CC True Crime Minute: Tarot Influencer Ordered to Pay $10M for Falsely Accusing Professor in Idaho Murders

0:00This is your true crime minute from courtroom confidential, your fast, no nonsense update on the latest true crime developments. I'm your host, award-winning prosecutor and criminal defense attorney Joshua Ritter. Let's get into it. An influencer has been ordered to pay 10 million in damages to an Idaho professor for falsely claiming she was involved in the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students. A federal jury ordered content creator Ashley Gillard, known online for theorizing about high profile unsolved murders, sometimes by consulting tarot cards, to pay University of Idaho professor Rebecca Scofield 10 million in damages for her claims. According to the initial complaint filed by Scofield against Gillard in December of 2022, the content creator made a series of posts on TikTok in November 2022 claiming that Scofield was responsible for the murders of four University of Idaho students, the gripping case in which Brian Coburger later confessed to the killings and received four lifetime sentences.

1:04In her videos, Gillard also allegedly implied or directly stated that Scofield had been involved in a romantic relationship with one of the murder victims. The complaint went on to say that Scofield sent Gillard several cease and desist letters, though the content creator continued to post videos claiming that Scofield had orchestrated the murders after the student threatened to make their relationship public. In a June 6, 2024 order, a federal judge sided with Scofield, ruling that the internet personality statements were defamatory based only on her spiritual intuition about the murders, not any objective basis. The judge also noted that Gillard's social media posts continued even after the Moscow Police Department issued a press release in December 2022 stating that Scofield was not a suspect in the murder investigation. During the federal trial last week, Jurors heard testimony about how accusations made online can affect one's reputation in the workforce even when the allegations are later disproven.

2:04Quote, the $10 million verdict reinforces the judge's decision and sends the clear message that false statements online have consequences in the real world for real people and are unacceptable in our community, said Scofield in a statement after the verdict. Quote, the murders of the four students on November 13, 2022 was the darkest chapter in our university's history. Today's decision shows that respect and care should always be granted to victims during these tragedies. In a 21-part series of TikToks posted on March 2 and March 3, Gillard responded to the verdict, disputing the jury's ruling and calling it unfair and ridiculous. And that's your true crime minute. Catch more in-depth coverage in our weekly Roundup episode every Saturday or go to TheCortroomConfidential.com.