Cops: Internet Imposter Offered Her $9M to Kill, and She Did

Back in 2019, five teens in Alaska were charged in the murder of another teenager. At the time, the big question was why, per the Anchorage Daily News. Now, authorities say they have the answer, and it involves a jarring example of internet catfishing. Last week, Denali Brehmer, now 22, pleaded guilty to murdering 19-year-old Cynthia Hoffman, reports NBC News. The reason? Brehmer met a man posing online as a Kansas millionaire who offered her $9 million to murder someone and give him proof, say authorities. Brehmer chose Hoffman, a teen with developmental disabilities, as her victim and recruited four other teens to help her carry out the killing, according to court documents.

Brehmer and the others invited Hoffman to go hiking. Once in the remote area, Hoffman was bound, shot in the back of the head, and dumped in the Eklutna River. Authorities say Brehmer sent videos of the killing to the man she knew online as "Tyler." But "Tyler" was really non-millionaire Darin Schilmiller from Indiana, say authorities, and he has since been charged with murder himself. Schilmiller has been extradited to Alaska, where he remains behind bars awaiting trial.

Two other alleged accomplices in Alaska, Kayden McIntosh and Caleb Leyland, also are awaiting trial, per Alaska's News Source. Two unnamed juveniles also were charged, and their fates are not clear. Brehmer faces 30 to 99 years in prison when she is sentenced in August, per Alaska Public Media. "My daughter just wanted friends," Hoffman's father said after her murder, per an Alaska Public Media story from the time. (More Alaska stories.)