BOISE, Idaho – A jury in Boise has ordered a woman to pay $10 million to an Idaho professor that she accused of being involved in the murder of four University of Idaho students.
Rebecca Scofield is a history professor at U of I. She sued Ashley Guillard in federal court, accusing her of libel and slander.
After the murders of four University of Idaho students in 2022, Guillard posted videos on TikTok, accusing Scofield of being involved in the murders.
Guillard falsely claimed that Scofield was involved because she was romantically involved with one of the victims.
Scofield contends she not only didn’t know any of the victims, she was not even in Moscow at the time of the murders.
Scofield was in Portland with her husband.
The lawsuit says Guillard, who lives in Texas, is a self-proclaimed internet sleuth that “solves high-profile murders by consulting Tarot cards, and performing other readings, to obtain information about the murders.”
Online speculation was rampant after the high-profile murders.
The suit says Guillard posted multiple videos to TikTok accusing Scofield. Two of them said falsely said she ordered the execution of the students and three of them implied she was involved because she was in a relationship with one of the victims.
Seven days after the murders, Scofield’s attorney sent Guillard a cease-and-desist letter, asking her to take down the videos and also to apologize to Scofield.
The suit, filed in December 2022, says Guillard ignored the letter and continued to post new videos, accusing Scofield of the crimes.
She even showed the cease and desist letter on her TikTok videos.
“Guillard’s false TikToks have damaged Professor Scofield’s reputation,” the lawsuit claims. “They have caused her significant emotional distress. She fears for her life and for the lives of her family members.”
Guillard contends she made the statements to bring attention to the crimes and that “the statements were made in the interest of public safety.”
She also said her statements were protected by the First Amendment.
The case finally went to trial last week in Boise.
After two days of deliberation, the jury came back in Scofield’s favor ordered Guillard to pay $10 million.
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