynthia Hoffman, who was fatally shot on a riverbank in 2019.
Brehmer enlisted four friends to help carry out the murder after she was promised a million-dollar reward by a man she met online.
“She may not have pulled the trigger, but without Denali Brehmer this never would have happened,” Assistant District Attorney Patrick McKay said during Monday’s sentencing.
Denali Dakota Skye Brehmer, 23, covered her face as she was sentenced to 99 years in prison for the murder of Cynthia Hoffman
Brehmer pleaded guilty last year (photo) to one charge of first-degree murder
Hoffman was only 19 when she died. She met Brehmer in high school and told her parents that the other girl was her “best friend.”
According to court documents, Brehmer, then 18, met a man online who she thought was a millionaire from Kansas named Tyler.
The man offered Brehmer at least $9 million to kill someone indiscriminately in exchange for photos and video of the murder.
However, according to the complaint, she was “catfished.” In reality, the man was 25-year-old Darin Schilmiller from Indiana.
Brehmer only realized after her arrest that she had been deceived.
She enlisted the help of four friends, including two unnamed minors, to assist in the murder.
The indictment identified Caleb Leyland and Kayden McIntosh, ages 19 and 16, respectively. Despite his age, McIntosh was brought before adult court.
The group chose Hoffman, a developmentally disabled woman with the mental capabilities of a seventh grader, as their target.
Hoffman’s family said she met Brehmer when they were both students at Service High School and described her as her “best friend.”
Darin Schilmiller, 25, posing as a millionaire named Tyler, offered Brehmer $9 million to carry out the murder in exchange for photos and videos
Brehmer, then 19, conspired with four others to take the victim to a hiking trail and bind her hands and feet with duct tape
Hoffman, a developmentally disabled woman with the mental capacity of a seventh grader, was shot once in the back of the head and dumped in the Eklutna River.
On June 2, 2019, Brehmer and McIntosh borrowed Leyland’s car and drove with Huffman to Thunderbird Falls for a pretend hike.
Along the Eklutna River, the duo bound Hoffman’s hands and feet with duct tape before McIntosh fired a bullet into the back of her head. Her body was then dumped in the river.
Officials said Brehmer texted Hoffman’s family to tell them they had dropped her off at a park. They burned the teen’s bag and other items, including the gun.
Leyland and McIntosh later confessed to their roles in planning and carrying out the murder. They told police they would each get a share of Schilmiller’s reward.
The Indiana man later admitted to choosing Hoffman as a victim and telling Brehmer to kill her, court documents show.
He said Brehmer sent him photos and videos of Hoffman before and after her death through the messaging app Snapchat.
“The Court should find that Ms. Brehmer is guilty of one of the most serious crimes we have in Alaska,” McKay said Monday.
“She executed Cynthia Hoffman in a murder-for-hire plot. She conspired with countless other individuals in and outside Alaska, including young people, and changed everyone’s lives forever.
“She may not have pulled the trigger, but without Denali Brehmer, this never would have happened.”
Kayden McIntosh, then 19, admitted to shooting Hoffman and was sentenced in January to 99 years without any suspension
Caleb Leyland, then 16, admitted to lending Brehmer his car and helping to plan the murder. His sentencing is scheduled for June 10
Anchorage Superior Court Judge Andrew Peterson Hoffman called Brehmer’s behavior “cold, calculated and executed to perfection,” adding that she showed no remorse.
He described watching a video of Hoffman’s final moments, calling it “one of the most difficult pieces of evidence I have had to watch in this position.”
Despite her young age at the time of the murder, Peterson said Brehmer knew what she was doing and that this was not simply “youthful indiscretion.”
The state originally called for a sentence of 99 years, none of which was suspended, and as a “worst offender.”
Brehmer demanded a prison sentence of 80 years, of which twenty years were conditional. She was sentenced to 99 years in prison after a three-day hearing.
Schilmiller pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder and was sentenced in January to 99 years in prison, none of which was suspended.
The 25-year-old also asked Brehmer to obtain child pornography and pleaded guilty last year. The verdict in this case is scheduled for March 4.
Leyland pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in November. His sentencing is scheduled for June 10, while McIntosh’s case is pending.