Idaho professor sues TikToker over deaths of 4 college students

• The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Idaho District Court.
• The lawsuit seems to be the latest example of what one expert called “dangerous” rumours.
• Authorities haven’t found any suspects in the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves.

In his federal lawsuit, a history professor from the University of Idaho accuses the TikToker of defamation and says that the videos with the accusations have been seen by millions of people.

A professor at the University of Idaho says she was wrongly accused of ordering the unsolved deaths of four college students last month. This week, she filed a federal lawsuit against the self-described “internet sleuth” who posted the accusations on TikTok, saying that he or she lied about the professor.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Idaho District Court by the head of the history department, Rebecca Scofield. She accused TikTok user Ashley Guillard of making up the story that the professor and another University of Idaho student had planned the killings together.

According to the lawsuit, the videos started showing up on the platform on November 24 and have been watched millions of times. Guillard says she can solve high-profile murders using Tarot cards and “other readings.”

The lawsuit seems to be the latest example of what one expert called “dangerous” rumours about the four deaths that happened in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13.

Authorities haven’t found any suspects in the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. They also haven’t found the murder weapon, which police say is likely a knife.

In the past, the Moscow Police Department had said that false information about the case was “stoking community fears and spreading false facts.” The department’s website has a section called “Rumor Control” that answers questions that are often asked about the case.

When asked to comment on the lawsuit, the department didn’t do so right away.

The lawsuit says that Scofield, who started working at the university in 2016, had never met or taught any of the students who were killed. The lawsuit says that she and her husband were visiting friends in Portland, Oregon, when the students were killed.

After Scofield’s lawyer sent Guillard a letter on November 29 telling her to stop posting what the suit calls “defamatory” videos, she did not stop. After sending a second “cease and desist” letter on December 8, Guillard showed the document in a TikTok video and said that Scofield would have to “file actual legal documents in a federal court” to get her to take them down, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit says that a week and a half later, Guillard posted more than 20 videos in which he made false claims that Scofield had a relationship with one of the students and had ordered the killings to hide it.

The lawsuit says, “Professor Scofield has never met Guillard.” “She has never met her. She doesn’t know why Guillard chose her to falsely accuse over and over again of ordering the terrible murders and having a relationship with one of the victims. Professor Scofield does know that the fake TikToks and false statements have hurt her.

The lawsuit also says that the accusations caused Scofield a lot of emotional pain and hurt his reputation.

“She is worried that Guillard’s lies could lead someone to hurt her or her family,” the lawsuit says. It also says that she recently put a security system in her home.

In an email, Guillard said again that she thought Scofield was guilty.

Scofield’s lawyer, Wendy Olson revealed, “The things that have been said about Professor Scofield are false, plain and simple. Even worse, these lies put the Professor and her family in danger. They also add to the trauma that the families of the victims are going through and make it harder for law enforcement to find the people who did it so that the families and the public can get answers.

TikTok did not respond right away when asked for a comment.

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