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Alaska woman catfished by Indiana man pleads guilty to murder

Prosecutors said Darin Schilmiller plotted the killing, posed online as a millionaire and offered Denali Brehmer $9 million to "rape and murder someone in Alaska."

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A woman pleaded guilty to murder after an Indiana man allegedly offered her $9 million to "rape and murder someone in Alaska." 

According to the Alaska Department of Law, 22-year-old Denali Brehmer admitting to killing 19-year-old Cynthia Hoffman on June 29, 2019, near Thunderbird Falls in Chugiak, Alaska.

In 2019, Anchorage Daily News reported then-21-year-old Indiana resident Darin Schilmiller pleaded not guilty to five counts of murder.

Prosecutors said Schilmiller plotted the killing, posed online as a millionaire named Tyler and offered Brehmer $9 million to "rape and murder someone in Alaska."

Police said Hoffman, who was developmentally disabled, was bound and shot in the back of the head. Her body was left in the Eklutna River.

Anchorage Superior Court Judge Andrew Peterson accepted Brehmer's guilty plea, and her sentencing is scheduled to begin Aug. 22, with it expected to last three days.

Brehmer faces between 30 and 99 years in prison.

The Anchorage Police Department, FBI and other state and federal law enforcement agencies investigated the case.

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