Murdered by Her Friend for a Catfisher

If a self-claimed millionaire you only met online asked you to kill someone so they could watch, would you?

On June 2, 2019, Cynthia Hoffman, 19, would die, scared and confused in the woods. Her killers were her best friend Denali Brehmer, 18, and 16-year-old Kayden McIntosh. The basic facts of this story are sad and heartbreaking. But, when you add in that this was all orchestrated by a man pulling a catfishing scheme elsewhere in the country, it turns into a sick and twisted game played by everyone but Cynthia Hoffman.

On that Sunday in Anchorage, Alaska, the weather was overcast in the high 50s as Cynthia Hoffman left home to hike with Denali Brehmer and Kayden McIntosh at the Thunderbird Falls in Chugiak, Alaska.

Not long after they started their hike, Denali and Kayden bound Cynthia with duct tape. They then took pictures of her scared and begging to be let go. Instead, Denali and Kayden walked behind Cynthia, lined up a gun with the back of their friend’s head, and pulled the trigger. After she was dead, they pushed her body into the Eklutna River.

*Denali, who took a plea deal, claimed it was Kayden who had shot Cynthia. Kayden has not had his day in court yet.

After leaving her body floating away, the duo dumped most of Cynthia’s belongings. They then texted her father, saying she was dropped off in a nearby park. Cynthia’s father, Timothy Hoffman, knew something was wrong and reported his daughter missing.