A federal jury has ordered a Houston-based TikTok tarot card reader to pay $10 million in damages after she spent years falsely accusing a University of Idaho history professor of orchestrating the brutal 2022 murders of four students - accusations rooted entirely in what she called spiritual intuition.
On Feb. 27, a federal jury in Boise, Idaho, ordered content creator Ashley Guillard, 41, to pay University of Idaho professor Rebecca Scofield $10 million in damages over the claims. The seven-person jury deliberated for just under two hours before returning a unanimous verdict - awarding Scofield ten times what her own attorneys had requested in closing arguments.
The dispute stems from the stabbing deaths of students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, who were killed inside an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022. The murders drew intense national attention and spawned a wave of online speculation before investigators identified a suspect.
Guillard launched her TikTok campaign against Scofield roughly two weeks after the murders, eventually producing 112 videos through August 2025. She shared Scofield's photographs and personal contact details while claiming the professor had orchestrated the killings to conceal a romantic relationship with one of the victims.
A federal judge ruled in June 2024 that Guillard's statements were defamatory, finding they were based solely on her own spiritual intuition rather than any objective basis. The February proceedings focused solely on damages.
The jury split the award between two claims: $6.5 million for the false allegations tied to the murders and $3.5 million for fabricated claims about an inappropriate relationship with a student.
Scofield testified she developed severe anxiety, PTSD, and intense nerve pain throughout her body as a direct result of the false accusations, and said the experience made it difficult to continue in her role as chair of the university's history department.
Bryan Kohberger, a former Washington State University graduate student, later pleaded guilty to the murders and was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences without parole. Guillard continued posting videos about Scofield even after Kohberger's arrest.
In a statement following the verdict, Scofield said: the $10 million verdict sends a clear message that false statements online carry real consequences for real people.
Guillard, who represented herself at trial, has indicated she may appeal.