An Alaska man who believed he would be paid $750,000 for participating in the killing of a 19-year-old woman with developmental disabilities has been sentenced to 70 years in prison.
Kayden McIntosh, 22, was sentenced on Nov. 15 after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the 2019 kidnapping and death of Cynthia Hoffman, according to the Alaska Department of Law.
Hoffman disappeared in June 2019 while hiking with two people she considered friends — Denali Brehmer and another individual. Two days later, authorities found her body along the banks of the Eklutna River. She had been bound with duct tape and shot in the back of the head.
Investigators said Brehmer had been manipulated by an Indiana man, Darin Schilmiller, who promised $9 million if she killed someone and sent him photos and videos of the crime. McIntosh ultimately carried out the killing and believed he would receive money for doing so, the Department of Law stated.
The Anchorage Daily News reported that prosecutors said McIntosh expected a $750,000 payout.
Authorities said Brehmer and McIntosh, then 18 and 16 years old, drove Hoffman to Thunderbird Falls. After McIntosh shot her, the pair bound her with duct tape and took photographs.
Judge Andrew Peterson condemned the murder during sentencing, saying, “This was not an impulsive act. This was a planned, premeditated act” and added that McIntosh had shown “no real remorse.”
Multiple people were charged in connection with the killing.
Brehmer was sentenced to 99 years in prison in 2024. Schilmiller also received a 99-year sentence after pleading guilty to soliciting murder. Another accomplice, Caleb Leyland, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 30 years.
Two additional defendants were charged as juveniles, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
Hoffman’s father, Timothy, said his daughter had developmental disabilities and believed Brehmer was her best friend, the paper reported.
In June 2024, Timothy Hoffman died after losing control of his motorcycle during a memorial ride marking the fifth anniversary of his daughter’s death, according to Alaska State Troopers.
