Gameshow contestant who went viral gets life in prison for murdering wife

A man who joked about his marriage to his wife on the US gameshow Family Feud has been sentenced to life in prison for her murder.

Earlier this year, it emerged that Timothy Bliefnick had been accused of killing his estranged wife, Rebecca Bliefnick, after she was found shot at her home in Quincy, Illinois on February 23.

Ms Bliefnick, who had three sons with Mr Bliefnick, had been in the middle of divorce proceedings at the time and lived separately from him.

Several months later, it has been announced that Adams County Judge Robert Adrian sentenced Mr Bliefnick to natural life in prison.

‘Mr Bliefnick, you researched this murder, you planned this murder, you practiced this murder, you broke into her house and you shot her,’ the judge said, as reported by local news station WGEM News.

‘Some of those shots were fired while she was laying on the ground and you did all of that while your children were upstairs at your house, laying snug in their beds.’

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Mr Bliefnick appeared on Family Feud in 2020 in an episode that was filmed the previous year.

During the episode, host Steve Harvey had asked him to think of what the most common answer would be to the question: ‘What’s the biggest mistake you made at your wedding?’

Mr Bliefnick began his answer by addressing his wife, saying: ‘Honey I love you,’ before answering: ‘Said: “I do”?’

He then added: ‘Not my mistake, not my mistake. I love my wife. I’m going to get in trouble for that aren’t I?’, to which Harvey replied: ‘It’s going to be a lot of hell to pay at your house.’

During the court proceedings, Ms Bliefnick’s mother Bernie Postle addressed Mr Bliefnick as she said: ‘You replaced their mother’s love with emotional scars and trauma.’

Several victim impact statements were heard in court ahead of the sentencing, with nearly 50 witnesses testifying and nearly 200 pieces of evidence being raised during the trial, the publication reported. Mr Bliefnick has 30 days to appeal his sentence.

For two counts of first-degree murder, he faced between 20 and 60 years per count. He also faced a 25-year to natural life extension because the act was committed with a firearm, and he also faced a count of home invasion, with the three life sentences forming one natural life sentence.

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