Family Feud contestant who joked about marriage on air gets life in prison for wife’s murder

Quincy Police Department 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, was handed three life sentences in prison in an Illinois courtroom 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 life sentence is for his conviction of home invasion. Because he was sentenced with “natural life” in prison, there will be no opportunity for parole, credit for time served, or possibility of release.

In a video from the courtroom Friday, Judge Robert Adrian can be heard telling Bliefnick, “You researched this murder. You planned this murder. You practiced this murder. You broke into her house and you shot her 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 times. I don’t know how long it took you to do that. Some of those shots were fired while she was lying on the ground, and you did all of that while your children were upstairs at your house, lying snug in their beds.”

Bliefnick declined to make a statement at the sentencing.

The sentencing comes two months after Bliefnick was found guilty of first-degree murder and home invasion in the Feb. 23 killing of his estranged wife.

Per the Associated Press, a family member found Rebecca Bliefnick shot to death inside her home after she didn’t show up to pick up her children from school. At the time of her death, the Bliefnicks were going through a divorce.

Bliefnick’s sentence was handed down more than three years after he drew gasps from a Family Feud audience for one of his answers. Competing on the game show with some family members — not including his wife — he was asked by host Steve Harvey, “What’s the biggest mistake you made at your wedding?”

“Honey, I love you,” Bliefnick prefaced. “But… Said ‘I do.'” When the audience loudly reacted to his words, Bliefnick remarked, “Not my mistake! I love my wife.” He jokingly added, “I’m going to get in trouble for that, aren’t I?”

According to an obituary for Rebecca, she was a mother of three who worked as a registered nurse. She was nominated for a DAISY Award, which celebrates nurses who administer exceptional care, in 2020.

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