A federal jury in Boise, Idaho, has awarded University of Idaho history professor Rebecca Scofield $10 million in a defamation lawsuit after finding that TikTok influencer Ashley Guillard made false and harmful claims accusing Scofield of orchestrating the brutal November 2022 murders of four college students.
Guillard, a tarot-reading social media personality with over 100,000 followers, began posting widely viewed videos shortly after the tragedy alleging that Scofield had a secret romantic relationship with one of the victims and ordered the killings — claims that were completely unfounded. Scofield, who had no connection to the victims and was out of state at the time of the murders, filed her lawsuit in December 2022 after receiving cease-and-desist letters and seeing police publicly confirm her innocence, but Guillard continued to broadcast her accusations, even after the real perpetrator was publicly identified.
The jury awarded Scofield $7.5 million in punitive damages and $2.5 million in compensatory damages, after deliberating for less than two hours, underscoring the severe impact of the false allegations on her reputation, career and personal life. The true murderer, Bryan Kohberger, pleaded guilty in 2025 and is serving four consecutive life sentences for the killings of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. Scofield has said she hopes the verdict sends a warning about the consequences of spreading false statements online and helps restore her good name.
