A former contestant on the television show “Family Feud” was sentenced by an Illinois judge to life in prison for the shooting murder of his estranged wife.
In May, Timothy Bliefnick was convicted of first-degree murder and trespassing in the February 23 attack in Quincy. On Friday, Judge Robert Adrian sentenced the defendant to spend his life behind bars, essentially the harshest punishment in the state.
“Mr. Bliefnick, you investigated this murder, you planned this murder, you carried out this murder,” the circuit court judge said. “You broke into his house and shot him one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 times.”
Illinois abolished the death penalty in 2011 by law. A natural life sentence is equivalent to what in other states is called a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors alleged that Bliefnick rode a newly purchased bicycle to his wife Rebecca’s residence, broke through a window and opened fire, leaving her to die in a bathroom.
“Some of those shots were fired while she was lying on the ground,” the judge said.
Among those who spoke at the sentencing was Rebecca’s brother-in-law, Brett Reilly, who said: “You have sentenced her children, her family and her friends to a lifetime of profound pain.”
Bliefnick did not speak Friday, and he did not present evidence or witnesses during his trial, affiliated NBC W.G.E.M. de Quincy reported. His attorney, Casey Schnack, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
She had asked the judge for a new trial because the defense did not rule out others in the Bliefnick household by presenting evidence of Internet searches on their devices.
Judge Adrian said the connection between the defendant and the records was a matter for the jury to decide, which found him guilty in May. But he suggested that he was satisfied with the connection, noting that Bliefnick’s devices were in his custody and could only be routinely accessed via his passwords.
Adrian refused to vacate the guilty verdicts.
In 2021, Timothy filed for divorce, each having filed a restraining order against the other. Proceedings in the divorce were set for the week following the February 23 murder, WGEM reported.
The defendant appeared on “Family Feud” in 2020 with members of his clan. He raised eyebrows at his response to host Steve Harvey’s question: “What was the biggest mistake you made at your wedding?”
“I,” he said.
He was married to Rebecca for 14 years. They were the parents of three children ages 5, 10, and 12.
This article was originally published in English by Dennis Romero for our sister network NBCNews.com. For more from NBC News enter here.
