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Family Feud contestant gave an answer about marriage that took on a chilling meaning after he murdered his wife
A Family Feud contestant gave an answer about marriage that took on a haunting new meaning after he murdered his wife.
Becky Bliefnick was found shot dead in her Quincy, Illinois, home on February 23, 2023.
Police first considered a robbery, but that theory quickly fell apart: no valuables were taken, and the level of violence suggested something far more deliberate.
"It wasn’t just a murder," Josh Jones, assistant state’s attorney at the time, said. "It was a cold-blooded execution. To shoot 14 times is not just losing your cool."
The late woman grew up outside Quincy, where she was valedictorian of her high school.
At college, she met Tim Bliefnick, a football star, who later became her husband. The pair later welcomed three sons.
Becky's marriage to Bliefnick, who was a salesman, was happy for a while before tensions began to emerge.
In 2021, Tim filed for divorce and moved out of the house.
Investigators spot a mysterious cyclist
Police found evidence suggesting Becky's killer entered the house through a broken window.
Investigators collected shell casings and small pieces of plastic that may have been used to silence the weapon.
They also looked at the security cameras around the neighborhood and found footage from the night the mom of three was killed that showed a person riding a bicycle near her home.
"You see the person riding the bike," prosecutor Laura Keck said. "And then turn in the direction of Becky’s house."
Investigators later discovered that a suspicious cyclist had also appeared on surveillance footage several days earlier.
On February 14, Becky's neighbors had recorded a prowler outside their home. The timing immediately caught investigators' attention.
Detectives learned that Becky had been seeing another man, Ted Johnson.
However, Johnson had been with Becky on the night of February 14, when the prowler was recorded.
"There was no evidence that he was involved. There’s no evidence of motive," Jones said. "So, we start looking at a different path."
That path eventually led investigators to Becky’s estranged husband. Tim, who had claimed he had been home with his children on the night of the murder.
His defense attorney, Casey Schack, argued that after being separated for two years, "they both, by all accounts, were looking forward to putting the divorce behind them".
But divorce records painted a more difficult picture as Becky was due in court just one week after she was murdered, and the ex-couple were still disputing money and custody of their children.
The couple had also traded accusations involving poor parenting, verbal abuse, and harassment.
Becky had objected to Tim's father, Ray, being alone with the children.
Protective orders had been filed
Becky's close friends described another side of Tim. "He was very emotionally abusive to Becky," a woman named Sarah said. "He was very, very controlling."
Tim had filed for a protective order against Becky, and she later filed one of her own.
Becky also sought a protective order against Ray after accusing him in court filings of inappropriate sexual behavior. All of the orders were denied.
"The law with regard to protective orders," Jones said, "treats emotional and verbal abuse differently than physical abuse."
Old Family Feud answer resurfaces
As details of the couple's troubled marriage became public, an old TV appearance featuring Tim resurfaced.
During an appearance on Family Feud, Tim was asked about the biggest mistake he made at his wedding. He answered that it was saying "I do".
The comment was delivered as a game show joke at the time, but it later took on a far darker meaning after Becky was murdered and Tim became the focus of the investigation.
Police eventually searched the man's home and found that shell casings recovered from the property matched casings from the crime scene.
Investigators also found shards of plastic matching the evidence discovered near Becky's body.
In addition to this, police located a bicycle without reflectors, similar to the one seen in surveillance footage, and looked into Tim's computer history.
At 1:10AM on February 14, he had searched for information about Becky's new boyfriend, Ted Johnson. That was the same night Becky's neighbors recorded the prowler.
Investigators also found internet searches about how to make a silencer for a gun using shopping bags.
Tim was eventually arrested on March 13, 2023, and charged with first-degree murder.
He was later found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.