Catfished by man she met online, US woman killed best friend over $9 million offer

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Brehmer carried out the murder after Darin Schilmiller, a 21-year-old man from Indiana, catfished her online and solicited her to kill Hoffman in Anchorage.

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Denali Brehmer is serving a 99 year prison sentence for murdering her friend in 2019. (Credit: CourtTV)

23-year-old American woman Denali Brehmar shot and killed her best friend Cynthia Hoffman in 2019 after being catfished by a man she met online who offered her $9 million if murdered a person of her choice. The woman also involved her other friends in the killing that occurred in June 2019.

Earlier this year, Brehmer was convicted and sentenced to 99 years in jail for the murder, according to the Alaska law department, People Magazine has reported.

Catfished online, coerced to kill her friend

Denali Brehmer carried out the murder after being catfished online by Darin Schilmiller, a 21-year-old man from Indiana living in his grandparents’ basement. Schilmiller manipulated Brehmer and “solicited the murder of Hoffman from Brehmer in Anchorage.”

Brehmer roped in several friends to help, and in June 2019, they murdered 19-year-old Cynthia Hoffman. The crime was recorded in photos and videos, which were sent to Schilmiller via Snapchat as proof. In 2023, Brehmer pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. Her accomplices, Kayden McIntosh and Caleb Leyland, were also charged in connection with the crime, the report said.

Fight over a boy, money led to murder

Now, appearing in the latest episode of Court TV’s ‘Interview With a Killer’, she revealed details of gruesome crime publically for the first time. She said she has admitted to the crime and is ready to “fully take responsibility”.

Brehmer further confessed that the killing was somewhat “premeditated” but also came out of panic. The accused menioned she and her friend had fought over a boy and that she was mad at him.

What happened on the fateful day

In an interview, Brehmer described Thunderbird Falls, where she, Leyland, and McIntosh took Cynthia Hoffman hiking on the day she was murdered, as simply “a place of opportunity” to carry out the killing. She said she onboard in the start when the plan was made because she was mad at her and so was she.

Brehmer explained, referring to a fight they had over a boy named Zack. “I wanted to make amends, I did want to make amends, but she needed payback for what she did with Zack,” she said.

Brehmer was eventually arrested, and upon realizing she had been catfished by Darin Schilmiller, she informed authorities that he had solicited her to commit the murder. She received the maximum sentence for her involvement in the crime.

Schilmiller, who had posed as “Tyler” online, was also sentenced to 99 years in prison for his role in the murder. He confessed to federal agents that he selected Cynthia Hoffman as the victim after learning about the dispute between the two friends.

Ashish Verma is a digital media journalist with a career spanning over a decade in the industry. He writes on all things breaking, politics, crime and global affairs while striving to eye the details to put out informative and factually correct copies.
When not in the newsroom, Ashish spends his time watching Marvel movies, cooking, checking out sneakers, and catching up on what Elon Musk is up to.

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