Lured by the false promise of $9 million from a man she met online, Denali Dakota Skye Brehmer lured her so-called best friend into the Alaskan wilderness, where the teen was bound with duct tape and shot in the head as part of a brutal murder plot. .
What started as a bizarre online catfishing scheme ended in the death of Cynthia “CeeCee” Hoffman, 19, who had a developmental disability.
An Indiana man, Darin Schilmiller, then 21, posed as a millionaire from Kansas named “Tyler” on Snapchat. He began dating Brehmer, who was 18 years old at the time, and offered to send her millions of dollars via PayPal for the “rape and murder of someone in Alaska.”
Brehmer agreed. She enlisted other friends in the plot and on June 2, 2019, they carried out the murder of CeeCee near Thunderbird Falls, a popular hiking area just north of Anchorage. Her death was captured in photos and video that were returned to “Tyler” on Snapchat as evidence.
In February 2023, Brehmer pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. Her friends were also charged with the murder: 16-year-old Kayden McIntosh pulled the trigger, and 19-year-old Caleb Leyland, who provided the vehicle to carry out the plot.
Now Brehmer speaks publicly for the first time about the murder in the third episode “Catfishing for Murder” of Court TV's new limited series Interview with a murderer.
“I have already admitted my guilt, so now I am ready to take full responsibility for what I did,” Brehmer said in the interview at Hiland Mountain Correctional Center.
But when she is confronted with what happened that fateful day, her story begins to change.
Brehmer acknowledges that the murder was somewhat premeditated, but then blames it on panic when a bound and gagged CeeCee “panicked” about going to the police, leading to McIntosh grabbing the gun.
“I just went along with it,” Brehmer says calmly in the interview. “Because… problem solved, right?”
A catfish murder
On June 2, 2019, CeeCee – who Brehmer considered a best friend – was invited to Thunderbird Falls for what was supposed to be a hike. Brehmer said later in the interview that a “walk” meant they were going to get high.
Brehmer and McIntosh, the last two people to ever see CeeCee alive, were hanging out with her in the woods when “the three of them agreed to duct tape each other and take pictures,” McIntosh told investigators, according to the indictment. . It is unclear why they decided to do this.
But then CeeCee, whose wrists and feet were bound with duct tape, which also covered her mouth, “began 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, the complaint said.
McIntosh then grabbed the 9mm handgun Brehmer was holding 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, the complaint said.
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, despite not having her phone with her because McIntosh had already taken it.
Brehmer and McIntosh then tried to cover up CeeCee's death by burning her clothes, purse and cellphone, along with the gun, the complaint said.
McIntosh then instructed 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 was reported missing.
The fake millionaire who allegedly encouraged murder
Three weeks before CeeCee was killed, Brehmer and “Tyler,” who had met on Snapchat, started talking via the app about their plans to rape and kill someone in Alaska.
Anchorage police later discovered that “Tyler” was actually Darin Schilmiller of Indiana, who had posed as the millionaire online with fake photos as part of the catfishing scheme, in which he offered to pay Brehmer “$9 million or more to to commit the murder and send him away'. him videos and/or photos of the murder,” according to a statement released at the time.
Brehmer asked some of her friends for help and offered them an undisclosed amount of so-called prize money for their part in planning the murder, according to police.
Police said Schilmiller later admitted he targeted CeeCee after hearing she and Brehmer had gotten into an argument over a boy.
“At first, when we all figured it out, I agreed and said yes, because I was mad at her and she was mad at me and I was just over her ***,” Brehmer says in the interview about the argument they had over a boy named Zack. “I wanted to make amends, I wanted to make it up to her, but she needed revenge for what she did to Zack.”
When asked in the documentary whether she deserved the retaliation with her life, a defeated Brehmer sighs and says, “No,” adding “that's on me.”
Brehmer was eventually arrested, and once she realized she had been caught or tricked by Schilmiller, also known as “Tyler,” she told authorities she had been solicited by him.
She received the maximum sentence for her role in the killing, according to the Alaska Department of Law.
“She may not have pulled the trigger, but this never would have happened if it wasn't for that [her]Anchorage Assistant District Attorney Patrick McKay said of Brehmer during the sentencing.
“She executed Cynthia Hoffman in a murder-for-hire plot. She conspired with countless other individuals inside and outside Alaska, including youth, and changed everyone's lives forever.”
Schilmiller, who posed as “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 told Brehmer to kill her, according to court documents.
He said Brehmer communicated with him during the murder and sent Snapchat photos and videos of CeeCee while she was tied up and after she was killed.
Prosecutors said Schilmiller also asked Brehmer to try to obtain child pornography, leading to federal charges against Brehmer.
Leyland pleaded guilty to manslaughter in November 2023 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison in August 2024.
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 organized a festive motorcycle ride.
Timothy Hoffman, 58, was among the participants 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 crash.
That ride marked the first time his wife, CeeCee's mother Barbara “Jeanie” Hoffman, accompanied him to the memorial event.
She survived the crash but has undergone several surgeries after suffering a fractured skull, broken back and broken bones, a family member told the Anchorage daily news.
The Hoffman family has experienced many 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 ever get out of prison.
“No matter how well you guide your children, there are a lot of unsavory people in the world. We see the end result. My niece is gone. She's dead, shot in the back of the head,” he said. “And for what? She was led there, she went voluntarily, thinking that this was all a game. It is like the wolf leading the lamb to the slaughter.”
“I don't think she has a conscience,” he added of Brehmer. 'She's bad. She killed my niece without blinking an eye. And if she could have gotten away with it, she would have.”
Interview With a Killer airs Sunday nights at 8pm ET on Court TV.
