TikTok psychic appeals $10 million federal jury award in Idaho murders defamation case

Kevin Fixler, The Idaho Statesman on Apr 11, 2026

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BOISE, Idaho — A Texas woman ordered to pay $10 million in damages to a University of Idaho professor who she repeatedly accused on social media of orchestrating the 2022 Moscow college students murders has appealed the jury’s award in federal court.

Ashley Guillard, 41, of Houston, filed a notice of appeal this week in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in response to the verdict in the civil defamation case brought against her by U of I history professor Rebecca Scofield. After a four-day damages trial in February held in Boise in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, a seven-member jury unanimously settled on the dollar figure owed by Guillard.

Guillard represented herself at trial and filed her appeal with the appellate court on Monday. It was marked as received on Thursday, according to federal court filings. The San Francisco court, which oversees federal appeals originating out of Idaho, set a briefings schedule into July.

“Unfortunately, because the verdict doesn’t align with the evidence or facts of the case, I have to appeal,” Guillard told the Idaho Statesman in a text message the day after the Idaho jury’s verdict. “I was hoping for a fair and impartial verdict so that we all could move on.”

Scofield’s attorneys, Wendy Olson and Cory Carone, declined to comment in response to a request from the Statesman.

In the weeks after the November 2022 murders, Guillard took to TikTok to initially level the allegations against Scofield, a tenured faculty member who chairs the university’s history department. Even after the arrest of suspect Bryan Kohberger in late December 2022, Guillard said tarot card readings led her to Scofield, 40, and that she ordered the killings after having a romantic relationship with one of the four victims.

Guillard, who asserts she is clairvoyant, continued to post videos alleging Scofield’s involvement in the crime that garnered international attention. Scofield’s attorneys said Guillard ignored cease and desist letters, and sued her in federal court when she maintained her online allegations against the professor as Kohberger’s criminal proceedings played out over nearly three years. He pleaded guilty in July 2025 and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole.

Defendant also files to deny attorney fees

In a separate legal maneuver filed this week, Guillard asked to have the jury’s award set aside by Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Raymond Patricco, the federal judge in Idaho who oversaw the trial in Boise, over alleged fraud. Scofield lied at trial about her damages, presented false evidence, including fabricated medical records, and witnesses for the plaintiff lied under oath, Guillard wrote in the filing.

“For these reasons, the entire case is fraudulent and a violation of Guillard’s constitutional right to a fair trial in federal and state proceedings guaranteed by the due process clauses of the Fifth and 14th Amendments,” her legal brief read.

Patricco previously ruled for Scofield in June 2024 on two counts of defamation. The trial was held strictly to determine the amount of financial damages Guillard would have to pay.

The jury’s $10 million award included $2.5 million to compensate Scofield and her family for actual financial hardships suffered from Guillard’s false accusations, and $7.5 million in punitive damages. The latter are designed to punish the defendant and deter her and others from similar actions in the future.

Aside from those costs, Scofield’s attorneys last month requested that Guillard also cover their fees to represent their client, totaling about $164,000. They filed for about $1,700 more in additional costs covered by Scofield for trial.

“Ashley Guillard defended this case frivolously, unreasonably, and without foundation,” Olson wrote in the filing. “She brought frivolous counterclaims, repeatedly challenged the court’s jurisdiction, failed to meet deadlines, and brought a last-minute motion to continue. She repeatedly testified and admitted that her false statements lacked any basis in fact. Accordingly, an award of fees and costs is appropriate.”

Guillard filed this week to have those attorneys fees denied. She argued that the plaintiff acted in bad faith and said the awarding of additional costs would be a “miscarriage of justice.”