Parents blame Tallahassee police in death of Pinellas woman

Irv Hoffman and Margie Weiss wondered Friday how their only child went from police informer to murder victim.

Rachel Hoffman, 23, who grew up in Pinellas County and recently graduated from Florida State University, was found dead in a rural area near Tallahassee two days after she disappeared while helping police with a narcotics investigation.

On Friday evening, her parents gathered with friends in their daughter's Tallahassee apartment. They railed against the Tallahassee Police Department for putting their daughter in harm's way and then blaming her for getting killed.

"It's like sending a lamb into the den with the lions," said Irv Hoffman, 58, of Palm Harbor.

Before Rachel Hoffman disappeared, Weiss remembered getting a call from her daughter, who planned to come home for Mother's Day.

"She asked me to pray for her," Weiss said. "She was going to do something that was dangerous."

Hoffman's parents wondered why police allowed a young woman with no police training to make such a dangerous rendezvous. So far, many of their questions have gone unanswered.

Last year, Hoffman was charged with felony marijuana possession. Then, she failed to appear in court. Her parents think she felt pressured to help police to clear her name.

According to the Tallahassee Democrat, police announced Friday that Hoffman faced multiple felony charges when she agreed to pose as a buyer. On Wednesday, she was supposed to purchase 1,500 pills of ecstasy, 2 ounces of cocaine or crack cocaine and a gun.

Police said she didn't follow protocol, leaving officer supervision to go with Andrea J. Green and Deneilo Bradshaw, now suspects in her disappearance and her death. Green has spent time in prison on charges of selling marijuana and aggravated assault with a weapon.

"Unfortunately, Rachel chose to ignore precautions established in a previous briefing as well as the direction of her case agent," police Chief Dennis Jones said.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested Green and Bradshaw on Thursday in Orlando, according to the Democrat. On Friday, they led police to Hoffman's body and were charged with armed robbery and kidnapping.

A graduate of Countryside High School in Clearwater, Hoffman majored in psychology at FSU. Later, she realized her passion was cooking and planned to go to culinary school in Arizona.

Hoffman's father described her as an affectionate person who loved her cat Bently and sought thrills: skydiving, traveling in Europe and the Middle East, parasailing, even riding in a hot-air balloon.

"In 23 years she probably did more than most people do in 60 years," Irv Hoffman said.

Weiss, of Safety Harbor, said the marijuana possession was a minor offense that shouldn't have landed her in such trouble.

"They destroyed her whole life and her future," Weiss, 57, said. "My daughter's life has been taken away from me."

Comments on this article

by Lin	May 11, 2008 11:14 AM
Here was a college kid using marijuana & the police set her up to buy ecstasy, cocaine or crack cocaine and a gun.She wasn't moving in those circles, in over her head.Did she break protocol or was she kidnapped at gunpoint?Police were crazy.

by tom	May 11, 2008 11:14 AM
Typical cops at work...what a bunch of morons...Always out to catch the 'fines' and move up the career ladder...not catch real criminals that might actually be dangerous!

by Celeste	May 11, 2008 10:57 AM
Diane points out a big detail that is being ignored. It started with messing with stuff she shouldn't have been involved in, then failing to own up to her mistake, then disobeying instructions. All that got her killed, not the law or its enforcers.

by HerOwnFault	May 11, 2008 10:57 AM
You people amaze me. Whether it should be legal or not, she broke the law (and a felony at that) THEN, THEN, decided not to show up at court!! WHY??? Overslept? Hardly!! Give it a rest.. she's no innocent victim. Whah whah.. go cry elsewhere.

by Haven	May 11, 2008 10:19 AM
How tragic! Legislators why is marijuana possession considered a felony? This is absurd! Decriminalize marijuana possession!

by college student as well	May 11, 2008 10:18 AM
She was trying 2 clear her name and record, being a college student with that on her record would make it harder 4 her 2 apply 4 student loans if needed by having charges. I understand y she took da chance, but not y she didn't followed precautions.

by JohnQ	May 11, 2008 10:17 AM
A very sad story, but would this have happened if she wasn't SELLING drugs to begin with?

by Aaron	May 11, 2008 10:17 AM
If your going to play the game, be ready to pay the price. Once you enter the game, you never know what that price may be. She was an adult, responsible for her own actions and decisions

by Paul	May 11, 2008 10:16 AM
Barney Fife is somewhere in this law enforcement debacle...COVER UP the incompetence.

by voxy	May 11, 2008 10:15 AM
oh and I am TERRIBLY sorry for your loss. She looks JUST LIKE YOU. Don't let them get away with this. I'm sorry for your loss so close to Mother's day. You're STILL her Mama no matter what. Love to you and yours.

by voxy	May 11, 2008 10:15 AM
Take them down. Take them down. When a person goes on probation for drug possession the guys from NA TRY to recruit them to NARC. Then they sell drugs in NA. GET THEM for others. Don't stop and don't let it go.

by Jimmy	May 11, 2008 10:14 AM
I'm outraged at the conduct of the Tallahassee Police Departmnet. It appears they used the fear of prison to force her to cooperate in the drug buy. The police failed to control this situation, period. Head's need to roll at the TPD & Vice Sq.

by Parent Shirlee	May 11, 2008 10:13 AM
After reading the very first article about Rachaels' murder I thought something is not right here. Why did they let her leave the area with the criminals? Please do not let the TPD get away with this murder. They should be held accountable!

by FedAgent	May 11, 2008 10:13 AM
First, prayers to the family. However, when you break the law there are consequences. SHE chose to "work off" the charge AND deviated from the precise instructions she was issued by the local law enforcement. She put herself in this situation.

by Victim?	May 11, 2008 10:11 AM
Blame the police? Why don't you blame her drug habit and poor judgement? Maybe mom and dad should have done more to get her help.

by Katherine	May 11, 2008 10:10 AM
Our family is heartbroken by this tragic news. Rachel and our daughter, Sarah, were the best of friends since they were very little. Our hearts and prayers go out to her devoted parents, Margie and Irv. We will cherish our memories of Rachel.

by Richard	May 11, 2008 10:09 AM
puting marijuana in the same class as coke and heroin is another gov money maker. There has never been a recorded death from marijuana and cigarettes are more adictive. Just another money maker for the states.

by NorthFlorida	May 11, 2008 10:08 AM
Condolences to the family.

by letsblamesomeoneelse	May 11, 2008 10:06 AM
Why is it always someone else's fault?? She destroyed her life when she decided to use illegal drugs. She also deviated from the protocol the cops set up to protect her. It sucks that it worked out like it did but let's not act like she was a saint

by Reality	May 11, 2008 10:06 AM
Well at least they she is going to get her two killers off the streets. SOmetimes you have to look at addition by subtraction. Don't blame the cops. No one forced her to smoke the weed, and I am sure she didnt get caught the 1st time. RIP

by Leo	May 11, 2008 10:06 AM
Your daughter was a drug dealer and has no one to blame but herself for making bad decisions. Or if your looking for someone else to blame you might look in the mirror. She obviously never learned to live by the rules of society.

by Leo	May 11, 2008 10:06 AM
Don't pretend this was the first time she did a drug deal. How do you think she came into possession of a FELONY amount of marijuana? Not really a minor offense. Stop blaming the police. You should have taught your daughter to better.

by Diane	May 10, 2008 3:01 PM
You all are forgetting that she failed to appear, which got her into more trouble. Then she did not follow procedure and left with the suspects. This mess is HER OWN FAULT, NOT that of the police. My sympathies, but ...

by Ted W.	May 10, 2008 2:54 PM
It ain't right!

by Paul	May 10, 2008 1:10 PM
Felony posession of marijuana? What a joke law. Its a plant. You want to arrest real criminals? Go arrest the tobacco company executives! Drug laws killed this girl, plain and simple. Draconian drug laws need to end.

by Parent Also!	May 10, 2008 1:10 PM
I hope you take them to the cleaners on this one! I thought the same things when I read the first article about your Daughter. Sorry for your loss!

by kitty	May 10, 2008 1:10 PM
If cannabis was legally regulated like alcohol - a much more dangerous "drug", Ms. Hoffman wouldn't have been facing draconian charges. It would also free up a lot of prison space for real criminals and save gazillions of tax $ annually.

by lisa	May 10, 2008 1:10 PM
i am on parents side, the police were wrong in using her this way!!!the marijuana possession was a minor offense that shouldn't have landed her in such trouble. charges should be filed against them along with the other two men,with out a doubt!!!

by James	May 10, 2008 1:10 PM
Outrageous. Hold police liable. Decriminalize.

by TallahasseeCitizen	May 10, 2008 1:09 PM
Please demand a full & independent investigation of Ms. Hoffman's murder. The whole story stinks and TPD is doing their best to cover their tracks. Rachel was caught with less tnd yet they say she whan an ounce of weed during a routine traffic stop.

by Todd	May 10, 2008 1:09 PM
All of this snowballs out of control because of a little marijuana, and faced with ruining her life this young woman was forced into a bad situation. We need to wake up an decriminalize marijuana! Marijuana doesn't ruin lives, marijuana laws do!

by James	May 10, 2008 1:09 PM
Law enforcement should not use citizens for undercover work, that is why they have undercover officers in the first place.With all the abuse going on with police now days, i would not trust them with my life in their hands at all.

by Jason	May 10, 2008 1:09 PM
Yet another casualty of the "drug war" coupled with the stupidity of law enforcement. Crying shame

by Justthinking	May 10, 2008 1:09 PM
This is horrible! The parents deserve more facts! What if she didn't have a choice and HAD to go with the two who killed her? Where was the officer? How far away? She was scared and the criminals knew it! This should have NEVER happened!!!

by paul	May 10, 2008 1:09 PM
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Rachel's family and to all her friends. She was a sweet girl.