Friends of mom-of-three shot dead by Family Feud contestant husband spent final days living in fear

A friend of the mother-of-three killed after being shot 14 times by her husband who years earlier joked about his regrets over their marriage during an appearance on Family Feud has revealed the victim spent her final days fearing for her life.  

‘They seemed to be like the perfect family,’ Christie Krause told Fox News. ‘When we knew Tim and Becky, that was when they had gotten engaged and we’re getting married. And it was a very happy time in their life. I would have never thought that Tim could do something like this.

On Wednesday, a jury found Timothy Bliefnick, 40, guilty in the February 23 shooting death of 41-year-old Becky Bliefnick. 

Her body was found by her father after her family became concerned that she had not picked up her sons from school. She was shot 14 times.

Timothy Bliefnick was arrested March 13, twelve days after his Quincy, Illinois, home was searched. 

The couple was separated and going through a divorce but a friend of the family said nobody thought the relationship would end with a murder.

Becky Bliefnick (left) was  found dead in her home by her father after her family became concerned that she had not picked up her sons from school

Becky Bliefnick (left) was  found dead in her home by her father after her family became concerned that she had not picked up her sons from school

Timothy Bliefnick, 40, refused to testify in his own defense after being accused of killing his estranged wife in Quincy, Illinois

Timothy Bliefnick, 40, refused to testify in his own defense after being accused of killing his estranged wife in Quincy, Illinois 

Christie Krause, pictured, said Becky had confided in close friends and family over concerns of her husband's potential to harm her before their divorce was final

Christie Krause, pictured, said Becky had confided in close friends and family over concerns of her husband’s potential to harm her before their divorce was final

Krause said that she knew Becky had reached out to close friends and family in the days leading up to her killing as she vocalized fears her husband might harm her before their divorce was finalized. 

‘She had reached out so too many people that she was close to, saying that if anything happened to her that Tim would be the one that they should look at first,’ Krause explained. 

‘That’s really sad to hear, especially during the trial. It was very heartbreaking to know that she was in so much fear in the last few days of her life.’

Becky had 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.

Krause told how she has prayed for the family and the three young sons their mother left behind hoping that they might remember her as an ‘all-around great person.’

‘My thoughts and prayers go out to them. These three boys have lost both of their parents. It’s heartbreaking to know what they have to go through for the rest of their life, that their father killed their mother.’ 

‘All I can continue to do is pray for them and hopefully offer happy memories from the past of their wonderful mother, who was just brilliant and beautiful and caring and just an all-around great person,’ Krause said.

A friend of Becky's has revealed how she spent her final days living in fear.

A friend of Becky’s has revealed how she spent her final days living in fear. 

Bliefnick (pictured right as his home was raided in March) was 'very cooperative' with officers, and handed over his keys to the home, which he rents, and his car

Bliefnick (pictured right as his home was raided in March) was ‘very cooperative’ with officers, and handed over his keys to the home, which he rents, and his car

In a statement following this week’s verdict  Becky’s family said: ‘We should not be living in a world where a crime like this is possible. We should not have to suffer a life without Becky who was robbed of her life in the most hateful, cowardly and cruel way.

‘Her boys were robbed of a loving, devoted mother. I was robbed of my sister and best friend.

‘My parents were robbed of their daughter, and as a parent myself, I cannot imagine a greater torture.

‘Becky was a niece, an aunt and a cousin; a friend, a colleague and a caregiver. All those who love her carry heavy heartache in the wake of this tragedy.

‘The judicial process cannot bring her back nor can it heal our wounds, but we are relieved that the verdict delivers justice, and we are thankful for all who made it a reality.

‘As a family of faith, we are deeply thankful for our family, friends and the complete strangers who have rallied around us and prayed for us during these incredibly dark days.’

The court heard Bliefnick researched ways to commit the crime on Google before riding to Becky's home on his bike

The court heard Bliefnick researched ways to commit the crime on Google before riding to Becky’s home on his bike

Bliefnick and Becky had three sons together but were living separately at the time of her murder having split in February 2021

Bliefnick and Becky had three sons together but were living separately at the time of her murder having split in February 2021 

A GoFundMe set up by Becky’s sister has raised $110,000 which will fund her funeral and care for her three children

Becky’s family said 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.

‘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.’

The court heard Bliefnick researched ways to commit the crime on Google, before riding to her home on a bicycle.

Investigators retrieved dozens of shell casings in the basement that the state police lab found was fired from the same gun as eight recovered from the crime scene.

Becky had also sent a chilling message to her sister Sarah Reilly (right) before she died, warning that if anything happened to her, 'the No.1 person of interest is Tim'

Becky had also sent a chilling message to her sister Sarah Reilly (right) before she died, warning that if anything happened to her, ‘the No.1 person of interest is Tim’

The nurse (left), had previously filed a restraining order against her estranged husband (right) and his father before she in turn was then hit with a restraining order by her husband

The nurse (left), had previously filed a restraining order against her estranged husband (right) and his father before she in turn was then hit with a restraining order by her husband

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 and although 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’.

Police described him as being ‘cooperative’, after swooping on his property shortly before arresting him. 

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’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 

Prosecutors say he used a crowbar to break into the property (pictured) through a second-story window before shooting his estranged wife in the bathroom

Prosecutors say he used a crowbar to break into the property (pictured) through a second-story window before shooting his estranged wife in the bathroom

The couple had three sons together, but were living separately at the time of Becky’s death, with court records showing their split was filed in February 2021.

Court records show that the couple, who married in 2009, had both filed restraining orders against each other.

Quincy Police said the murder was an unusual act of domestic violence in an otherwise safe town.

In 2020, Timothy Bliefnick and some of his family members appeared on ABC’s Family Feud. 

Bliefnick made the comment as a contestant in an episode of Family Feud, hosted by Steve Harvey and which aired in January 2020. Harvey joked his response would get him in trouble

Bliefnick made the comment as a contestant in an episode of Family Feud, hosted by Steve Harvey and which aired in January 2020. Harvey joked his response would get him in trouble

Timothy Bliefnick, 39, predicted that a common wedding mistake would be agreeing to get married at all. He was arrested earlier this week and accused of murdering his estranged wife

Timothy Bliefnick, 39, predicted that a common wedding mistake would be agreeing to get married at all. He was arrested earlier this week and accused of murdering his estranged wife

One of the questions asked by host Steve Harvey was, ‘What was the biggest mistake you made at your wedding?’ 

‘Honey, I love you,’ said Bliefnick, addressing his wife, before adding cautiously, ‘Said, ‘I do’? 

His response evoked laughter and gasps from the crowd and a blank stare from Harvey. 

He immediately told Harvey ‘Not mine to say. I love my wife.’ He also added, ‘I’m going to get in trouble for that, aren’t I?’ 

Harvey responded, ‘It’s going to be a lot of hell to pay at your house.’ 

The episode was recorded in the fall of 2019 but aired in the spring of 2020, according to ABC.

source: dailymail.co.uk