A memorial for the four University of Idaho students killed in Moscow, Idaho, on 29 November 2022. Photograph: Lindsey Wasson/ReutersView image in fullscreenA memorial for the four University of Idaho students killed in Moscow, Idaho, on 29 November 2022. Photograph: Lindsey Wasson/ReutersTikTok psychic seeks relief from $10m verdict for false claims in Idaho student murdersTarot card reader Ashley Guillard, who falsely accused history professor Rebecca Scofield, plans to appeal
A self-proclaimed psychic who in TikTok videos falsely accused a University of Idaho professor of being involved in the murders of four of the school’s students in 2022 is appealing for relief after a civil court jury ordered her to pay $10m in damages to the educator.
In a recent legal filing that she prepared herself, tarot card reader Ashley Guillard called the case brought against her by history professor Rebecca Scofield “fraudulent” and asked the federal court in Idaho where a jury delivered a verdict against her to set aside the judgment.
A separate filing by Guillard also served notice that she would appeal the outcome of Scofield’s lawsuit to the ninth US circuit court of appeals in San Francisco, which handles federal cases from Idaho.
Many have interpreted the case pitting Scofield against Guillard as an instance of true-crime content creation run amok, highlighted by the fact that it was a criminology graduate student from Washington state named Bryan Kohberger – not the plaintiff – who ultimately pleaded guilty to the 13 November 2022 murders of Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Kaylee Goncalves at a home in Moscow, Idaho.
Before authorities arrested Kohberger in late December 2022 in connection with the victims’ brutal stabbing deaths, Guillard published videos on the TikTok platform baselessly alleging Scofield had engaged in a romance with one of the four people slain.
Guillard – who is a resident of Houston, Texas, and described herself as a psychic crime solver on her TikTok account – accused Scofield on camera of ordering the quadruple murder to hide her relationship with one of the victims. She cited tarot card readings as evidence to support her unfounded theory.
“REBECCA WAS THE ONE TO INITIATE THE PLAN,” Guillard stated in one video. In another, she maintained: “Rebecca Scofield is going to prison for the murder of the 4 University of Idaho Students whether you like it or not.”
Scofield sued Guillard for defamation on 21 December 2022, saying she feared that she and her family could be targeted with physical violence as a result of the videos. She also pointed out that she had never even met any of the victims, whose slayings attracted international news media attention.
Guillard initially responded with taunts on TikTok, stating that she was “ON FIRE with excitement!”
“SEE YOU IN COURT REBECCA SCOFIELD,” she also stated on TikTok – where she had furthermore sought to take credit for solving other high-profile murders, including that of musician Takeoff, a member of the rap group Migos.
“You sure you want to do this Rebecca SCOFIELD? This isn’t going to end well for you.”
Kohberger pleaded guilty to the murders in July 2025 and subsequently received a sentence of life imprisonment.
No one else was ever charged with a role in the killings to which Kohberger admitted carrying out while he was studying criminal justice at Washington State University, less than 10 miles (16km) away from Moscow. No motive emerged for the murders, nor is it clear why Kohberger spared two roommates who were in the home.
Meanwhile, after a three-day trial in February in front of the US magistrate judge Raymond Patricco, a jury determined that Guillard owed Scofield for the false accusations against her.
The jury found Guillard – who represented herself – needed to compensate Scofield for $2.5m in financial hardships resulting from her lies, along with another $7.5m for punitive damages.
In March, attorneys for Scofield also moved for Guillard to pay more than $165,000 in fees for their representation of the plaintiff, as the Idaho Statesman first reported.
Guillard requested relief from the trial judgment and filed her appellate notice on 6 April. The ninth US circuit marked the notice of appeal as received on Thursday.
Those filings from Guillard argued that the verdict against her didn’t “align with the evidence or facts of the case”.
“Unfortunately … I have to appeal,” Guillard added, despite – as she put it – having hoped “that we all could move on”.
