Despite authorities clearing the professor of suspicion, a Texas tarot card reader who claimed responsibility for the murder of four Idaho college students says she anticipates being vindicated in the defamation action she is facing.
Rebecca Scofield, an associate professor and the chair of the history department at the University of Idaho, filed a defamation lawsuit against TikTok star Ashley Guillard earlier this month. Guillard used social media to link Scofield to the stabbing deaths of four college students in November.
On November 13, four people—Xana Kernodle, her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, and housemates Maddie Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves—were fatally stabbed while they slept in their Moscow home. The killings have not resulted in any arrests by the police.
Guillard claims that Scofield is responsible for the killings, and she said in an interview with NewsNation that she believes a jury will take her word for it.
“They will see in court why it is true,” Guillard said.
Scofield claims in her defamation case that the Texas TikToker, who she claims she has never met, put her and her family in danger and damaged her reputation as a professor.
“Guillard’s false TikToks have damaged Professor Scofield’s reputation,” the lawsuit alleges. “They have caused her significant emotional distress. She fears for her life and for the lives of her family members. She has incurred costs, including costs to install a security system and security cameras at her residence. She fears that Guillard’s false statements may motivate someone to cause harm to her or her family members.”
Guillard has alleged a romantic relationship between Scofield and one of the victims, most likely Goncalves, who is only given the initials “K.G.” in the complaint. Guillard claims that Scofield planned the four kids’ killings and then gave the go-ahead for their execution.
“Guillard’s statements are false,” Scofield’s defamation complaint says. “Professor Scofield did not participate in the murders, and she had never met any of the victims, let alone entered a romantic relationship with them.”
According to Scofield’s lawsuit, she and her husband were visiting friends in Portland, Oregon at the time of the killings. Police in Moscow, Idaho have reportedly cleared the professor of all charges, according to NewsNation.
Guillard, however, argues that she has proof for her assertions and says that anyone who doesn’t agree with her is acting with “blinders” on.
“When I go to court and they see the evidence or they see how I connect the dots, then they’ll make a decision as it pertains to whether they want to continue to live in blinders or believe it,” Guillard told NewsNation. “If they don’t, I don’t care.”
An unambiguous statement regarding the effects of Guillard’s social media remarks was made by a lawyer for Scofield.
“The statements made about Professor Scofield are false, plain and simple,” Scofield’s lawyer Wendy Olson said in a statement emailed to Law&Crime after the lawsuit was filed. “What’s even worse is that these untrue statements create safety issues for the Professor and her family. They also further compound the trauma that the families of the victims are experiencing and undermine law enforcement efforts to find the people responsible in order to provide answers to the families and the public. Professor Scofield twice sent cease and desist letters to Ms. Guillard, but Ms. Guillard has continued to make false statements, knowing they are false. Thus, this lawsuit became necessary to protect Professor Scofield’s safety and her reputation.”
Despite not being a party to the lawsuit, the University of Idaho disputed Scofield’s allegations.
“Speculation and rumors do not help the investigation or the families,” Kyle Pfannenstiel, a spokesperson for the university, said in a statement emailed to Law&Crime. “While this lawsuit is a private matter, U of I does not condone spreading false information and finds this particular allegation to be one of the worst we have seen.”
Moscow police have not confirmed if they are considering filing criminal charges against any online sleuths, according to the NewsNation report, but officials have claimed that the flood of rumours is diverting attention from finding the real killings.
Here is a link to Guillard’s NewsNation interview.
