Press Release

Kayden McIntosh Pleads Guilty to Murder of Cynthia Hoffman at Thunderbird Falls

May 17, 2024

(Anchorage, AK) – Today, 21-year-old Kayden Bryan McIntosh pleaded guilty to the murder of Cynthia Hoffman in June 2019 near Thunderbird Falls. Anchorage Superior Court Judge Andrew Peterson accepted McIntosh’s plea to one count of Murder in the Second Degree. All other charges were dismissed as part of the agreement.

The charges against McIntosh stem from the June 2, 2019, murder of 19-year-old Cynthia Hoffman near Thunderbird Falls in Chugiak, Alaska. The murder of Hoffman involved a group of teenagers who are accused of being “catfished” by Darin Schilmiller to commit the crime for money. The case was investigated by the Anchorage Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of multiple other State and federal law enforcement agencies.

The court will determine McIntosh’s sentence at a sentencing hearing. The agreement between the parties permits the court to sentence McIntosh to a term of imprisonment of between 30 and 85 years.

Sentencing is scheduled to begin Nov. 14, 2024, in front of Judge Peterson and is scheduled to last two days. Sentencing for Caleb Leyland was rescheduled to begin Aug. 22, 2024, and is scheduled to last two days.

McIntosh is currently in the custody of the Alaska Department of Corrections and is no longer eligible to be released on conditions of release.

CONTACT: Anchorage Assistant District Attorney Patrick McKay at (907) 269-6300 or patrick.mckay@alaska.gov.

# # #

Department Media Contacts: Communications Director Patty Sullivan at patty.sullivan@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6368. Information Officer Sam Curtis at sam.curtis@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6269.