Alaska Woman Sentenced to Additional 30 Years in Prison for Child Pornography Charge
An Alaska woman serving a 99-year sentence for murdering her so-called “best friend” will serve an additional 30 years in federal prison on a child pornography charge. Denali Dakota Skye Brehmer, then 18, filmed her friend killing Cynthia “CeeCee” Hoffman on June 2, 2019, after being catfished by a man in Indiana. That man, Darin Mitchell Schilmiller, allegedly offered to pay Brehmer “$9 million or more to commit the murder and send him videos and/or photographs of the murder,” according to a criminal complaint obtained by Inside Edition Digital.
Conspiracy to Produce Child Pornography
At the same time, Schilmiller also conspired with Brehmer to create child pornography, which led to both facing additional federal charges. Brehmer and Schilmiller entered a guilty plea to a single count of conspiracy to produce child pornography back in July as part of a deal with prosecutors. On Monday, a judge sentenced Brehmer to 30 years in prison, the maximum sentence for that charge. Schilmiller has not yet been sentenced for that crime but is serving 99 years for murder just like his accomplice.
The Plea Agreement Details
The plea agreement signed by Brehmer details the actions that led to those federal charges. “At the same time they were conspiring to murder Hoffman, the defendants formed an agreement to employ, use, persuade, and coerce ‘Minor Victim 1,’ a person who was and the defendants knew to be under the age of eighteen years at the time, to take part in sexually explicit conduct herself, and to assist another person to engage in sexually explicit conduct, for the purpose of producing visual depictions of such conduct,” the plea agreement says. “The defendants did so employ, use, persuade, and coerce Minor Victim 1, and created visual depictions of this conduct using a digital device that had previously moved in interstate and foreign commerce, in that SCHILMILLER directed BREHMER to capture her sexual abuse of Minor Victim 1 by taking photographs and videos of actual and simulated [redacted] and the lascivious exhibition of the [redacted] of Minor Victim 1.” The agreement notes that the minor was just 15 years old at the time.
Carrying Out the Murder
Soon after filming that underage minor, Brehmer rounded up a few friends to help her carry out CeeCee’s murder, according to the complaint. One of those friends, Kayden McIntosh, later told detectives the three “were hanging out and all agreed to duct tape CeeCee and take photographs,” according to the complaint. CeeCee “started panicking and threatening to call the police on them,” McIntosh told police, according to the complaint. McIntosh allegedly said that he “shot CeeCee” and pushed her “twitching” body into a river, so he “does not know if she died from the gunshot wound or from drowning,” alleges the complaint. Brehmer took photos and video of the murder for Schilmiller, who she later learned did not have the money he promised, according to the complaint.
Guilty Plea and Sentencing
Prosecutors quickly linked the two masterminds from their cell phone records, according to the complaint and charged them and their accomplices with first-degree murder. The first to enter a guilty plea in the case was Caleb Allen Russell Leyland, whom Brehmer promised to pay $500,000 for supplying her with a vehicle. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in November and is facing anywhere from 25 to 75 years in person at his sentencing in June. McIntosh’s case is pending trial. His lawyer did not respond to a request for comment. The judge overseeing the case said while passing down his sentence to Brehmer that the video of CeeCee’s death was “one of the most difficult pieces of evidence I’ve had to watch in this position.” He then said that he hoped that sentencing Brehmer to 99 years with no credit for time served would be a deterrence to others.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the case of Denali Brehmer and Darin Mitchell Schilmiller is a tragic and horrifying example of the depths of depravity some individuals are capable of sinking to. The sentences handed down to them should serve as a stark warning to others who would contemplate committing similar heinous crimes. The law enforcement and prosecutors involved in bringing these criminals to justice deserve commendation for their relentless pursuit of truth and justice in the face of such unspeakable atrocities.