On February 23, 2023, Rebecca "Becky" Postle Bliefnick, 41, was shot 14 times execution-style in the middle of the night inside her Quincy, Illinois, residence.

She was alone. Her three boys were staying with their father about a mile away.

After she failed to pick up her children (12, 10, and 5) from school and her father could not reach her, he went to Becky’s home. He found her lifeless body on her bathroom floor and called 911.

The timing was highly suspicious because it was one week before Becky and her estranged husband, Timothy “Tim” W. Bliefnick, were set to face off in court in a contentious divorce and child custody battle.

A Home Invader And Killer

Investigators believed the home intruder and likely murderer entered Becky’s abode around 1:00 a.m. by standing on a chair propped up against an outside wall of the house.

Police determined the killer had scrambled onto the roof of the second-story residence, smashing in the window of one of Becky’s son’s rooms. Then they shot the dedicated nurse and mom point blank while looking into her eyes.

But not before she tried to dial 911.

The coroner determined that a very frightened Becky didn’t die quickly from her wounds, which caused her great pain. She lay on the darkened bathroom floor of her house, waiting to die all alone.

Sadly, the killer knocked her phone out of her hands as they entered her bedroom. Inspectors found her cell behind the bedroom door, where they assumed her killer kicked or threw it.

Nothing appeared stolen from Becky’s home, and neighbors didn’t see or hear anything during the crime.

A Mysterious Man Caught On Camera

When police began scrutinizing Becky’s murder scene, they discovered her neighbors had a driveway security camera adjacent to her domicile. The camera captured nothing on the murder evening but caught something unusual approximately 24 hours earlier.

At 1:05 a.m., a person was filmed walking down the driveway towards the back of Becky’s domicile. The exact figure was caught again — 48 minutes later — walking in the opposite direction.

During the trial, the prosecution showed how Bliefnick rode a bike (purchased from Facebook Marketplace under the name John Smith) from his house to Rebecca’s.

The state utilized surveillance footage from the Quincy Police Stations (QPS) bus barn, a residence on South 20th Street, and Rebecca’s next-door neighbor.

Each of them linked within minutes, including the times Bliefnick’s phone was locked, his Fitness band was disconnected, and his laptop didn’t make a search.

That bike was then abandoned in an ally by the Quincy Public School Bus Barn, a block from Bliefnick’s home.

Days after Becky’s murder, Quincy police located an abandoned bike without reflectors on the wheels less than half a block from Tim’s house. It was just like the bike investigators saw in surveillance videos.

A John Smith Facebook account, which had been directly linked to Bliefnick and used to spy on Becky, made inquires to Michael Blaesing via Timothy’s cell phone about a blue, 26″ Schwinn mountain bike without reflectors that were for sale.

Love and Marriage

Becky and Tim Bliefnick met when they were students at Quincy University but didn’t start dating until two years after graduating. They eventually married in 2009 and started a family consisting of three boys.

Two years after marriage, Bliefnick appeared as a contestant on TV's popular "Family Feud." He joked about regretting marriage.

He said, “It wasn’t said with any malice or — bad intentions. It was supposed to be funny,” Bliefnick said.

Her sister, Sarah Reilly, told “48 Hours" that her sister was happy with Bliefnick for the first five years of their marriage until something in their relationship changed. Reilly said, “He got progressively … more manipulative and controlling.”

Their marriage became even more strained because Bliefnick didn’t support Becky’s decision to leave her work in the pharmaceutical business and go back to nursing school.

Yes, he acknowledged that he wasn’t in favor of Becky taking on a career in nursing, but Bliefnick said it was “Out of concern for her well-being.”

The End Of A Marriage

Ultimately, Bliefnick left the marital home in February of 2021 after 11 years of marriage and filed for divorce. It turned ugly quickly.

In the divorce court documents, Bliefnick said he felt “Rebecca was attempting to keep the children away from him, stating Becky had been out of control since the divorce was filed.”

Bliefnick had requested a 60/40 custody agreement in his favor. He didn’t want to pay child support. He wanted full possession of the marital home and his father to be granted unsupervised contact with his grandchildren.

In truth, Becky didn’t want her three sons to spend time with her estranged husband since he allowed them to be around his father, Ray, who had a history of pervasion around children.

She’d filed an order of protection on behalf of her children against Ray Bliefnick, which the court later denied.

He Said — She Said

Bliefnick said Becky was the vengeful one. He eventually sought an order of protection against her, stating Becky “stalked” and “harassed” him. She denied all of his claims.

Three months later, Becky filed an order of protection against Bliefnick. In her petition, she alleged Bliefnick “entered her residence without permission.”

While neither of those protection orders was granted, a judge ordered Tim and Becky to stay away from each other and their homes except when exchanging their kids.

The back and forth continued for months. On July 8, 2021, the court ordered both parties to be granted temporary parental responsibilities. Both parents were dissatisfied with the 50/50 parenting schedule but begrudgingly agreed to the terms.

Becky’s attorneys declined all of Bliefnick’s demands. A divorce proceeding was scheduled for March 3, 2023. The divorce was never finalized before Rebecca’s death on February 23.

Becky was petrified by her estranged husband

The months after Tim filed for divorce, Becky texted numerous friends that she feared his behavior towards her. “He is becoming more vengeful and unpredictable,” Becky wrote to one of her friends in a text.

Becky sent her sister, Sarah Reilly, a text more than a year before her death. The Illinois mom wrote, “If something ever happens to me, please ensure Tim is the number one person of interest.”

Her fear was triggered by the murder of one of her colleagues. She felt like this could happen to her. Becky had gathered witnesses to testify against Tim at the divorce hearing to show her deep concern for her safety.

Becky bumped into a friend, Melissa Young, at TJ MAXX. Young said she appeared mentally exhausted. They talked about her divorce. She told Melissa she felt “Tim could snap at any moment.”

Becky told Melissa, “You’ll be dead before you get any of my money.”

Evidence

Pieces of wood from Becky’s bedroom door were found at the crime scene, leading analysts to believe the killer had violently kicked in the bathroom door where she’d taken refuge.

Shreds of plastic, later found to be from Aldi grocery bags, were scattered around Becky’s body. Stacks of the bags were found at Becky’s house but also discovered at Bliefnick’s house.

Reportedly, the couple packed their kid’s belongings in the bags during the visitation exchange. Becky had her husband’s DNA under her fingernails, but it could not be specifically linked to the murder.

Police found tool marks where the killer smashed in the window. The prosecution couldn’t prove with scientific certainty any tool marks matched those of any related tools found at Bliefnick's house.

Inside Becky’s home, a partial shoeprint was found near the entry point. It could not be conclusively linked to her estranged husband.

There is a lack of physical evidence tying Tim to the crime. There were no bloody clothes, and Tim’s DNA was not found on the patio chair used to climb onto the roof at Becky’s house.

Video surveillance on February 14 and on other occasions leading up to Becky’s murder detected a bicycle rider in the vicinity of her home. The prosecutors found evidence tying Tim to the bike spotted at the crime scene. Tim had a fake Facebook account and used it to spy on Becky.

Oddly, on the day of her murder, Tim bought a kid’s basketball hoop for his father’s house.

Prosecutors questioned why when he knew Becky was trying to block her boys from their paternal grandfather. Why was their father installing a basketball hoop for them?

Bliefnick was arrested on March 13, approximately three weeks after Becky was found dead at her Kentucky Road home.

The Trial

After Tim Bliefnick was arrested and ordered to be held without bond. He invoked his right to a speedy trial, which meant the prosecutors were required to try the case within 90 days of his arrest.

The prosecution was worried whether they had enough evidence to convict him since there was no smoking gun. Bliefnick’s defense attorney, Casey Schnack, said the court should have given more weight to the idea that it was a random intruder.

The defense attorney noted that no physical evidence tied him to the murder. Instead, Schnack believes Becky’s death could have resulted from a break-in gone wrong.

“There were prowlers in the area, right next door, within a week of her being murdered. They’re breaking into cars, they’re trying to break into houses,” Schnack said.

Sentencing

In May, after more than four hours of deliberation, a jury convicted Bliefnick of two counts of first-degree murder, home invasion, and use of a firearm (9-millimeter handgun) to commit first-degree murder in the February 23 shooting death of Rebecca Bliefnick, 41.

Bliefnick, 40, was sentenced to three life sentences in August, with “natural life” in prison. That means there will be no opportunity for parole, credit for any time served, or possibility of ever being released.

In an Illinois courtroom he received three life sentence for the murder of his wife, Rebecca.

News station KHOA reported, "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."

Adams County Circuit Judge Robert Adrian admonished Bliefnick while passing the sentence.

He said, “You researched this murder. You planned this murder. You practiced this murder. You broke into her house and shot her 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 times.”

The Judge said, “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.”

As Judge Adrian read the sentence Friday, news reports showed Bliefnick no reaction. Becky’s estranged husband continues to maintain his innocence and denies killing his estranged wife.

Afterthought

“Tim will always assert his innocence,” Reilly said.

“He was never able to admit to fault or even compromise in life or marriage before this happening,” Reilly says this was no surprise to the family.

Reilly noted, “I think he truly believes that he is not at fault for this, and that’s his own sick and twisted mental illness.”

Bliefnick, 40, was sent to Graham Correctional Center, a Level 4 medium-security adult male prison about two miles southeast of Hillsboro, Illinois, on Route 185.

As this event has received national attention, Reilly hopes that the integrity of the case and the truth of Becky’s life and death come through in the most meaningful way.