Current:Home > MarketsAlaska woman gets 99 years for orchestrating catfished murder-for-hire plot in friend’s death-LoTradeCoin
Alaska woman gets 99 years for orchestrating catfished murder-for-hire plot in friend’s death
View Date:2024-12-23 23:29:46
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Anchorage woman has been sentenced to 99 years in prison for orchestrating the death of a developmentally disabled woman in a murder-for-hire plot, hoping to cash in on a $9 million offer from a Midwestern man purporting to be a millionaire.
Denali Dakota Skye Brehmer, 24, was sentenced by Anchorage Superior Court Judge Andrew Peterson earlier this week in the 2019 death of her friend Cynthia Hoffman, whose death was captured in in photos and video near Thunderbird Falls, a popular trail area just north of Anchorage. Brehmer pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in February 2023.
“She may not have pulled the trigger, but this never would have happened it if it weren’t for Denali Brehmer,” Anchorage assistant district attorney Patrick McKay said during sentencing.
Peterson said Hoffman’s pre-mediated murder-for-hire was “tragic and senseless,” and that Brehmer showed no remorse. He said he hoped her sentence would serve as a deterrent to others.
Defense attorneys sought an 80-year sentence with 20 of those years suspended. Alaska does not have the death penalty.
Darin Schilmiller of New Salisbury, Indiana, was also sentenced last month to 99 years in prison for his role in Hoffman’s murder.
Authorities in 2019 said Schilmiller posed online as “Tyler,” a millionaire from Kansas when starting an online relationship with Brehmer. About three weeks before Hoffman was killed, Brehmer and Schilmiller discussed a plan to rape and murder someone in Alaska, according to court documents.
The millionaire’s only demand for payment was either photos or video of the killing.
Brehmer agreed to the offer, and enlisted the help of four friends, Caleb Leyland and Kayden McIntosh, along with two unnamed juveniles.
Leyland will be sentenced in June. McIntosh, whom prosecutors have said was the gunman, will be tried as an adult in the case even though he was 16 when Hoffman was killed. His case is pending trial.
According to court documents, the group took Hoffman to Thunderbird Falls. They went off trail and followed a path to the Eklutna River, where Hoffman was bound with duct tape, shot in the back of the head and thrown into the river. Officials said Hoffman then texted Hoffman’s family to let them know they dropped her off at an Anchorage park.
Brehmer was eventually arrested, and once she realized she had been catfished or tricked by Schilmiller, she told authorities that she had been solicited by him.
Schilmiller admitted to federal agents and the Indiana State Police that he chose Hoffman as the victim and told Brehmer to kill her, court documents said.
He said Brehmer communicated with him throughout Hoffman’s killing and sent Snapchat photos and videos of Hoffman while bound and after she was killed.
veryGood! (85)
Related
- Appeals Court Affirms Conviction of Everglades Scientist Accused of Stealing ‘Trade Secrets’
- Disney to purchase remaining stake in Hulu for at least $8.61 billion, companies announce
- Titans vs. Steelers live updates: Predictions, odds, how to watch Thursday Night Football
- Vanessa Marcil Pays Tribute to Ex-Fiancé Tyler Christopher After General Hospital Star’s Death
- Study finds Wisconsin voters approved a record number of school referenda
- California jury awards $332 million to man who blamed his cancer on use of Monsanto weedkiller
- Who is the strongest Avenger? Tackling this decades old fan debate.
- South Carolina has lethal injection drug but justices want more info before restarting executions
- Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul stirs debate: Is this a legitimate fight?
- Panama’s congress backtracks to preserve controversial Canadian mining contract
Ranking
- The Latin Grammys are almost here for a 25th anniversary celebration
- Proof Bradley Cooper and Gigi Hadid's Night Out Is Anything But Shallow
- Teachers kick off strike in Portland, Oregon, over class sizes, pay and resources
- Horoscopes Today, November 2, 2023
- RHOP's Candiace Dillard Bassett Gives Birth, Shares First Photos of Baby Boy
- 'Paradigm' shift: Are Commanders headed for rebuild after trading defensive stars?
- Florida babysitter who attempted to circumcise 2-year-old boy charged with child abuse
- 'Yellowstone' final episodes moved to Nov. 2024; Paramount announces two spinoff series
Recommendation
-
Cleveland Browns’ Hakeem Adeniji Shares Stillbirth of Baby Boy Days Before Due Date
-
Takeaways from AP’s reporting on an American beef trader’s links to Amazon deforestation
-
Britney Spears' memoir 'The Woman in Me' sells over 1 million copies in the US alone
-
Utah man says Grubhub delivery driver mistakenly gave him urine instead of milkshake
-
Inter Miami's MLS playoff failure sets stage for Messi's last act, Alexi Lalas says
-
DoorDash warns customers who don't tip that they may face a longer wait for their food orders
-
Idaho woman, son charged with kidnapping after police say they took teenager to Oregon for abortion
-
Pennsylvania to partner with natural gas driller on in-depth study of air emissions, water quality