The wife of a man who once appeared on Family Feud was consumed by fears he’d hurt her years before he allegedly shot her dead.
Thirty-nine-year-old Timothy Bliefnick is currently facing trial in Adam’s County Courthouse in Quincy for the murder of his wife Rebecca “Becky” Bliefnick. At the time of Bliefnick’s death on 23 February, the couple was going through a bitter divorce and a contentious battle in court for the custody of their three sons.
Bliefnick’s body was found in the bathroom of her home after she didn’t show up at her children’s school pickup. Investigators have testified in court that the suspected killer pried open Bliefnick’s second-storey window with a crowbar and shot her 14 times.
Two years before her murder, Bliefnick issued a chilling warning to her sister, noting that, “if something ever happen[ed] to me, make sure the No. 1 person of interest is Tim.” Testifying for the prosecution on Tuesday, Bliefnick’s sister Sarah Reilly said the slain mother-of-three had sent the text in 2021, the same year the Bliefnicks filed for divorce.
“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,” the text introduced during Ms Reilly’s testimony read, according to local news station KHQA.
“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.”
Prosecutors have argued during the first week of the trial that Bliefnick was a victim of domestic violence at the hands of her estranged husband. She had filed a restraining order against Mr Bliefnick and his father before Mr Bliefnick also filed one against her.
A text Bliefnick sent to a friend in May 2021 also read: “He has screamed in my face, he shoved me in front of the kids, and has thrown things across the room where the kids and I were standing.”
Another friend of Bliefnick testified on Tuesday that the slain nurse had confided that Mr Bliefnick had allegedly told her “she’ll be dead before [having] any of [his] money.” According to the couple’s divorce attorney, who testified before the jury earlier this week, Mr Bliefnick was expected to pay $2,100 in maintenance and $472 per month in child support.
On Thursday, former police officer Gary Collins told the court that he had met the Bliefnicks when he lived in Illinois, according to KHQA. Mr Collins said he advised Bliefnick to get a restraining order against her husband after she said if anything happened to her, it would be the fault of Mr Bliefnick.
At the time of Bliefnick’s murder, there was a court order for Mr Bliefnick to return a gun to her. He had reportedly told police he didn’t want to do it himself but law enforcement said they couldn’t get involved as it was a court ruling.
Meanwhile, investigators have revealed they found chilling searches for “how to wash off gunpowder,” “average police response time,” and “how to open a door with a crowbar.”
Adams County Assistant State’s Attorney Josh Jones said that shell casings found in Mr Bliefnick’s basement matched the casings that were near his wife’s body. Crime scene investigators reportedly found Becky’s DNA in an Aldi bag found at her husband’s home.
Another Aldi bag found at the scene was reportedly used as a homemade gun silencer by the killer.
Mr Bliefnick was arrested on one count of murder and one count of home invasion more than two weeks after his wife’s killing. He has denied any involvement in the crime and entered a not guilty plea ahead of the beginning of the trial on Monday.
If convicted, he faces between 45 years to life in prison.
