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Mega Edition:  The Tik Tok Tarot Card Reader And Her Wild Claims About The Murders In Moscow (8/13/26)

Mega Edition: The Tik Tok Tarot Card Reader And Her Wild Claims About The Murders In Moscow (8/13/26)

Published 4 hours ago
Description
In the chaotic weeks after the November 2022 murders of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, TikTok creator Ashley Guillard began posting videos in which she claimed that University of Idaho history professor Rebecca Scofield had been involved in the killings. Guillard said her accusations were based on tarot-card readings and what she described as spiritual intuition, rather than evidence produced by investigators. She went even further, falsely alleging that Scofield had been romantically involved with one of the victims and had orchestrated the murders to prevent that relationship from being exposed. Scofield had no connection to the killings, and police had not identified her as a suspect. Despite cease-and-desist demands, Guillard continued making the accusations and ultimately produced more than 100 videos promoting her theory. Scofield responded by filing a defamation lawsuit in December 2022, arguing that the allegations had damaged her reputation, caused severe emotional distress and exposed her to harassment and threats.

The lawsuit eventually became a stark example of the real-world consequences of the rampant online speculation that surrounded the Moscow murder investigation. A federal judge ruled in 2024 that Guillard's claims were defamatory and unsupported by viable evidence, and the case later went before a jury to determine damages. In February 2026, a federal jury found Guillard liable and ordered her to pay Scofield $10 million, including $2.5 million in compensatory damages and $7.5 million in punitive damages. Guillard represented herself at trial and continued to maintain that she believed her psychic conclusions were accurate, even though Bryan Kohberger had already pleaded guilty to murdering the four students. Scofield testified that the accusations had severely affected her mental health, professional life and sense of personal security. The case ultimately illustrated one of the ugliest aspects of the online frenzy surrounding the Moscow murders: an innocent person had been publicly accused of participating in a quadruple homicide based not on forensic evidence, witness testimony or police work, but on a TikTok personality's tarot readings.



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bobbycapucci@protonmail.com
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