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The mastermind behind a vicious “Catfish” murder plot that tricked teenagers into “assassinating” a “vulnerable” 19-year-old woman cried in court as a judge sentenced him to 99 years in prison. Ta.
Darrin Schilmiller was sentenced to five to 99 years in prison, but Alaska Superior Court Judge Andrew Peterson was unfazed by the waterworks, calling him a “criminal of the worst kind.” He chose the harshest punishment.
“You and your other co-defendants hatched a plan to kill someone you had never met. There was no reason other than the sheer thrill of watching it take place,” he told Schilmiller.
“This is a loss,” Hoffman's father, Timothy Hoffman, said after the verdict, according to reports. “Inside Edition”.
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Cynthia Hoffman, 19, was murdered in 2019 as part of a “catfish” murder plot in which an Indiana man rigged a fake millions of dollars on someone's murder video. Alaska teens took the bait. (Handouts for families)
In 2019, Schilmiller, a 19-year-old from Indiana, concocted a twisted plot to obtain child pornography videos and a “real-life” murder case, according to court filings.
According to court documents, the suspect posed as a handsome 20-year-old man from Kansas named “Tyler” and used fake photos online to make millions of dollars to those who sent the videos. He said he offered to pay.
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Police say a group of Alaska teens took a bait and pretended to befriend Ms. Hoffman, who is vulnerable and developmentally disabled, and took her on a nature hike in rural Anchorage, Alaska. “Inside Edition'' reported that he had announced that he had gone.
There, they bound her arms and legs with duct tape, shot her in the back of the head and forced her body into a stream, according to court documents.
They then burned all her belongings, including her clothes and identification documents.
Darrin Schilmiller, now 25 years old (far left in yellow suit), was sentenced to 99 years in prison. (Patti Sullivan/Alaska Department of Justice)
Hoffman's father recalled how happy his daughter was the day Denali Bremer, the ringleader of the murderous gang, pretended to be his daughter's best friend.
“She came home and bragged, 'Dad, I finally made a friend,'” he testified through tears.
Brehmer, now 23, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder last February and admitted to coordinating CeCe's death, according to court filings.
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Bremer and Hoffman entered a wooded area in rural Anchorage with Caleb Leyland, now 24, and Kayden McIntosh, now 20, who are charged with Hoffman's murder.
Leyland pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in November, while McIntosh, who is believed to have pulled the trigger, has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
Brehmer's sentencing is scheduled for February 12th, and Leyland's sentencing is scheduled for June 10th. A trial date for Mr. McIntosh has not yet been set.
Denali Bremer, 18, Kayden McIntosh, 16, Caleb Leyland, 19, and others are accused of killing 19-year-old Cynthia Hoffman on June 2, 2019. Two anonymous juveniles were arrested. (Bill Ross/Anchorage Daily News, via AP)
According to Inside Edition, Anchorage Police Detective Leonard Torres said during his testimony that Brehmer was the “primary suspect.”
She was “someone who could come up with a plan and get everyone else to follow it,” he said.
The disturbing conspiracy that started it all
Federal court documents say the Alaska teens were involved in a sickening plot with Schilmiller and his “for the thrill” and urge to satisfy sexual fetishes.
He offered Bremmer millions of dollars to film his sexual assaults on girls, claiming he had won the lottery. He filmed the sexual assaults on the girls, one of whom was 8 or 9 years old at the time, and the other victim 15.
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Mr. Schilmiller gave Mr. Bremer specific instructions about what he wanted and how to pose the victim in the text exchange, which are detailed in court documents (but (Due to their graphic nature, they are not included in this report).
The child pornography aspect of the case was handled by the FBI and federal prosecutors in conjunction with Anchorage police, as the crime crossed multiple state lines.
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During the investigation into Hoffman's murder, investigators discovered documents, photos and videos of the underage victim in June 2019.
This quickly led to the arrests of Mr. Schilmiller and Mr. Bremer, which was announced by the FBI's Anchorage office on June 19, 2019.
