Darin Mitchell Schilmiller, 25,of New Salisbury, Indiana, pleaded guilty today to a single count of solicitation to commit first-degree murder related to the 2019 death of Cynthia Hoffman, near Thunder Bird Falls.
Anchorage Superior Court Judge Andrew Peterson accepted the plea on Friday.
In June 2019, 19-year-old Cynthia Hoffman was murdered near Thunder Bird Falls, a popular hiking destination near Chugiak. The crime, involving a group of local teenagers, took a twist when investigators discovered Schilmiller’s involvement as the long-distant puppet master.
According to court records, Schilmiller orchestrated the plot from his home in Indiana, “catfishing” the group of teens and luring them into the act of murder under the promise of financial reward. As part of the guilty plea agreement, Schilmiller signed an affidavit acknowledging the statement of facts surrounding the crime.
Although there was no consensus between the prosecution and defense regarding a specific sentence, Judge Peterson has the discretion to impose a term of imprisonment anywhere between 5 and 99 years.
Sentencing proceedings are scheduled to start on Jan. 8, 2024 in front of Judge Peterson. Other charges including first and second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Schilmiller is currently being held in the custody of the Alaska Department of Corrections and is no longer eligible for release on any conditions.
Denali Brehmer pleaded guilty earlier this year to the actual murder. There were four other alleged accomplices to the gruesome act, in which “friends” took the developmentally disabled Hoffman on a hike, to the falls, bound her with duct tape, and shot her in the back of the head, and dumped her body into the Eklutna River.
Brehmer then sent videos and photos of the murder to Schilmiller via the Snapchat phone app.
It was during the investigation into Hoffman’s death that the child pornography was found on both Denali Bremer’s and Darin Schilmiller’s phones. The FBI says Schilmiller instructed Brehmer to sexually assault two minors aged between 8 and 15. Explicit videos of one of these acts were sent by Brehmer to Schilmiller.
Previously, Schilmiller had pleaded guilty to child pornography, which will come with separate sentencing.
Psychopath. And also the teens involved. A mental disorder that used to be rare and is now all too common.
Bush flight.
A premeditated excecution murder should warrant nothing less than the death penalty.
Maybe drag queen story hour for the preschoolers will help prevent children from becoming disturbed individuals that seek pleasure in owning videos of children being raped and murdered.
It would be an education to look into the background and history of the guidance and education of those involved just to see what they were exposed to.
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