Darin Schilmiller: Indiana man gets 99 years in prison for tricking teen into slaying her 'best friend'
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.
INDIANA, UNITED STATES: A 25-year-old man from Indiana will serve more than nine decades in prison for conniving to trick a teenage girl in Alaska into kidnapping and killing one of her friends in exchange for millions of dollars that he did not have and never intended to pay.
Darin Mitchell Schilmiller was sentenced to 99 years in a state prison on Thursday, January 11, by Anchorage Superior Court Judge Andrew Peterson for the 2019 killing of 18-year-old Cynthia Hoffman.
Darin Schilmiller to serve minimum 45 years in prison
When Schilmiller pretended to be a good-looking millionaire online, he was broke, jobless, and living in his grandparents' basement. He had previously entered a guilty plea to one count of soliciting to commit first-degree murder. His sentence ranged from 15 to 99 years in prison.
It will not be possible for him to be released from prison until he has served a minimum of 45 years. The evidence presented at Schilmiller's sentence hearing, according to a press release from the Alaska Department of Law, indicated that on June 2, 2019, Hoffman was shot and killed by Denali Brehmer, who was then 18 years old.
The victim's body was then thrown by Brehmer into the Eklutna River.
Investigators eventually learned that Schilmiller had pretended to be a multimillionaire online under the name 'Tyler', tricking Brehmer into paying her $9 million to kidnap and kill Hoffman in exchange for him receiving photographic proof of all of her illicit activities.
The now 23-year-old Brehmer was regarded by Hoffman, who had developmental disabilities, as her "best friend".
After a visit to the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in Chugiak, Alaska, which is located just north of Anchorage, Brehmer reportedly tricked Hoffman into going on a hike through Thunderbird Falls, enticed by the promise of money.
There, Brehmer used duct tape to restrain Hoffman and shot her in the head while capturing images for her alleged sponsor.
Judge dubbed it as 'premeditated murder for hire'
Judge Peterson called the case "shocking" and described it as "premeditated murder-for-hire" that culminated in Hoffman's "assassination" during the three-day sentencing hearing.
According to Judge Peterson, Schilmiller's actions constituted "among the most serious" cases of solicitation for first-degree murder and contract killing that he had ever encountered.
For sentencing purposes, he also declared Schilmiller to be the "worst offender," citing his actions in this instance as evidence that he would "always be a risk to the community".
“This was intentional, premeditated murder for hire,” Peterson said. “You plotted with other co-defendants to kill somebody you never met for no reason other than the sheer thrill of controlling others and seeing it be done.”
As reported by the Anchorage Daily News, the judge further stated that Schilmiller purposefully killed Hoffman "for power, for control, for your fetishes." In addition, Schilmiller entered a guilty plea to federal counts of conspiring to produce child pornography.
On that charge, he is awaiting sentencing. In relation to Hoffman's death, authorities initially detained Kayden McIntosh, who was 16 at the time.
Darin Schilmiller admitted his crime
Schilmiller soon admitted, according to the police, to being one of Brehmer's accomplices in the murder, but he insisted Brehmer was the one who brought the gun.
Following their interview with McIntosh, Anchorage Police noted in a probable cause affidavit that "the three of them agreed to duct tape each other and take photographs."
"(Hoffman) was bound by her ankles and wrists with duct tape. She also had grey duct tape placed over her mouth. However, (Hoffman) started to panic."
"They removed the duct tape from (Hoffman’s) mouth and hands. (Hoffman) began to tell them she was going to call the police and tell them they had kidnapped her and sexually assaulted her."
Although McIntosh claimed to have "blacked out," he was able to recall shooting Hoffman and throwing her into the river. His trial in the case against him is still pending.
In February, Brehmer entered a guilty plea to one count of first-degree murder related to Hoffman's demise.
Prosecutors agreed to drop first-degree murder conspiracy, first-degree solicitation of murder, first-degree tampering with physical evidence, and two second-degree murder charges in exchange for the guilty plea. There was no understanding regarding Brehmer's probable sentence when the admission was made.
On February 12, she is expected to appear for her formal sentencing hearing. A minimum sentence of 30 years and a maximum sentence of 99 years are possible for her.
Caleb Leyland, another accomplice, pleaded guilty to murder and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 10. Two more suspected accomplices are presently in the juvenile court system; their identities have not been made public.
