Events Leading to Murder
February 22, 2007
Arrested for possession of 25 grams (0.9 oz.) of marijuana during a traffic stop and subsequently ordered to a drug court supervised program.
Late March 2008
Attended a funeral outside of Tallahassee and missed a mandatory drug test.
April 4-6, 2008
Served three days in Leon County Jail for failure to appear in court.
April 17, 2008
Anonymous tip led to apartment search where police found 151.7 grams (or 5.328 ounces) of cannabis, and 4 ecstasy pills.
April 25, 2008
Graduated from Florida State University with a degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology.
May 7, 2008
Used as a confidential informant by police to buy 1,500 ecstasy pills, 2 ounces of cocaine, and a handgun using $13,000 cash in a buy–bust operation.
- Rachel was supposed to drive her car to Forestmeadows Park in Tallahassee, the designated meeting place for the undercover drug bust.
- The evening of the scheduled meeting, the suspects called Rachel to change the meeting place from the Forestmeadows parking lot to a nursery parking lot down the road.
- At 6:45pm, Rachel called her police handlers to let them know that the suspects wanted to change the meeting to a third location, two minutes away from the nursery.
- Shortly after that the Tallahassee Police Department officers lost track of her, because her hidden microphone was out of range due to a heavy canopy of trees causing reception interference.
May 7, 2008
Murdered by Deneilo Bradshaw, 23, (a convicted felon already) and Andrea Green, 26
Events After Murder
May 9, 2008
The two men suspected in Rachel's kidnapping and robbery (Bradshaw and Green) led investigators to her body in Perry, FL, fifty miles from the original meet location.
May, 13, 2008
Rachel's funeral, Temple Ahavat Shalom at Curlew Hills Memorial Gardens in Palm Harbor, FL.
August 4, 2008
Five Tallahassee law enforcement officials involved in the drug bust put on paid administrative leave until the department completed an internal-affairs investigation. This decision came after the department received the case evidence and reviewed the grand jury's findings.
August 8, 2008
Published results of the grand jury investigation found that the police undercover operations were negligent and led to death of 23-year-old Rachel Morningstar Hoffman.
Legal & Legislation
January 8, 2009
Florida SB 604 filed (known as "Rachel’s Law") by sponsors state Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, co-sponsor Rep. Peter Nehr, R-Palm Harbor and CS sponsors Criminal Justice Committee and the Judiciary Committee.
March 5, 2009
Bill sponsors make a deal with law-enforcement agencies who offered a compromise measure that requires agencies to adopt minimal guidelines by the end of the year or risk the bill being killed.
May 7, 2009
"Rachel's Law" was passed by the Florida State Senate and signed into law by then-Gov. Charlie Crist.
November 30, 2009
Deneilo Bradshaw murder trial begins.
December 18, 2009
Deneilo Bradshaw convicted of 1st Degree Murder and robbery with a firearm and sentenced to life in prison.
December 29, 2009
Margie Weiss, along with Rachel Morningstar Hoffman's father, Irving Hoffman, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Tallahassee and its police department
March 10, 2010
Andrea Green convicted of 2nd Degree Murder and robbery with a firearm and sentenced to life in prison with no parole.
March 5, 2012
Florida House passes $2.4 million Hoffman claims bill, 99-13. The city publicly apologized and settled a wrongful death lawsuit with Rachel Hoffman’s parents. Total settlement was $2.6 million ($200K came from City budget and the rest from the passing of the bill).
News Coverage
July 24, 2008
NEWS STORY: ABC News - Brian Ross - "Are Pot Users Criminals? The Tragic Case of Rachel Hoffman"
July 25, 2008
NEWS STORY: ABC News - Brian Ross and Vic Walters - "Botched Sting: Killed With Gun She Was Supposed to Buy"
July 29, 2008
BROADCAST: 20/20-ABC - John Stossel/Brian Ross - "Rachel Hoffman's Death-Part 1"
August 14, 2009
BROADCAST: NBC's Dateline with Chris Hansen: "Deadly Dealing" Transcript
Deadly Dealing NBC Transcript (pdf)
DownloadAugust 27, 2012
ARTICLE: New Yorker magazine "The Throwaways" by Sarah Stillman
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