Cynthia Hoffman: A Heinous Catfish Murder-for-Hire Plot

[00:00:08] Hey everyone. My name is Nikki Young and this is Serial Napper, the number one true crime podcast for naps. I'm back with another true crime story to lull you to sleep or perhaps to give you nightmares. When 19-year-old Cynthia Hoffman received a phone call from her best

[00:00:36] friend, asking if she wanted to go for a hike, she jumped at the opportunity. The plan was to spend the day at Thunderbird Falls, a scenic hiking trail with a beautiful waterfall view. But Cynthia, who was developmentally delayed, had no idea of the secret sinister intention

[00:00:53] behind this trip. Her so-called best friend, 18-year-old Denali Bremer, had other plans for her. Denali, along with a few accomplices, lured Cynthia to a remote location where they tied her up before shooting her in the back of the head and dumping her body in the river.

[00:01:12] The reason? Denali had been chatting online with a young millionaire from Kansas named Tyler, who promised her $9 million in return if she would send him photos and videos of her sexually assaulting and then killing someone. Denali jumped at the idea, offering up Cynthia

[00:01:32] to her online boyfriend. So, who was Tyler from Kansas really and what else did Denali promise him? As it would turn out, Tyler was a catfish and this heinous murder-for-hire plot was just the tip of the iceberg. So, let's jump right in.

[00:01:50] Cynthia Hoffman was born on October 8, 1999 in Anchorage, Alaska, to her parents Timothy and Barbara Hoffman. She grew up in a large family with a slew of siblings, and she was known for her kind heart. Cynthia went by Cece, so I'll be referring to her as such

[00:02:09] from here on out. She graduated from Robert Service High School before going on to join the Alternative Career Education Program, which is a post-secondary program that, according to their website, provides communication, social skills, transportation, recreation leisure, independent living, and vocational skills training in the community. Cece needed

[00:02:31] a bit of extra support because she was developmentally delayed, and at 19 years old, she had the mental capacity of a 7th grader. After finishing her schooling, Cece worked at her father's handyman business attending job sites where she would assist in doing things like mixing

[00:02:49] concrete, and taking measurements. The two were very close as she was known to be her dad's right-hand man. She was very trusting, loving, and a little bit naive. All she wanted was friendship, and unfortunately, some people would take advantage of her kindness. On June

[00:03:09] 2, 2019, Cece received a text message from her best friend, Denali Bremer, who also went by the name Angela, asking if she wanted to go for a hike at Thunderbird Falls in Chugiak, an unincorporated community in Anchorage, Alaska. Cece had met Denali back when she attended

[00:03:29] Service High School. Cece's father, Timothy Hoffman, would later recall his knowledge of their relationship. He would say, quote, She just wanted friends. One day, she ran into Bremer, and I guess Bremer goes to the same school. I didn't know that at the time,

[00:03:45] and she thought she had the very best friend. She came home and bragged, Dad, I finally have a friend. Thunderbird Falls is a popular picturesque hiking spot located about 30 minutes outside of town. It's known for its mile-long trail amidst a birch tree forest

[00:04:03] leading to a canyon with an incredible viewing spot of the 200-foot waterfall. It's a beautiful location, and it was a beautiful summer day, so Cece said yes to the hike. They would go as a group, including 18-year-old Denali and 16-year-old Kayden McIntosh, using 19-year-old

[00:04:24] Caleb Leland's car. There were two other teens involved in some capacity, but they haven't been named because they were juveniles at the time, and we don't know the extent of their involvement. They picked Cece up from her home, and then they took her to the

[00:04:39] falls for this hike. When they arrived at the trail, Cece was none the wiser that hiking was not in the cards. Instead, amidst the stunning scenery along the Atklutna River, they bound Cece's hands behind her back and duct-taped her feet together. Then, it

[00:04:59] is alleged that Kayden fired one bullet into the back of Cece's head before they dumped her body into the river. Next, they tried to cover their tracks. Denali texted Cece's family to tell them that, at her request, they had dropped her off at a park. Then,

[00:05:17] they went to a different park, where they burned all of her personal belongings, including her purse and the gun that they had used to shoot her. Later that day, Cece was supposed

[00:05:28] to visit her father at the shop to collect some money that she had earned from a recent job she completed with him. When she didn't show up, her dad began to worry. He knew that

[00:05:39] Cece had been on a hike with her best friend that day, so he started to text Denali to see if she had any information. Denali claimed that she hadn't seen or heard from Cece

[00:05:50] since earlier in the day, when the group dropped her off at the park after their hike. In the text exchange, Denali seemed confused and distraught over Cece's disappearance. She offered her help and said that she'd keep an ear out if she heard anything. Cece's

[00:06:07] father had no idea at the time what had really happened to his daughter and how her alleged best friend was actually involved. By the following morning, when Cece was still missing and unreachable by phone, Timothy Hoffman decided that it was time to report his daughter

[00:06:23] missing to the police. They took down the details and they let him know that they would look for her, but he couldn't just sit back and wait for them to find her. He couldn't

[00:06:34] stop thinking about his missing daughter, where she might be and if she was in danger. So he put together his own search party with friends and family. They checked all of the usual spots where Cece was known to spend time, they asked around if anyone had seen

[00:06:50] her, and they kept in close contact with her best friend, Denali, just in case she had reached out to her. They pleaded on the local news stations for anyone with information to come forward, but they turned up empty-handed. However, just across town, Nicole House would

[00:07:09] recall hearing a story from her teenage daughter that seemed almost too crazy to be true. Nicole is Denali Bremer's biological mother, but they hadn't been in each other's life until recently. When Denali was around 18 months old, she was adopted out to a family friend

[00:07:27] because her mother just wasn't in a position to take care of her. It was only within the last 6 months or so that the mother and daughter had reconnected. And now, her estranged daughter was standing at the door with an unbelievable story. Denali, along with her friend, Caden

[00:07:46] McIntosh, recalled how they had gone out to Thunderbird Falls with another friend named Cece Hoffman just a few days prior. While they were there, Caden said that he had shot Cece in the back of the head and then they dumped her body into the river. The reason

[00:08:04] that they gave? Well, Denali had met a man online who she was now dating. His name was Tyler. He was from Kansas, and he just so happened to be a millionaire. Tyler had a

[00:08:17] fantasy and he was willing to pay Denali handsomely for bringing it to life, to the tune of $9 million. In exchange for the millions, Tyler wanted videos and photos of someone being murdered. Denali picked Cece and recruited some other people, including Caleb Leyland,

[00:08:38] Caden McIntosh, and then two other unnamed teens to help her with the killing in exchange for some of the cash. Now that Cece was dead, they were just waiting to collect on their millions from Tyler. It was an insane story, and at first, Nicole didn't believe it. She

[00:08:57] didn't know her daughter Denali all that well because she hadn't been the one that raised her, but she couldn't imagine her doing something so heinous for some stranger that she met on the internet. It wasn't until Nicole saw Cece's father in the news pleading for information

[00:09:14] about his daughter's disappearance that she had this sickening feeling in her stomach and realized that Denali had been telling the truth after all. Nicole went to the police right away with the information that she had been given. Later on, Nicole would say,

[00:09:29] quote, I knew that I couldn't in good conscience not come forward with the information that I had. Told her I loved her. Because I do. She's still my daughter. But the choices that she

[00:09:42] made and the decisions that she made put her in the position she's in right now. And when someone loses their life because of a decision you made, there's got to be consequences for that. With that information in hand, investigators knew exactly where they needed to look for

[00:10:00] Cynthia Cece Hoffman. Thunderbird Falls. On June 4th, 2019, just two days after she was first reported missing, Cece's body would be recovered from the Eklutna River. She was found with her hands and feet bound and duct

[00:10:24] taped, with a bullet hole in the back of her head. Two days later, on June 6th, Denali Bremer was brought in for questioning. It didn't take long for her to turn on her friends,

[00:10:36] just like she had done with Cece. She told the police that she had gone out to the waterfall with her friends, Cece and Kaden, and they had planned to take some photos of each other

[00:10:47] wrapped up in duct tape, just for fun. Then Kaden took things too far. He brandished a gun and he was the one who shot Cece in the back of the head. To Denali's shock and horror,

[00:11:00] of course. She denied having any plan or idea that he was going to kill Cece. The police were able to get a search warrant for Denali's phone, and this is when they found hundreds of messages between Denali and Tyler, who she had lovingly named Babe in her contact

[00:11:18] list. The proof was in their text exchange. They found messages between Denali and Tyler where he talked about being a millionaire, living in Kansas, and having a twisted fantasy about watching someone be killed. He made a deal with Denali. In exchange for $9 million,

[00:11:39] she would abduct and kill someone from Alaska, recording the occasion with videos and photos along the way. Which she did. The horrific video of Cynthia's final moments and murder would be found still saved on Denali's cell phone. Denali had taken several photos and

[00:11:58] videos documenting the entire thing, and she was sending them to Tyler throughout the day. But that wasn't all police found. While investigators were searching for any details related specifically to Cece's death, they made another disturbing discovery. What appeared

[00:12:18] to be homemade child pornography. Graphic photos and videos exchanged between Denali and Tyler. It showed Denali sexually abusing two minors, one being around 8 or 9 years old and the other being 15. Tyler was instructing her not only to find someone to murder and

[00:12:39] record it, but he also instructed her to abuse minors and create child pornography specifically for his disgusting fantasies. And Denali complied, wanting to make her online boyfriend Tyler happy and of course, wanting a piece of his millions. So who was millionaire

[00:12:59] Tyler from Kansas? Well, as it turns out, he was actually a 21-year-old porn addict from Indiana named Darren Schillmiller. Police were able to track him down through cell phone records. The things that this monster said he was into was disgusting and this wasn't

[00:13:19] his first time being connected to a child pornography case. In a previous incident, Schillmiller was suspected of contacting a woman from California and talking to her about his interest in child pornography, specifically featuring infants and dirty diapers. This

[00:13:37] is the kind of person who should never be allowed to be around the general public ever again. When Denali learned that her millionaire boyfriend Tyler wasn't who he claimed to be, she appeared to be genuinely shocked. His name, fake. His money, not real. His photos,

[00:13:54] someone else completely. She was incredibly naive to believe such a ridiculous story and sadly, it didn't appear that she needed much convincing to go along with this murder for hire plot. She chose her best friend Cece because Cece trusted her. It was easy for

[00:14:13] her to lure her out into a remote area and then kill her. Now that the catfish had been revealed, Denali came clean and admitted to her role in the murder as well as the sexual

[00:14:24] assault of two minors. She would be indicted on murder conspiracy charges, along with her online boyfriend, Darren Schillmiller, and her 16-year-old friend, Caden McIntosh, who was the one who actually pulled the trigger and shot Cece. 19-year-old Caleb Leyland would

[00:14:41] also be arrested for lending the teens his car which was used in the murder in exchange for $500,000 of that $9 million. There were two other young teens arrested in connection to Cece's murder, however, their names haven't been released because they were minors at

[00:14:58] the time of the crime. When arrested by the police, Darren Schillmiller admitted to picking Cece Hoffman as his desired victim when she was presented to him by Denali. He also admitted to receiving several photos and videos via Snapchat of Cece before, during, and after

[00:15:17] her murder, and that he and Denali had plans to sexually assault and possibly even murder more victims at a later date. Denali wasn't even the only woman that he was catfishing. Schillmiller admitted that he was talking to other women in an attempt to get them to fulfill

[00:15:35] the same kind of sick and twisted sexual fantasies. There is no doubt that if he wasn't caught, he would have done this again and there would have been more victims. Concerning the graphic photos and videos that were produced and exchanged, Denali and Schillmiller were also indicted

[00:15:54] on federal child pornography and child exploitation charges. Denali would plead guilty in the killing of Cece Hoffman, and just last week, she was sentenced to 99 years in prison. At sentencing, Assistant District Attorney Patrick McKay would say, quote,

[00:16:31] The judge who presided over the trial described the video of Cece's last moments as one of the most difficult pieces of evidence I've had to watch in this position. The fact that Denali was able to come up with this calculated plan and record the video without

[00:16:57] any sort of emotion, it really showed how truly ruthless she is. And it was a big reason why the courts didn't want to go easy on her just because of her young age. Denali also pleaded guilty to the child pornography charges, but sentencing for that case isn't scheduled

[00:17:16] until March, so I'll be watching. Darren Schillmiller, aka Tyler, he would also plead to one count of first-degree murder and was also sentenced to 99 years. He pleaded guilty to federal pornography charges, so needless to say, he will die behind bars. Caden McIntosh,

[00:17:36] who was 19 years old at the time of the murder and the person to actually shoot Cece in the back of the head, he was sentenced to 99 years in prison as well. Caleb Leyland, who was

[00:17:47] 16 years old and admitted to lending Denali the car specifically for the murder in exchange for $500,000, he's scheduled to be sentenced in June. There are people who think that because of his young age and the fact that he wasn't actually there when Cece was killed that he

[00:18:05] should get a lighter sentence, but I disagree. He was willing to accept $500,000 in exchange for facilitating the killing of another human being. He sat silent as Denali took his car keys, knowing that she was driving over to murder someone. He could have been the one

[00:18:25] to put an end to this plan before anyone got hurt, and instead, he did nothing. I'm going for the full 99 years. And I ain't gonna stop coming until everybody hears my cry. It won't be an emotional one. It'll be one that the court, the good Lord will

[00:18:48] be on my side and it's already nationwide. And I'm sure there's a lot of people on my side. In that case, the judge has to hear it. To make a decision they made, to make

[00:19:02] the plot they plotted, to plan out my daughter's death, that's not being a teenager. That's being an adult. They ought to be tried as one. They ought to stay in these courts, put

[00:19:17] the age aside and give them what they rightly deserve. I hear one of them wants to play a victim, but they're not victims. They planned all this. A few of them even came to my house.

[00:19:31] To come into my house as friends for my daughter and to do what they did to her. I am backing off of this. That's it for me tonight. If you want to reach out, you can find me on Facebook at Serial

[00:19:45] Napper. I also have a Serial Napper true crime discussion group. It's called Serial Society and I'll have the link in my show notes. I'd love to chat with you about this case and

[00:19:55] all of the other cases that I cover. You can find my audio on Apple or Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. I post all of my episodes in video format over on YouTube. So go check

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[00:20:17] underscore Napper and I post things on TikTok. Serial Napper Nick and that's all one word. Until next time, sweet dreams, stay kind, especially in the comments. Bye.