Idaho
Doctor studies suicide to save lives – East Idaho News
Every day, Dr. Matt Larsen sees the devastating effects of suicide. In his five years working as a psychiatrist at the Behavioral Health Center (BHC) at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, he treated patients every day who had attempted suicide. Now he does the same in his outpatient clinic, and his daily appointment schedule is consistently, sadly, full.
An Idaho native, Dr. Larsen returned to his home state after finishing medical school and earning his degree in psychiatry. In addition to entering professional practice, he started volunteering with Community Suicide Prevention, a nonprofit dedicated to reducing suicide in southeast Idaho.
After several years of hard work, advocacy and outreach, Dr. Larsen was discouraged that suicide rates in Idaho continued to surge upward. In 2022, 444 Idahoans died by suicide – a rate of 22.2 per 100,000 people. Even more alarming, the state’s suicide rate increased by 11.9% between 2021 and 2022 alone. Dr. Larsen decided to find out why.
A first-of-its-kind study
While extensive data exists about survivors of suicide attempts, very little is known about those who die by suicide. To address this gap, Dr. Larsen and his research team – Dr. Cassandra Sauther, Dr. Ryan Sauther, and Justin Solomon – developed a new study approach.
“Most suicide research focuses on survivors,” explains Dr. Larsen. “But we needed to understand more about those who didn’t survive. That meant talking to their families.”
The team created a comprehensive 77-question survey covering everything from demographics and employment to mental health, substance use, and access to lethal means. For three months, they gathered information from families who had lost loved ones to suicide in Southeast Idaho.
Some of their results were surprising. Read the medical journal here.
Challenging common assumptions
“Our study shows that nearly 80% of those who died (of suicide) never announced their intentions.”
“Everyone has a picture in their mind of who is typically at risk for suicide,” said Dr. Larsen. “You probably think of lonely, isolated teens with mental health or substance abuse issues. But in our study results, the group most likely to die by suicide was white middle-aged men.”
Specifically, the study revealed that those who died by suicide in Southeast Idaho were:
- Predominantly white (95%) and male (77%)
- Usually had no previous mental health hospitalization (76%)
- Had ready access to firearms (66%)
- Did not alert others or seek help (79%)
- Had previously attempted suicide (55%)
- Were experiencing relationship stress (55%) or legal issues (54%)
A new direction for prevention
“These findings suggest we need to shift our prevention strategy a bit,” Dr. Larsen notes. “While we must continue supporting those who express suicidal thoughts, we can’t focus exclusively on that group. Our study shows that nearly 80% of those who died never announced their intentions.”
Another significant finding concerns access to lethal means, particularly firearms. While securing firearms didn’t prevent all suicide attempts, it did lead 22% of people to choose less lethal methods. This is crucial because 82.5% of firearm attempts are fatal, compared to just 1.5% of overdose attempts.
“Therefore,” says Dr. Larsen, “if we can reduce the number of firearm attempts, we should be able to reduce the number of deaths, even if they still attempt suicide by other means.”
Practical applications
The key is recognizing risk factors and reaching out before crisis points. The research points to several practical steps for suicide prevention:
- Increased awareness among lawyers, law enforcement, and medical professionals who interact with white males facing relationship or legal challenges.
- Community education about recognizing risk factors, particularly during periods of personal crisis.
- Focus on safe storage and reduced access to firearms during high-risk periods.
- Enhanced support systems for individuals going through relationship changes or legal difficulties.
“We don’t really need a new law or new regulations. Instead, we need to get this information to lawyers, judges, law enforcement officers and doctors – the professionals most likely to interact with white men who are struggling with legal or relationship issues.”
Community awareness can help too.
“Be aware of the professional family man down the street who is going through a divorce or has other major legal or financial issues,” advises Dr. Larsen. “Guys, if you have a friend who is going through a rough patch, take him out, ask him how he’s doing.
“If he’s struggling, offer to hold on to his gun or ammo for a while. I know that can be an awkward conversation to have. But if you tell them that you are really worried for their safety and that it would help you sleep better if you knew their gun was safely locked away, then they’re more likely to say OK.”
Moving forward: a new study for the whole state
Because the suicide rate in Idaho as whole has increased by 43.2% over the past 20 years, Dr. Larsen is conducting a new, statewide study. Using lessons learned from the first study, his team has trimmed the questionnaire down from 77 to just 20 questions.
He hopes to get a larger study group and is looking for participants. If they feel comfortable doing so, friends and loved ones (18 years or older) of someone who died by suicide in the state of Idaho are invited to fill out the questionnaire.
If you or someone you know is struggling, resources are available:
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Idaho
Idaho resolution opposing same-sex marriage advances
For the second year in a row, House lawmakers will consider urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.
The nonbinding resolution, which carries no legal weight, says the decision in Obergefel v. Hodges violates the longstanding religious definition of marriage between one man and one woman.
“The current definition of marriage that allows for same-sex marriages is a defilement of the word marriage,” said Rep. Tony Wisniewski (R-Post Falls), who sponsors the measure.
The resolution further states that the Obergefel decision “arbitrarily and unjustly” rejects the historical definition of marriage.
Idaho voters passed a constitution amendment in 2006 that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, which was invalidated by the Obergefel ruling.
Wisniewski said regulating marriages should be a power left to the states.
Rep. Brent Crane (R-Nampa) agrees.
“If you want to get things … closer to the people with respect to some of these more complex social issues, I think the best place for those things to happen is in the states,” Crane said.
Doing so is a risk, he said.
“You may have states that choose to acknowledge [polyamorous relationships]. You may have states that choose to have relationships between adults and younger children,” Crane said.
Cities in neighboring Oregon and Washington, for example, are considering giving those in polyamorous relationships legal recognition.
But he said that risk is worth it to allow other states that choose to only recognize traditional marriages.
Four lawmakers on the House State Affairs Committee opposed the resolution.
Rep. Erin Bingham (R-Idaho Falls) said she’s tried to balance her own religious beliefs with those of others while considering the measure.
“I do feel like that it is important for us to work together, to find ways to compromise and to live together in peace and mutual respect,” Bingham said.
The resolution now goes to the House floor for consideration.
House lawmakers last year passed a similar measure, but it never received a hearing in a Senate committee.
Copyright 2026 Boise State Public Radio
Idaho
University of Idaho professor awarded $10M after TikTok tarot influencer claimed she ‘ordered’ quadruple murders
A University of Idaho professor won a $10 million judgment after a tarot TikTok influencer publicly pushed false claims that she was behind the savage quadruple slayings of four college students.
A Boise jury in US District Court ordered fortune-telling Texas TikToker Ashley Guillard on Friday to pay $10 million after concluding she falsely accused professor Rebecca Scofield of having a secret romance with one of the four victims and orchestrating their killings, the Idaho Statesman reported.
Following the verdict, Scofield thanked the jury and said she hopes the case sends a clear warning that making “false statements online have consequences in the real world.”
“The murders of the four students on November 13, 2022, were the darkest chapter in our university’s history,” Scofield told Fox News.
“Today’s decision shows that respect and care should always be granted to victims during these tragedies. I am hopeful that this difficult chapter in my life is over, and I can return to a more normal life with my family and the wonderful Moscow community.”
Scofield, the university’s history department chair, filed the lawsuit in December 2022 — just weeks after Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were brutally stabbed to death at an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022.
Guillard began uploading videos to her more than 100,000 TikTok followers in late November 2022, accusing Scofield of a secret relationship with one of the students and claiming she had “ordered” the killings, garnering millions of views across the social media platform.
The complaint states that Scofield had never met the victims and was out of state when the murders occurred.
Even after being served with cease-and-desist letters and after police publicly confirmed Scofield had no connection to the murders, the Houston-based tarot reader continued posting videos, the history professor’s legal team argued.
Guillard doubled down on her accusations against Scofield after being sued, posting a defiant video saying, “I am not stopping,” and challenging why Scofield needed three lawyers to sue her “if she’s so innocent.”
The professor’s legal team argued the defamatory accusations painted her as a criminal and accused her of professional misconduct that could derail her career.
Bryan Kohberger, then studying criminology at Washington State University, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to the quadruple murders in a deal that took the death penalty off the table. He is currently serving four consecutive life sentences in Idaho.
In June 2024, Chief US Magistrate Judge Raymond Patricco found Guillard’s statements legally defamatory, leaving damages to be decided by a jury.
During the damages trial, Scofield described the anguish of seeing her name tied to the murders online, the Idaho Statesman reported.
However, Guillard, acting as her own attorney, insisted her comments were simply beliefs based on tarot card readings.
She claimed to have psychic powers and testified that she relied on tarot cards to try to solve the shocking homicides that shook the rural college town and sparked global attention.
It took jurors less than two hours to return their verdict, the outlet reported.
The jury awarded Scofield $7.5 million in punitive damages in addition to $2.5 million in compensatory damages.
With Post wires
Idaho
Gas prices expected to exceed $3 as the Iran conflict prompts supply shortages
BOISE, Idaho — AAA is warning Idaho gas consumers that pump prices will likely rise as the conflict in Iran disrupts oil and gas supply chains worldwide.
The ongoing turmoil in the Middle East will likely push the price for a gallon of regular gasoline past the $3 mark over the coming days.
“On one hand, the crude oil market had time to account for some financial risk in the Middle East as forces mobilized, but a supply shortage somewhere affects the global picture,” says AAA Idaho public affairs director Matthew Conde. “If tankers can’t move products through the region, there could be ripple effects.”
On Monday, March 2, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $2.97, reports AAA, which is 12 cents more expensive than it was a month ago but 20 cents less than this time last year.
State / Price: 1 gallon of regular gasoline
- Washington / $4.37
- Oregon / $3.92
- Nevada / $3.70
- Idaho / $2.97
- Colorado / $2.89
- Montana / $2.82
- Utah / $2.74
- Wyoming / $2.73
In terms of the most expensive fuel in the nation, Idaho currently ranks #14. However, buying a gallon of regular gas in neighboring states such as Oregon and Washington could cost a whole dollar more. In contrast, gas prices in Utah, Montana, and Wyoming are anywhere between 15 to 24 cents cheaper than fuel in the Gem State.
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