An Idaho jury awarded $10 million in damages to a University of Idaho professor who was falsely accused of killing four students in Moscow, Idaho.
History professor Rebecca Scofield successfully sued the false accuser, Ashley Guillard, for libel. Guillard is a woman in Texas who posts TikTok videos, including videos claiming that Scofield murdered four University of Idaho students in 2022. Guillard claimed to have psychic abilities and testified that she read tarot cards to try to solve the murders. She began posting videos about Professor Scofield in November 2022 and kept doing so until last August.
In July 2025, Bryan Kohberger, a former Washington State University graduate student, pled guilty to the murders and was given a sentence of life without parole. He was arrested in December 2022.
The $10 million awarded Professor Scofield is even more than the $1 million Scofield’s legal team asked for in their closing arguments. $2.5 million of the $10 million awarded is for compensatory damages, while $7.5 million is punitive damages. Scofield developed severe anxiety and intense nerve pain as a result of the TikTok videos attacking her.
Professor Scofield says the jury’s verdict “sends the clear message that false statements online have consequences in the real world for real people and are unacceptable in our community. The murders of the four students on Nov. 13, 2022, was the darkest chapter in our university’s history. Today’s decision shows that respect and care should always be granted to victims during these tragedies.”
