Man takes plea deal in death of Cynthia Hoffman
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - A young man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder after taking a plea deal on charges relating to the 2019 killing of a young woman near Thunderbird Falls.
Caleb Allen Russell Leyland, 24, pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of second-degree murder in the killing of 19-year-old Cynthia Hoffman.
Superior Court Judge Andrew Peterson accepted Leyland’s guilty plea as part of a plea agreement which also saw charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
Leyland is accused of assisting Indiana man named Darin Schilmiller in his efforts to “catfish” Alaska teens by pretending to be someone else online and conspiring to murder Hoffman, among other charges.
Schilmiller accepted a similar plea deal in August which saw his charges of first- and second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder dropped in favor of charges of first-degree solicitation of murder.
According to a press release from the Department of Law, the court will determine Leyland’s sentence beginning June 10 of next year.
Leyland’s plea agreement would permit him to be sentenced to a maximum total of 75 years behind bars with 25 years suspended.
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