• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Catfish offered woman $9,000,000 to hire schoolboy to kill his friend before realizing who the person actually was

Home> News> Crime

Updated 11:12 19 Jan 2025 GMTPublished 11:13 19 Jan 2025 GMT

Catfish offered woman $9,000,000 to hire schoolboy to kill his friend before realizing who the person actually was

"The fact they all believed this guy was going to give them 9 million dollars shows their absolute stupidity," wrote one person on YouTube

Joe Yates

Joe Yates

This article contains mentions of child abuse, rape, and murder which some readers may find distressing.

A woman who orchestrated the killing of her own 'best friend' believed she was going to become a millionaire by the end of it - but instead, she got a life behind bars.

In June 2019, 19-year-old Cynthia Hoffman was gagged and bound with duct tape and taken to a remote area in Alaska, near Thunderbird Falls, Chugiak, where she was executed by 16-year-old schoolboy Kayden McIntosh.

Advert

Denali Brehmer and David Scott in a new episode of Court TV’s Interview With a Killer (COURTTV)
Denali Brehmer and David Scott in a new episode of Court TV’s Interview With a Killer (COURTTV)

But while McIntosh was the person who pulled the trigger, things were at play for a lot longer than his involvement.

It started when Denali Brehmer met Darin Schilmiller through an online dating website. Soon after they fell in 'love', it became apparent that Brehmer would do anything for Schilmiller - who claimed to be multimillionaire.

After he paid her 'a lot' of money for sexually explicit pictures and videos of children she was coerced into taking, the idea of murder was then thrown about by the 'millionaire', who was living in his grandparents' basement in Indiana.

Advert

Having been paid for previous crimes she committed, Brehmer, who was 18 at the time, was convinced the 21-year-old catfish would give her $9 million to kill her friend - although he specified that he wanted video footage of someone being raped before murdered.

So, on June 2, 2019, she borrowed 19-year-old Caleb Leyland's SUV, disclosing with him her plans to murder Hoffman for millions of dollars, and promising to pay Leyland handsomely. With McIntosh in the car, she convinced Hoffman that they were going on a trip to Thunderbird Falls.

Following her death, McIntosh and Brehmer pushed Hoffman's body into a river.

Advert

The tragic story was the focus of Court TV’s Interview With a Killer, which sees Brehmer explain why she murdered Hoffman.

Speaking of the moment McIntosh pulled the trigger, she said: "I just went along with it... because problem solved, right?

"I was just planning on intimidating her but when she started freaking out saying she was going to go to the cops and everything else that's when he shot her and I was like, well problem solved."

Denali Brehmer is serving 99 years behind bars (COURTTV)
Denali Brehmer is serving 99 years behind bars (COURTTV)

Advert

Tragically, Hoffman's dad, Timothy Hoffman, passed away in a motorcycle accident at his daughter's memorial ride before he was able to witness those involved with her murder be served justice.

"One thing I know is that my daughter trusted these people my daughter just wanted friends. Now I have to bury her," he told journalists at the beginning of the trial.

Brehmer was sentenced to 99 years in prison for the murder of her friend, as was Schilmiller - with the pair receiving 30 years for child pornography.

Kayden McIntosh and Caleb Leyland were also sent down for second-degree murder.

Advert

"The fact they all believed this guy was going to give them 9 million dollars shows their absolute stupidity," wrote one person on YouTube.

Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Court TV/Facebook/Darin Schilmiller

Topics: Crime, Alaska, True crime

Joe Yates
Joe Yates

Joe is a journalist for UNILAD, who particularly enjoys writing about crime. He has worked in journalism for five years, and has covered everything from murder trials to celeb news.

X

@JMYjourno

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

6 hours ago
7 hours ago
  • Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images
    6 hours ago

    Harrison Ford has scathing message for Trump ‘while the world goes to hell in a handbasket’

    The Star Wars icon's comments were published just days after his conservation efforts were acknowledged in Chicago

    Celebrity
  • DigitalGlobe/ScapeWare3d/Getty
    7 hours ago

    Bizarre details revealed after mysterious crash near Area 51 leads to FBI probe

    Area 51 is located in Nevada and has always been subject to conspiracy theories

    News
  • JRE Experience/YouTube
    7 hours ago

    Elon Musk weighs in on mysterious object aiming at Earth that Harvard scientist claims is 'not natural'

    The Tesla CEO touched on the interstellar comet - which has notably changed color, having had red dust around it but is now bright blue

    News
  • Getty Stock Photo
    7 hours ago

    Dentist warns children about viral social media trend that could lead to horrifying issues

    Dr Shah has noticed the dental trend has been on the increase recently

    News
  • Woman who claimed to be Madeleine McCann reveals reasons she believed she was missing girl during trial
  • Woman explains why she killed her ‘best friend’ after a man online offered her $9,000,000
  • How woman whose ex-husband murdered missing girl on the milk carton was able to bring him to justice
  • Woman who was waiting to be executed by firing squad in Bali reveals the one thing she's looking forward to