Promised $9 million online, teen girl kills best friend

An American teenager has been charged for allegedly murdering her best friend after a man she met online offered her $9 million to do it. According to investigators, Denali Brehmer, an 18-year-old from Alaska, was recruited to kill her friend by a 21-year-old man Darin Schilmiller of Indiana.

He assumed a fake identity and posed as a millionaire named Tyler, reports NDTV. Court documents say that during the course of their online relationship, they discussed a plan to rape and murder someone in Alaska. He also promised her $9 million to send him videos and pictures of the attack.

Brehmer then proceeded to recruit four friends and the group settled on Cynthia Hoffman - described as one of Brehmer's best friends - as their victim.

On June 2, authorities say 19-year-old Hoffman was lured to a hiking trail northeast of Anchorage where she was bound with duct tape and shot once in the back of the head before being pushed into a river. Her body was found on June 4.

Authorities say Brehmer communicated with Schilmiller throughout the murder, sending him "Snapchat photographs and videos of Hoffman tied up and of the body afterward."

Two of the accused have been arrested and charged with murder while the others have been charged with assisting the murder. A grand jury last Friday indicted all six defendants for first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree, two counts of second-degree murder and other charges.

Police said that a search on Brehmer's phone during their investigation into Hoffman's death revealed that the teen - at Schilmiller's direction - had produced videos depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a minor and sent them to Schilmiller.

Both face upto life prison for child pornography and upto 99 years for murder charges. "For all of the good the internet can do, it can be a dark place and parents would be wise to monitor the activity of their children online."

Brehmer faces up to 30 years if convicted of conspiracy to produce child pornography, 30 years if convicted of production of child pornography and 20 years if convicted of distribution of child pornography, reports CNN.

Schilmiller faces production, conspiracy and receipt of child pornoraphy charges, and an additional charge of coercion and enticement of a minor. If he is convicted of that count, he faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison with a maximum sentence of life, the reports further say.

*Most of the story has been taken from syndicated feed.