(NewsNation) — A social media influencer who reads divination cards while speculating on true-crime cases may have a lot of payments in her future after falsely linking a University of Idaho professor with the murders of four students in 2022.
A federal judge in Idaho previously ruled Ashley Guillard, a TikToker based in Texas, had defamed Prof. Rebecca Scofield by posting videos accusing Scofield of participating in the slayings of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. Late last month, a jury determined Guillard must pay $10 million in damages.
Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty last year to the notorious quadruple murder in Moscow, Idaho, and is serving life in prison.
Scofield’s suit against Guillard said the influencer’s TikToks, which began being posted shortly after the killings, were “viewed millions of times, amplifying Guillard’s online persona at the expense of Professor Scofield’s reputation.”
Guillard claimed Scofield ordered or participated in the crimes and had been involved with one of the students, according to the lawsuit.
In the complaint, Scofield said “she had never met any of the victims, let alone entered a romantic relationship with them” and was out of town when the students were murdered.
The professor’s legal counsel sent cease-and-desist letters to Guillard, to no avail, the suit said. As a result, Scofield “was subject to online ridicule and threats from Guillard’s online commenters,” the plaintiff said.
The lawsuit...
A German court has ordered Chinese TV maker TCL to halt advertisements promoting some of its products as quantum dot LED (QLED) TVs, ruling that the models do not deliver the color reproduction ex...