ANCHORAGE, AK – A chilling tale of manipulation and murder unfolded in an Alaskan courtroom, culminating in a 99-year prison sentence for Darin Schilmiller. Despite his tearful pleas, Judge Andrew Peterson showed no mercy, branding Schilmiller “a worst offender.”
In 2019, Schilmiller, then 19, masterminded a horrifying plot that led to the murder of 19-year-old Cynthia “CeeCee” Hoffman. The judge rebuked Schilmiller for planning the murder of a stranger, purely for the perverse enjoyment of controlling others and witnessing the act.
The sentencing brought a measure of closure to the victim’s father, Timothy Hoffman. His daughter, Cynthia, fell prey to Schilmiller’s cruel scheme, where he posed as a wealthy Kansas man named “Tyler” and promised millions to Alaskan teenagers for a video of a murder.
The teens, enticed by the promise of wealth, befriended Hoffman, who was described as vulnerable and developmentally disabled. They led her to a remote area in Anchorage, Alaska, where they committed the brutal act and disposed of her body in a creek.
Timothy Hoffman painfully recalled his daughter’s happiness when she thought she had found a friend in the group’s ringleader, Denali Brehmer. Brehmer, now 23, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder last year, admitting her role in orchestrating Hoffman’s death.
Also involved in the crime were Caleb Leyland, 24, and Kayden McIntosh, 20. Leyland pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, while McIntosh, accused of firing the fatal shot, pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
The investigation into Hoffman’s murder uncovered Schilmiller’s gruesome plot, leading to his and Brehmer’s arrests in June 2019. Schilmiller’s sentencing marks a pivotal moment in this harrowing case.