The Alaska man who pulled the trigger in one of the state’s most disturbing murder-for-hire cases has been sentenced, closing the final chapter on a crime motivated by a bizarre catfishing scheme. In November 2025, Kayden Bryan McIntosh, now in his early 20s, received a lengthy prison sentence – 85 years with 15 suspended – for the role he played in the 2019 killing of Cynthia “CeeCee” Hoffman, a 19-year-old woman who considered her assailants friends. According to court records, the murder occurred on June 2, 2019, during what Hoffman believed was a casual hike near Thunderbird Falls in Chugiak, Alaska, with McIntosh and Denali Brehmer, another close friend. Instead, investigators say Brehmer had lured Hoffman to the secluded area as part of a murder plot orchestrated by an online stranger she believed was a millionaire, per Alaska Daily News. The millionaire “Tyler” That stranger turned out to be Darin Schilmiller, a man living in Indiana who posed online as a wealthy benefactor named “Tyler.” Authorities say Schilmiller convinced Brehmer that he would pay her $9 million if she killed someone and sent him photos and videos of the crime. The investigation confirmed that “Tyler,” the supposed millionaire, never existed. Schilmiller, living in his grandfather’s home, had fabricated the persona entirely. Brehmer, who was 18 at the time, recruited McIntosh and several other teens to carry out the killing, promising them a share of the nonexistent payout. Prosecutors said Hoffman was targeted because she was trusting, vulnerable, and considered the group her close friends. When the trio reached the edge of the Eklutna River, Hoffman was bound with duct tape. McIntosh then shot her in the back of the head before pushing her body into the river. Brehmer immediately sent images of the killing to Schilmiller over Snapchat, believing the group was minutes away from receiving millions. McIntosh was the last to be sentenced Authorities arrested Schilmiller, who posed as the millionaire named “Tyler,” in Indiana shortly after the killing, extradited him to Alaska, and ultimately sentenced him in 2024 to 99 years for soliciting the murder. Another participant, Caleb Leyland, admitted to helping plan the homicide and allowing his vehicle to be used; he was sentenced to 30 years in August 2024. Denali Brehmer, who organized the killing at Schilmiller’s direction, also received 99 years. In addition to these adult defendants, two juveniles were involved in the plot, though their names and detailed legal outcomes remain sealed due to their age under Alaska law. McIntosh, who was 16 at the time, later told investigators he thought he would receive $750,000 for his participation. During sentencing, Judge Andrew Peterson called the crime “cold and calculated,” emphasizing that the murder was not impulsive but the result of planning, manipulation, and a willingness to kill for money that never existed. McIntosh pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2024, according to the Alaska Department of Law.