Rachel Hoffman

On December 17, 2009, which would have been Hoffman's 25th birthday, Bradshaw, one of the murder suspects, was found guilty of first-degree murder with robbery and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole plus 30 years (concurrent). Greene was also convicted of Hoffman's murder and sentenced to life in prison.

On May 7, 2009, a law (dubbed "Rachel's Law") was passed by the Florida State Senate, which brought into effect on July 1, 2009, a number of requirements for law enforcement agencies in Florida regarding the use of police informants. While Rachel's Law became statewide policy for all police departments, at least one major city department began taking steps towards training on the new policies at least three months sooner than required.

Hoffman's story garnered many news headlines including a page on the Tallahassee Democrat website dedicated to information surrounding her death. 20/20 covered the story on July 25, 2008, and Dateline NBC covered it on January 16, 2009.

Hoffman was under drug court supervision for possession of 25 g (0.9 oz.) of cannabis discovered during a traffic stop on February 22, 2007. On April 17, 2008, Tallahassee, Florida, police searched her apartment and uncovered another 151.7 g (5.328 oz.) of cannabis, and four ecstasy pills. Hoffman faced a possible prison sentence if charged and convicted on criminal charges related to the discovered drugs. Police attempted to persuade her to identify other marijuana dealers to avoid the charges. She refused. The police then pressured her to act as a confidential informant in a drug sting operation instead in exchange for not being charged with additional drug charges. The purported goal of the operation was to buy 1,500 ecstasy pills, 2 oz. of cocaine, and two handguns, which was contrary to department policy, using $13,000 cash in a buy–bust operation. Hoffman's family stated that all three buys were very out-of-character for her. She did not know the two men she was to meet, but was reportedly eager to cooperate with the police operation and made suggestions as to how the operation should be conducted.

According to police documents, a witness described seeing the BMW stuck in a ditch, with a 2005 Volvo belonging to Hoffman idling nearby, between 7 pm and 7:30 pm, about 30 minutes after the police lost track of Hoffman. The witness claimed that the BMW drove off when he stopped to help the driver try to get the car out of the ditch, but the vehicle later returned as the witness was leaving. The witness claimed he became suspicious and decided to leave when the driver of the Volvo opened the trunk and revealed a camouflage blanket and neat stacks of female clothing.

Rachel Morningstar Hoffman (December 17, 1984 – May 7, 2008) was a 23-year-old Florida State University graduate, who was murdered while acting as a police informant in a botched drug sting that started on May 7, 2008. Her body was recovered two days later near Perry, Florida.