Why this tarot reader on TikTok has been ordered to pay $10 million for accusing someone of a grisly murder
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In November 2022 Ashley Guillard began accusing Rebecca Scofield of orchestrating the grisly University of Idaho murders on TikTok.
A tarot reader on TikTok has been ordered to pay $10 million after her intuition led her to publicly accuse a University of Idaho professor of orchestrating the grisly killings of four students.
On Friday, Feb. 27, a federal jury in Boise, Idaho, ordered content creator Ashley Guillard to pay University of Idaho professor Rebecca Scofield $10 million in damages over the claims, the Idaho Statesman reported.
“I was ready for this to be over,” Guillard said in a voiceover posted to social media alongside footage of her rubbing her head in frustration while responding to the verdict. “I wanted to receive a verdict that was fair and impartial and based on the evidence; unfortunately, that did not happen.”
The dispute stems from one of the most chilling murders in recent memory. On Nov. 13, 2022, University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were stabbed to death inside an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho. The crime quickly captivated the nation and led to intense speculation online as investigators worked to identify a suspect.
Among those supplying theories was Guillard, who began posting videos to her more than 100,000 TikTok followers at the time in late November 2022. In a series of clips that sometimes showed her consulting tarot cards or referencing her psychic intuition, she accused Scofield, who is the university’s history department chair, of being behind the killings.
According to a complaint, per the New York Post, Scofield filed in December 2022, the videos alleged that the professor had secretly been in a romantic relationship with one of the victims and had “ordered” the murders after the student threatened to make the relationship public. The posts racked up millions of views across the platform.
The complaint further states that Scofield had never met any of the victims and was out of state when the murders occurred.
Scofield sent Guillard several cease and desist letters demanding that the videos be taken down. But the posts continued, with Guillard doubling down on her claims.
Meanwhile, after a sweeping investigation, authorities arrested Bryan Kohberger in connection with the murders. He later confessed and received four life sentences.
As the legal battle between Scofield and Guillard advanced, a federal judge ruled in June 2024 siding with Scofield, that Guillard’s accusations were defamatory and based “only” on her “spiritual intuition about the murders,” not in “any objective basis.”
The controversy also sparked backlash within the tarot and psychic community itself. In online forums and spaces frequented by prominent readers, many practitioners condemned the use of tarot to accuse a private individual of a violent crime. The American Tarot Association maintains a strict code of ethics, including strongly advising against reading for private individuals who are not present and consenting. The organization also states that tarot should never be used as a substitute for legal advice or to make absolute predictions about real-world events.
During the federal trial last week, jurors heard testimony about how viral accusations can damage a person’s reputation and professional standing, even when the allegations are ultimately disproven, KIVI reported.
By the end of the case, the jury delivered a sweeping verdict.
On Friday, Feb. 27, jurors ordered Guillard to pay Scofield $6.5 million in damages tied to the false allegations linking her to the University of Idaho murders and another $3.5 million for claims about an inappropriate relationship with a student, according to court documents.
Speaking to People magazine after the verdict, Scofield described the killings as the “darkest chapter” in the school’s history.
“The $10 million verdict reinforces the judge’s decision and sends the clear message that false statements online have consequences in the real world for real people and are unacceptable in our community,” she said.
Since the verdict, Guillard has begun posting a 26-part video series on TikTok detailing her experience during the trial and reacting to the outcome.
“This $10 million verdict is so ridiculous I can’t be silent,” she said in part one of the series.
In part two, she argued that the case raised larger questions about spiritual expression.
“It was like the freedom of religion and freedom of speech, especially freedom of expression as it pertains to spirituality, was attacked the entire trial,” she said.
Guillard added that her next step will be to begin the appeals process.