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The police department in Moscow, Idaho, which is investigating the murders of four students, has mentioned an ongoing lawsuit against a TikToker and its relevance to the case in a Facebook post.
Since November, the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20, and Xana Kernodle, 20, gripped the nation.
The group were found fatally stabbed in an off-campus residence near the University of Idaho and an investigation was launched by the Moscow Police Department.
Police have not named any suspects nor publicly announced the names of any individuals that have been arrested in connection with the case.
TikTok personality Ashley Guillard, who claims to be able to solve crimes in her videos, has recently had a lawsuit filed against her by the associate professor and chair of the history department at the University of Idaho, Rebecca Scofield.
The lawsuit claims that in numerous videos posted by Guillard, she accuses Scofield of being "responsible for the four students' deaths."
While police have requested information and help from the public in solving the murder, they have also warned against misinformation.
Throughout the ongoing investigation, numerous theories and rumors have circulated on social media and police have repeatedly reiterated the importance of only trusting official sources of information.
In a new Facebook post, the Moscow Police Department addressed the ongoing on lawsuit and said, at this time, they do not believe Scofield is involved in the murders.
In the Tuesday post, the department wrote: "At this time in the investigation, detectives do not believe the female associate professor and chair of the history department at the University of Idaho suing a TikTok user for defamation is involved in this crime.
"The Moscow Police Department will not provide a statement about the ongoing civil process."
The police department also explained how information posted online is assessed.
The post continued: "There have been numerous inquiries from members of the public and media to verify digital media published online. Any picture or video provided through the official public records request process is authentic.
"However, once a record is released, we can no longer verify its authenticity as we do not know if anything has been altered. Detectives are aware of videos distributed by local businesses.
"Investigators believe someone has information that adds context to what occurred on the night of the murders and continue requesting additional pictures, video, and social media content.
"Our focus remains on the investigation, not an individual's activities displayed in [an online] tip.
"Whether you believe it is significant or not, your information might be one of the puzzle pieces that help solve these murders. Digital submission of tips and leads will not be publicly disclosed due to our ongoing commitment to keep information private and details may be pertinent to the ongoing criminal investigation.
"No suspect(s) has been identified and only vetted information that does not hinder the investigation will be released to the public. We encourage referencing official releases for accurate and updated progress. All press releases and related information is available at: https://www.ci.moscow.id.us/1064/King-Street-Homicide."
Newsweek has contacted the Moscow Police Department for comment.
About the writer
Gerrard Kaonga is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter and is based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on U.S. ... Read more