Father of Alaska woman killed in contract killing dies during memorial ride for her death

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The father of an Alaska woman killed in a 2019 murder-for-hire plot died while on a motorcycle ride during a weekend commemorating the fifth anniversary of her death.

Timothy Hoffman, 58, lost control of his motorcycle in an area west of Wasilla on Sunday and was later pronounced dead at a local hospital, Alaska State Troopers said. His wife, Barbara “Jeanie” Hoffman, was in the back seat of the motorcycle and was critically injured, Tanya Chaison, who is engaged to Timothy Hoffman’s brother, told the Anchorage Daily News.

The Hoffmans’ 19-year-old daughter, Cynthia Hoffman, was killed in a bizarre contract killing involving Denali Brehmer, a woman Hoffman considered her best friend. Prosecutors alleged that Brehmer, then 18, began an online relationship with an Indiana man she thought was a Kansas millionaire, Darin Schilmiller. Authorities said Schilmiller promised Brehmer $9 million if she killed someone and sent him photos and videos of it. Brehmer allegedly recruited four friends to kill Hoffman.

According to court documents, the group took Hoffman to Thunderbird Falls, a popular hiking area north of Anchorage, and followed an off-trail path to the Eklutna River. Hoffman was bound with duct tape, shot and thrown into the river. Brehmer then texted Hoffman’s family that the group had dropped them off at an Anchorage park, officials said.

After Brehmer’s arrest and after realizing she had been set up by Schilmiller, she told authorities she had been lured by him. She was sentenced to 99 years in prison earlier this year. Schilmiller, of New Salisbury, Indiana, also received a 99-year sentence for his role in Hoffman’s death. Schilmiller admitted to federal agents and Indiana State Police that he chose Hoffman as a victim and told Brehmer to kill her, court documents say. Sentencing of two other people in connection with the case is scheduled for later this year.

Timothy Hoffman’s children, including Cynthia, suffered from developmental disabilities and he had described the steps he had taken to ensure their safety, including rides to and from school and hourly phone calls.

He has been a fixture at court hearings in the case, often wearing a black leather motorcycle jacket and accompanied by his small service dog, Diego. In recent hearings, he has spoken about the pain and devastation Cynthia’s murder has caused his family.

Jeanie Hoffman had begun to process her daughter’s death. That was one of the reasons she rode with Timothy on a motorcycle on Sunday, said his brother Robert Hoffman. She had previously followed the memorial rides from another vehicle, he said.

Patrick McKay, who served as lead prosecutor in several criminal cases related to Cynthia Hoffman’s murder, called Timothy Hoffman a “zealous advocate” for his daughter and said his sudden death was “almost too unbelievable to be true.”

“I hope his family and friends find comfort in the knowledge that Tim died doing something he loved, with people he loved, in memory of a loved one,” he said.

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