An Illinois man who once competed on Family Feud has been convicted of breaking into his estranged wife’s home with a crowbar and shooting her 14 times.
Timothy Bliefnick, 39, was found guilty of all charges, including first-degree murder and home invasion, in connection with the Feb. 23 death of his wife, nurse Becky Bliefnick.
Adams County jurors deliberated for about four hours after a weeklong trial before rendering a verdict. Bliefnick now faces life in prison and will be sentenced on Aug. 11.
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During the trial, prosecutors revealed that the attack on the Becky Bliefnick, 41, came amid a contentious divorce and custody battle over the couple’s three sons.
Investigators matched shell casings found in the husband’s basement to those found at the crime scene.
Witnesses also testified about Bliefnick’s internet history, which showed that the former college football star searched “how to open a door with a crowbar.”
Prior to her death, Becky also texted a family member insisting that if anything happened to her, Bliefnick would be to blame.
“I am putting this in writing that I’m fearful he will somehow harm me, come after me, or will try to [do] something to me that takes me away from the kids or the kids away from me,” she texted her sister, Sarah Reilly.
While he attended his wife’s wake, Bliefnick skipped her funeral service, saying he did not want to become a distraction.
Bliefnick’s defense team insisted that their client was innocent and that the prosecution had no “hard evidence” and was playing on the jury’s sympathies. He declined to testify in his own defense.
The couple was married in 2009. Three years ago, he joked on Family Feud that the biggest mistake he made on his wedding night was saying “I do.” Then he added, “I’m going to get in trouble for that, aren’t I?”
