Indiana man pleads guilty to child porn charge linked to Anchorage teen’s killing

An Indiana man accused of being the mastermind behind an elaborate plot to kill an Anchorage teen in 2019 pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal child pornography charge linked to the slaying.

Darin Schilmiller, now 25, had directed then-18-year-old Denali Brehmer to sexually abuse two minor victims after she carried out the killing of 19-year-old Cynthia Hoffman, according to an affidavit written by an FBI agent for the federal charges against Schilmiller.

He appeared in U.S. District Court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to produce child pornography for those actions. Three similar charges were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

Schilmiller is also facing three charges of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder in a separate state court case related to Hoffman’s killing. The case garnered national attention after Schilmiller and Brehmer’s arrests.

Schilmiller posed as a millionaire and began an online relationship with Brehmer, who he promised to pay $9 million or more to “rape and murder someone in Alaska,” according to an indictment and bail memorandum filed in state court against them and four others accused of being involved in Hoffman’s death.

Brehmer created a plan to kill Hoffman, the indictment said. Hoffman had a developmental disability and had described Brehmer as her best friend, family members said at the time.

[From 2019: Mourners fill Anchorage church to remember 19-year-old homicide victim]

Investigators said Brehmer recruited four friends to help: 16-year-old Kayden McIntosh, 19-year-old Caleb Leyland and two teens who have not been publicly identified and are facing charges in the juvenile justice system.

According to the indictment, on June 2, 2019, the teens lured Hoffman to Thunderbird Falls in Chugiak, where she was bound with duct tape, shot in the back of the head and dumped in the Eklutna River. Brehmer sent videos and photos of the killing to Schilmiller on Snapchat, according to the indictment in the state murder case.

Investigators found child pornography on Brehmer’s phone as they investigated Hoffman’s death, according to an affidavit written by an FBI agent in the federal charges against Schilmiller.

In the days after Hoffman’s killing, Schilmiller directed Brehmer to sexually assault two minors between the ages of 8 and 15, according to the affidavit. Investigators found explicit videos of one of the minors sent by Brehmer to Schilmiller, the affidavit said.

Both Brehmer and Schilmiller were indicted on federal charges related to child pornography.

Schilmiller is scheduled for sentencing on the child pornography charge in October. The open plea agreement means he could receive a sentence of 15 to 30 years, U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason said during Thursday’s hearing.

Brian Heady, the attorney representing Schilmiller, declined to comment on the case after the hearing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Alexander said he intends to seek a sentence on the higher end of the sentencing guidelines.

“It’s obviously an unusual circumstance,” Alexander said. “And the production conduct is inextricably intertwined with their conspiracy for the homicide, as well. So that’s certainly, from our perspective, an aggravating factor.”

Brehmer is scheduled to change her plea on the federal charges later this month. The agreement reached in her case is nearly identical to the one Schilmiller agreed to, Alexander said.

She pleaded guilty in February to first-degree murder in state court and is scheduled for sentencing in August. A trial date has not yet been set for Schilmiller on the murder charges.

The cases against Leyland and McIntosh remain open and trial dates have not yet been set. Leyland was in custody Thursday at Goose Creek Correctional Center and McIntosh was at the Anchorage Correctional Complex.