A lawsuit from a history professor claims a tarot-reading TikTok sleuth accused her of ordering the 'execution' of 4 University of Idaho students

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A lawsuit from a history professor claims a tarot-reading TikTok sleuth accused her of ordering the 'execution' of 4 University of Idaho students
Two people place flowers at a growing memorial in front of a campus entrance sign for the University of Idaho, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho.AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
  • A University of Idaho professor sued a TikToker over a defamation claim.
  • Ashley Guillard accused the professor of being involved in the killing of four university students, the lawsuit says.
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A University of Idaho professor filed a federal lawsuit against a TikToker, alleging defamation over an accusation that she ordered the unsolved killing of four university students, court documents show.

The lawsuit claims that Ashley Guillard, who runs the TikTok account @ashleyisinthebookoflife, "decided to use the community's pain for her online self-promotion" after four University of Idaho students were killed in November.

The four students were found stabbed to death in their beds at a home near the university campus in Moscow, Idaho, police say. Police initially said they believed the killings to be a "targeted attack," but later admitted that they are uncertain if the attack was "targeted." Idaho police have insisted that the case is not cold, but a police expert told Insider he is "concerned" that police have not solved the case yet.

The lawsuit claims that Guillard, a purported internet sleuth, posted "many videos on TikTok falsely stating that Plaintiff Rebecca Scofield participated in the murders because she was romantically involved with one of the victims."

Scofield is a history professor at the university and has taught at the University of Idaho since January 2016, according to the lawsuit.

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"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," the legal complaint says.

The lawsuit says that Scofield was not in Idaho at the time of the killings and that she was in Portland, Oregon, more than five hours away, spending time with friends at the time of the killings.

"None of the four students who were murdered ever took a class from Professor Scofield," the lawsuit says. "Although the University of Idaho is a relatively small university, she does not recall ever meeting any one of these students."

Scofield also has never met Ashley Guillard, according to the lawsuit.

Guillard's TikTok videos have been viewed "millions" of times and amplified her TikTok account "at the expense of Professor Scofield's reputation," the lawsuit says. Guillard's TikTok account has more than 100,000 followers at the time of writing.

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"Ashley Guillard promotes herself on Amazon and TikTok as an Internet sleuth that solves high-profile unsolved murders by consulting Tarot cards, and performing other readings, to obtain information about the murders," the lawsuit says.

Guillard said in a statement to Insider that she expects to win the lawsuit and stood by her claims that she believed Scofield was involved in the crime.

"I will single-handedly win the defamation lawsuit against Rebecca Scofield and her team of highly skilled and experienced attorneys," Guillard said in the statement.

The lawsuit asks for a jury trial as well as compensatory and punitive damages "of an amount to be proved at trial.

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