A Texas TikToker who used her self-professed 'psychic abilities' to falsely claim a University of Idaho professor orchestrated the murders of four students in 2022 made a desperate appeal in court after being ordered to pay $10million in damages for defamation.
Ashley Guillard, 41, of Houston, filed a notice of appeal on April 6 in the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, according to the Seattle Times.
Guillard represented herself at a four-day trial in February in the civil defamation case brought against her by 40-year-old University of Idaho professor Rebecca Scofield.
The 'psychic' published more than 100 videos framing Scofield as the culprit directly after the murders. The murders were actually committed by Bryan Kohberger.
A jury in the US District Court for the District of Idaho unanimously settled on the $10million figure owed by Guillard, which she immediately objected to.
On the day following her conviction, she sent a text message to The Idaho Statesman stating, 'Unfortunately, because the verdict doesn't align with the evidence or facts of the case, I have to appeal.'
'I was hoping for a fair and impartial verdict so that we all could move on.'
Scofield's attorneys declined to comment to the Statesmen following the appeal.
Ashley Guillard, 41, of Houston, published more than 100 defamatory videos in December 2022 falsely claiming a University of Idaho professor orchestrated the infamous murders actually committed by Bryan Kohberger
Each post erroneously framed the school's history department head, 40-year-old Rebecca Scofield, as the true mastermind
Guillard claimed the professor ordered the killings to prevent an affair she had with one of the victims, 21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves, from going public.
Two of the TikToks directly stated that Scofield ordered Goncalves's execution, even though the academic was completely innocent of any wrongdoing.
Goncalves's two roommates, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle, and Kernodle's boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, were also targeted, Guillard maintained.
As Kohberger initially evaded police, the content continued.
A series of cease-and-desist letters and the December 2022 defamation suit followed Kohberger, 31, who was arrested after traveling to Pennsylvania, days later. He has since confessed and was sentenced to life in prison last year.
In a video posted in December 2022, days after being served with the suit, Guillard said that Scofield would 'regret' it.
Scofield offered tearful testimony to a federal judge: 'It was like a stone on my chest that was not crushing me, it was dissolving me.'
Guillard claimed the history department chair ordered the killings to prevent an affair she had with one of the victims, 21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves, from going public. Also part of the hit were roommates Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle and Kernodle's boyfriend, Ethan Chapin
Kohberger pleaded guilty to the killings in an Ada County courthouse in July of last year. He is currently serving four consecutive life sentences
'I was unraveling underneath the weight of it.'
'We felt personally targeted,' Scofield added of herself and her family, raising her voice at Guillard as she spoke.
'It felt like our children’s lives were directly threatened - that my name was being thrown around by you, saying horrific accusations that were fully baseless and not even from the community we were settled in. It felt like an attack from the outside.'
Guillard took the stand during those proceedings.
The tarot-reading TikToker maintained: 'Claircognizance - we work with intuition, not fact. The facts are the job of law enforcement, not a psychic.'
The San Francisco Court, which handles appeals from Idaho, set a briefing deadline in July, according to the Seattle Times.
Kohberger has already pleaded guilty to the killings. He is currently serving four consecutive life sentences.