Tempted by the false promise of $9 million from a man she met online, Denali Dakota Skye Brehmer lured her so-called best friend to the Alaskan wilderness where the teen was tied up with duct tape and was shot in the head as part of a brutal murder plot. .
What began as a bizarre online catfishing scheme ended with the death of intellectually disabled Cynthia “CeeCee” Hoffman, 19.
An Indiana man, Darin Schilmiller, then 21, posed as a Kansas millionaire called “Tyler” on Snapchat. He struck up a relationship with Brehmer, then 18, and offered to send him millions of dollars via PayPal for “the rape and murder of someone in Alaska.”
Brehmer agreed. She enlisted other friends in the plot, and then on June 2, 2019, they committed CeeCee’s murder near Thunderbird Falls, a popular trail area just north of Anchorage. His death was captured in photos and videos that were sent back to “Tyler” on Snapchat as evidence.
In February 2023, Brehmer pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. His friends were also charged with the murder: Kayden McIntosh, 16, who pulled the trigger, and Caleb Leyland, 19, who provided the vehicle to carry out the plot.
Now, for the first time, Brehmer speaks publicly about the murder in the third episode “Catfishing for Murder” of Court TV’s new limited series. Interview with a killer.
“I’ve already admitted my guilt, so now I’m ready to take full responsibility for what I did,” Brehmer said during the interview at Hiland Mountain Correctional Center.
But as she confronts what happened that fateful day, her story begins to change.
Brehmer acknowledges that the killing was somewhat premeditated, but then attributes it to panic when a bound and gagged CeeCee began to “freak out” about going to the cops, leading McIntosh to grab the ‘armed.
“I just accepted,” Brehmer says calmly in the interview. “Because…problem solved, right?”
A catfish murder
On June 2, 2019, CeeCee — who considered Brehmer his best friend — was invited to Thunderbird Falls for what was supposed to be a hike. Brehmer later said in the interview that a “hike” meant they were going to get high.
Brehmer and McIntosh, who were the last two people to see CeeCee alive, were hanging out with her in the woods when “the three of them agreed to stick together and take pictures,” McIntosh told detectives, according to the criminal complaint. . It is unclear why they decided to do this.
But then CeeCee, whose wrists and feet were bound with duct tape that also covered her mouth, “started to panic,” according to the complaint.
When they removed the duct tape from CeeCee’s mouth, she told them she was going to call the police and tell them they had kidnapped and sexually assaulted her, according to the complaint.
McIntosh then grabbed the 9mm pistol that Brehmer had in his hand and shot CeeCee in the back of the head, he told police.
Brehmer told police at the time that she saw CeeCee shaking before McIntosh pushed her body into the river, according to the complaint.
But in the new interview with Court TV, Brehmer said the shooting happened very suddenly because they panicked when CeeCee threatened to call the police, even though she didn’t have her phone with her because McIntosh had already taken it.
Brehmer and McIntosh then attempted to cover up CeeCee’s death by burning her clothes, purse and cell phone, as well as the gun, according to the complaint.
McIntosh then asked Brehmer to text CeeCee’s sister and tell them they had dropped her off at a local park. Brehmer told police she did as she was told because she was afraid of McIntosh.
CeeCee’s tied body was found in the river on June 4, a day after she went missing.
The fake millionaire who allegedly encouraged the murder
Three weeks before CeeCee’s death, Brehmer and “Tyler,” who met on Snapchat, began talking on the app about their plans to rape and murder someone in Alaska.
The Anchorage Police Department later learned that “Tyler” was actually Darin Schilmiller of Indiana who had posed as the online millionaire with fake photos as part of the catfishing scheme in which he offered to pay Brehmer “$9 million or more to commit the murder and send him videos and/or photographs of the murder,” according to a statement released at the time.
Brehmer asked some of his friends to help him and offered them an unknown amount of so-called prize money for their part in planning the murder, according to police.
Police said Schilmiller later admitted to targeting CeeCee after learning she and Brehmer had argued over a boy.
“Initially when we all proposed this, I agreed and I said yes because I was mad at her and she was mad at me and I was just over her shit,” Brehmer said in the interview about the argument they had. because of a boy named Zack. “I wanted to make amends, I wanted to make amends but she needed revenge for what she did with Zack.”
When asked in the documentary if she deserved revenge with her life, a defeated Brehmer sighs and replies “no”, adding “it’s my fault”.
Brehmer was eventually arrested, and once she realized she had been tricked or tricked by Schilmiller, otherwise known as “Tyler,” she told authorities she had been solicited by him.
She received the maximum sentence for her role in the murder, according to the Alaska Department of Justice.
“She might not have pulled the trigger, but it never would have happened without [her]” Patrick McKay, Anchorage assistant district attorney, said of Brehmer during sentencing.
“She executed Cynthia Hoffman as part of a murder-for-hire plot. She conspired with many others in Alaska and elsewhere, including minors, changing everyone’s lives forever.
Schilmiller, who went by “Tyler” online, was also sentenced to 99 years in prison for his role in the murder.
He admitted to federal agents and Indiana State Police that he chose CeeCee as a victim after hearing about the fight and telling Brehmer to kill her, according to court documents.
He said Brehmer communicated with him throughout the killing and Snapchatted photos and videos of CeeCee while she was tied up and after she was killed.
Prosecutors said Schilmiller also solicited Brehmer in an attempt to obtain child pornography, leading to federal charges against Brehmer.
Leyland pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in November 2023 and in August 2024 he was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
McIntosh, who was 16 at the time, was charged with murder for shooting CeeCee in the head. His sentencing is set for November 14.
Another tragic death
Every year, on the anniversary of CeeCee’s death, her father would organize a motorcycle ride.
Timothy Hoffman, 58, was one of the attendees at this year’s June 2 event, as friends and family gathered to remember CeeCee. However, he lost control of his motorcycle and was killed in the accident.
The ride was the first time his wife, CeeCee’s mother, Barbara “Jeanie” Hoffman, accompanied him to the memorial event.
She survived the crash but underwent several surgeries after suffering a fractured skull, broken back and broken bones, a family member told the Anchorage Daily News.
The Hoffman family has seen its share of tragedies, but Hoffman’s brother, Donald Hoffman Jr., has vowed to continue seeking justice for CeeCee.
In an interview with Court TV, he says Brehmer does not deserve to be released from prison.
“Even if you guide your children, there are many unsavory people in the world. We see the end result. My niece is no longer here. She died, hit in the back of the head,” he said. “And for what? She was taken there, she went willingly, thinking it was all a game It’s like the wolf leading the lamb to the slaughter.
“I think she has no conscience,” he added of Brehmer. “She’s mean. She murdered my niece without batting an eyelid. And if she could have gotten away with it, she would have.
Interview With a Killer airs Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on Court TV.
