Imagine making a “joke” on national television, only for it to foreshadow what would happen a few years later. Sounds a bit bizarre, doesn’t it? Well, something similar happened to a couple from Illinois in 2023, and the incident’s chilling nature shocked people.
Timothy “Tim” W. Bliefnick was a contestant on a TV show in 2020, where he “joked” about his marriage. However, it turned out to be quite alarming because of what he did to his estranged wife 3 years after that remark. Read on to uncover the gory tale that ended in tragedy for his partner.
A Family Feud contestant’s marriage “joke” took on a scary meaning after his actions went public
In 2020, Tim Bliefnick was a contestant on the hit TV game show Family Feud. When he was asked about the biggest mistake he made at his wedding. Tim responded, “Honey, I love you but…said ‘I do.’”
While it might have sounded like a joke at the time, his wife, Becky Bliefnick, and her family were hardly surprised. “That’s just kind of how he was. It was not really anything out of the ordinary,” Becky’s sister, Sarah Reilly, told PEOPLE.
Shockingly enough, 3 years later, on February 23, 2023, Becky was found deceased in her second-floor bathroom. Her father discovered her body after she didn’t pick up her kids (Deacon, 12, Greyson, 10, and Arlin, 6). While Tim was charged with the crime, the investigation didn’t point to him at first.
Tim had filed for divorce in 2021, and the couple was going through a rough custody battle before Becky lost her life. She was a nurse who was harassed and tormented by her husband. Reports show she sought an emergency restraining order against him, but the court denied the petition.
Reilly said that nobody believed her sister, as Tim’s emotional cruelty against her wasn’t visible. She also read a text that Becky sent: “If something ever happens to me, please make sure the number one person of interest is Tim, as that is who would do something to me.”
When Becky was found deceased with 14 bullets shot at her, Tim told the police that it was because of a violent home invasion. The person who did this to her entered her house through a broken window. However, nothing was stolen, and the nature of the crime suggested a personal motive.
When his wife was fatally shot, investigators found that all the evidence pointed to him
The police started exploring another angle. When they reviewed the security cameras, they saw a cyclist outside Becky’s house. Strangely enough, the same man had been reported for prowling the neighborhood a few days earlier.
The investigators first looked into the man that Becky was dating, Ted Johnson. However, he was with Becky when the prowler was recorded. That’s when they started looking into her husband, who had said that he was with their children when she was fatally shot.
Becky was due in court just a week after her tragic demise. While the couple’s custody battle was still ongoing, she filed a petition against her father-in-law, Ray. Many of Tim’s relatives had accused his father of inappropriate physical conduct, and Becky was worried about her kids.
Tim threatened her to keep silent about his father. Although her petition was dismissed, the allegations were shifted to the divorce proceedings. This would have created custody issues for him. Josh Jones, assistant state’s attorney at the time, said that “Tim’s world was going to come crashing down in his mind.”
Casey Schack, Tim’s defense attorney, dismissed the prosecutors’ theory, saying they had a great story but no proof. “He wasn’t that angry. They had both moved on,” she mentioned.
However, investigators found incriminating evidence against him. On February 14, when he first rode through her neighborhood, he saw her with her boyfriend. Tim’s search history showed he had looked up the other man online.
Eventually, Tim was charged with executing his wife, and he’s serving a life sentence
He had also searched for the following: ‘How to open my door with a crowbar? Can I force open my door with a crowbar if I lock myself out? How to make a homemade pistol silencer?’
Moreover, when they searched his house, they came across shell casings that were found at the crime scene. They even found plastic shards in his house that were also discovered near Becky’s body. Lastly, they found the bicycle without reflectors that security cameras spotted.
Even though he pleaded “not guilty,” all the evidence pointed towards him. According to the Quincy Police Department, he was charged with 2 life sentences for executing his wife and one for home invasion. As he was sentenced to “natural life” in prison, he will have no opportunity for parole, credit for time served, or possibility of release.
“Nothing we did was going to bring Becky Bliefnick back. And at the end of the day, there are still three little boys who lost their mother in a violent and tragic way, and now they’ve lost their father,” Jones mentioned after the verdict.
Meanwhile, Rielly said, “I miss Becky every day. I still pick up my phone to call her. I choose to believe she will always be with us. We will all spend the rest of our lives making sure her boys know how much she loved them—how much she loves them still. A mother’s love never fades.”
The heartbreaking story really shocked netizens. What are your thoughts about it? Let us know in the comments.
Here's a video of Tim's marriage "joke" on Family Feud
People online were shocked about Becky’s tragic demise
