A former Family Feud contestant, who joked about regretting his marriage, is now on trial accused of fatally shooting his estranged wife earlier this year.
Timothy Bliefnick, 39, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of home invasion in connection to the murder of Rebecca Bliefnick, 41.
The victim was found dead on the bathroom floor in her home in Quincy, Illinois, a small city close to the Missouri state line. She had been shot 14 times.
The defendant was arrested on March 13 in connection to the slaying, Adams County Circuit Court records show.
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The victim’s father, William Postle, told jurors this week he discovered his daughter’s body on February 23 after she failed to collect her three children from school.
The couple were in the process of getting a divorce, court records show. Rebecca Bliefnick, who worked as a nurse, filed for an order of protection from her husband in 2021, according to additional papers filed in Adams County.
Prosecutors allege Timothy Bliefnick broke in through a second-story window.
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In a testimony at her murder trial this week, it was revealed that Rebecca told her sister, Sarah Reilly in a text message: “If something ever happens to me, make sure the No. 1 person of interest is Tim’.
The text was revealed while Reilly testified during the trial.
“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,” Rebecca texted her sister.
“He already has lied multiple times to paint himself as a victim and me as the perpetrator when it is absolutely the other way around.”
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Timothy’s lawyer, Case Schnack, argued that the evidence is not strong enough to convict him.
Timothy appeared on the long-running game show Family Feud in an episode that aired in 2020. During his appearance on the show as a contestant, he joked on national television how he regretted marrying Rebecca Bliefnick.
"What's your biggest mistake you made at your wedding?" host Steve Harvey asked Bliefnick during the show.
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"Said I do," Bliefnick replied. "Not my mistake, not my mistake − I love my wife. I'm gonna get in trouble for that, aren't I?"
The trial began on Monday (May 22) and is scheduled to continue through to Friday at least. He is facing between 45 years to life in prison if convicted.
Gregory Robinson