Woman was trying to avoid drug charges of her own

(05/13/08)-- A woman helping police in Florida with a narcotics investigation has been found dead after a two-day search.

The two targets of the drug investigation are now suspects in her murder.

The recent Florida State graduate was trying to help police with a drug investigation, then she went missing. After a two-day search, Rachel Hoffman was found dead in a rural area near Tallahassee.

"Did she smoke marijuana? Yes,  fine. But they went in, they put her in a situation where she was asked to go in and purchase 1,500 pills of ecstasy, crack cocaine and a firearm. She has no experience with crack cocaine, she definitely has no experience with a firearm, this young girl," said her lawyer Johnny Devine.

The bust was supposed to happen at a local park, but investigators say the targets changed the location at the last minute. Police say they urged Hoffman to call the whole thing off, but she didn't.

Tallahassee officials are now defending their decision to involve the 23-year-old woman at all.  "We frankly believed and the investigator firmly believed that she was full competent and fully able to carry out this investigation. She had been involved in the drug trade. She knew both Green and Bradshaw.  In fact, we didn't know who they were. She brought them to us. These were people that she was acquainted with, not the Tallahassee Police Department," said police spokesman David McCranie.

Andrea Green and Deneilo Bradshaw have been arrested in connection with Hoffman's murder. So far, they've been charged with kidnapping and armed robbery.

More charges are pending.

http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=news/national_world&id=6138963