Quincy police station Booking photo of Tim Bliefnick
Timothy “Tim” W. Bliefnick, a former Family Feud contestant who infamously joked about regretting marriage while appearing on the game show received three life sentences in an Illinois courtroom on Friday for the murder of his wife, Rebecca.
According to local news station KHQA, two of Bliefnick’s life sentences stem from two counts of first-degree murder, while the third is life sentence for his home burglary conviction. Because he was sentenced to “of course life” in prison, there will be no possibility of parole, credit for time served, or possibility of release.
In a video from the courtroom on Friday, Judge Robert Adrian can be heard telling Bliefnick, “You investigated this murder. You planned this murder. You rehearsed this murder. You broke into her house and you shot 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 times I don’t know how long it took you Some of those shots were fired while she was on the floor, and you did all of that while your kids were upstairs at your house, snuggled up in their beds.
Bliefnick declined to make a statement at sentencing.
The conviction comes two months after Bliefnick was found guilty of first-degree murder and home invasion in the February 23 murder of his estranged wife.
According to the Associated Press, a family member found Rebecca Bliefnick shot to death in her home after she failed to show up to pick up her kids from school. At the time of her death, the Bliefnicks were going through a divorce.
Bliefnick’s sentence was handed down over three years after he gasped from a Family Feud audience for one of his answers. He joined the game show with some family members — not including his wife — and was asked by host Steve Harvey, “What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made at your wedding?”
“Honey, I love you,” Bliefnick said. “But… Said ‘I do.'” When the audience responded loudly to his words, Bliefnick remarked, “Not Mine wrong! I love my wife.” He jokingly added, “That’s going to get me in trouble, isn’t it?”
According to an obituary for Rebecca, she was a mother of three who worked as a nurse. She was nominated for a DAISY Award in 2020, which celebrates nurses who provide exceptional care.
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