Illinois nurse Rebecca ‘Becky’ Bliefnick, 41, was shot dead in her Quincy, Illinois, home on February 23, while her three sons slept upstairs

Her estranged husband Timothy ‘Tim’ Bliefnick, 40, who was found guilty in May of her murder, Friday, was sentenced to life in prison

The couple who were married in 2009,  had three children together, and started ‘a messy’ divorce in 2021   

Timothy Bliefnick appeared on ABC’s Family Feud in 2020, and joked that somebody’s ‘biggest wedding mistake’ would likely be getting married at all

Before she was murdered Becky sent a message to her sister Sarah Reilly, that if anything ever happened to her, ‘the No.1 person of interest is Tim’

Timothy ‘Tim’ Bliefnick, [photo], on Friday was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his estranged wife, Rebecca ‘Becky, Bliefnick on February 23, in Quincy, Illinois. The couple who were separated had been going through a messy divorce

An Illinois dad who murdered his wife with whom he shared three little sons, after declaring on Family Feud that marrying her was a mistake was sentenced to life in prison on Friday.
Timothy Bliefnick, 40, was found guilty in May of the February 23 killing of his estranged wife Becky Bliefnick, 41, in Quincy, Illinois.
The mother-of-three was found dead in her home by her father, after her family became concerned that she had not picked up her sons from school. She had been shot 14 times.
Court records show that Becky and Timothy Bliefnick were separated and going through a messy divorce. The couple who married in 2009 shared three young sons, but by 2021 were in divorce court.

Tim Bliefnick at his sentencing on Friday for the murder of his estranged wife, Becky Bliefnick. Judge Robert K. Adrian sentenced Bliefnick to life, and stressed the calculated nature of the killing

At sentencing on Friday, Judge Robert K. Adrian and stressed the calculated nature of the murder.
‘You researched this murder, you planned this murder, you practiced this murder, you broke into her house, and you shot her,’ judge Adrian told Tim Bliefnick on Friday.

Rebecca ‘Becky’ Bliefnick [left], was  found dead in her home in Quincy on Feb 23, by her father after the family became concerned that she had not picked up her sons from school. Her estranged husband Tim [right], was convicted of her murder and sentenced to life in prison on Friday

The judge then counted loudly to 14, indicating the number of bullets Bliefnick fired into his estranged wife: ‘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,’ said Adrian.
‘And you did all of that while your children were upstairs at your house laying snug in their beds.’ 
Bliefnick appeared on Family Feud in 2020, and he joked with the host Steve Harvey that somebody’s ‘biggest wedding mistake’ would likely be getting married at all. 
‘Honey, I love you,’ said Bliefnick, addressing his wife.
He then told Harvey what his biggest mistake was: ‘Said, ‘I do.” 
His response evoked laughter and gasps from the crowd, and a blank stare from Harvey.
The episode was recorded in the fall of 2019 but aired in the spring of 2020.

Judge Robert K. Adrian counted to 14 in the courtroom on Friday – the number of bullets Bliefnick fired to kill his wife as he sentenced the convicted wife killer to life in prison

Sarah Reilly, Becky Bliefnick’s sister and confidante, is seen reading her victim impact statement to the court on Friday. She acted out her sister’s instructions and ensured her former brother-in-law was prosecuted for the crime

Prosecutors say he used a crowbar to break into the property through a second-story window before shooting his estranged wife in the bathroom.
Becky had also sent a chilling message to her sister Sarah Reilly before she died, warning that if anything happened to her, ‘the No.1 person of interest is Tim’.
‘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,’ she said.

Prosecutors say Timothy Bliefnick used a crowbar to break into the property [photo] he formerly shared with Becky, through a second-story window before shooting his estranged wife in the bathroom

Tim was living in a rented house is just a mile away from Rebecca’s home on Kentucky Road, where she lived with their three sons before she was shot dead. Prosecutors branded her death as an ‘act of domestic violence’.
At trial, the court heard Bliefnick researched ways to commit the crime on Google, before riding to her home on a bicycle.
When he appeared at the Adams County Courthouse in mid-March, charged with killing his wife and home invasion, Bliefnick chose not enter a plea. He also refused to to testify in his own defense all through the murder trial.

Timothy Bliefnick, [photo], refused to testify in his own defense after being accused of killing his estranged wife in Quincy, Illinois. He was convicted in May and sentenced to life on August 11  

Tim Bliefnick [left] appeared on an episode of ABC’s Family Feud aired in 2020, he joked with the host Steve Harvey [second right], that somebody’s ‘biggest wedding mistake’ would likely be getting married at all 

Following the conviction in May, Becky’s family said that their priority was now raising her three young children.
‘We live with the hope that the worst moment of our lives cannot define who we are, as we pick up the pieces to raise Becky’s boys in the way we know she would want,’ they said.
‘While life cannot be normal in the ways it once was, such love and support does help restore the belief that the world does, in fact, have more good than evil.

“She will be missed forever and loved always.’” Becky’s family have branded the killing as ‘hateful, cowardly and cruel’, and vowed to not shy away from telling the boys who killed their mother 

Becky earlier texted her sister Sarah earlier to make sure her estranged husband Tim was the number one suspect if she was ever found murdered. The couple had separated and were going through a messy divorce when Becky was shot 14 times according to investigators

‘As they go forward with the certain truth that their father murdered their mother, we ask that you keep Becky’s three, incredible boys in your prayers.
‘We will move forward by leaning on each other and our faith, for healing. We will speak of Becky warmly and often, remembering the way she lived and loved, not the way she died. She will be missed forever and loved always.’
Investigators retrieved dozens of shell casings in the basement that the state police lab confirmed were fired from the same gun as eight recovered from the crime scene.

Becky’s family said in May, after Timothy Bliefnick was convicted, that their priority was now raising her three young sons

The court heard Timothy Bliefnick, seen [photo], with his three boys, researched ways to commit the crime on Google before riding to over by bicycle to the home where he shot their mother 14 times, while the kids slept upstaairs

Becky Bliefnick [left], a nurse who shared three young sons with Timothy [right], had previously filed a restraining order against her estranged husband and his father before she was then hit with a retaliatory restraining order

Police described him as being ‘cooperative’, after swooping on his property shortly before arresting him.
His lawyers also accused Quincy Police Department of failing to ‘follow up’ on claims that Becky was being stalked but did not release any further information or evidence to back up their claims.
The couple who shared three sons were living separately at the time of Becky’s death, with court records showing their split was filed in February 2021.

Bliefnick standing [right] with the Sherriff watches proceedings as his home was raided in March, when he was said to be ‘very cooperative’ with officers, and handing over his keys to his rental home, as well as his car

Prior to the murder, Becky [left], sent a message to her sister Sarah Reilly (right), tasking her to ensure that if anything ever happened to her, ‘the No.1 person of interest is Tim’

Court records show that the couple, who married in 2009, was going through a contentious divorce and had both filed restraining orders against each other.
Before the shooting, Bliefnick had taken his wife’s gun and refused to give it back, her attorney revealed. 
Officers didn’t find the murder weapon, though Becky’s handgun remains missing and forensic experts say it was among several models which could have matched the casings.
In the weeks after her death, Bliefnick attended her wake, but not her funeral as he didn’t want to be a ‘distraction’.