Timothy Bliefnick sentenced to life in prison for murder of estranged wife

QUINCY, Ill. (WAND/WGEM) — Timothy Bliefnick, the man charged with shooting and killing his estranged wife, Rebecca Bliefnick, was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty by a jury.

Timothy Bliefnick declined to make a statement to the judge prior to sentencing.

"You shot her ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, NINE, TEN, ELEVEN, TWELVE, THIRTEEN, FOURTEEN times," the judge said while handing down the life sentence.

Victim impact statements were given by several people, including Becky's mother, Bernadette Postle. "You replaced their mother's love with emotional scars and trauma... We are left with emptiness that cannot be filled. Your soul is black with hate... You should never be allowed to be free again."

Susan Parker, one of Becky's aunts, said in a statement read by a victim's advocate, "She lives on in her three sons." She said she has suffered from insomnia since receiving the news of her niece's murder.

One of her cousins said, "The years of hell you dragged Becky through were no secret... Our family has no option but to carry on."

Becky's sister said to Timothy, "You wanted her to suffer. You probably wanted all who loved her to suffer, and if that was the case, you have succeeded."

"Imagining her fear, imagining her begging for her life, imagining her begging for her children... praying to God in her last moments to keep (her children) safe from you..."

"She was wrong in believing you could love anyone more than yourself."

The prosecutor said he has never seen a murder that was as planned out as this one and asked the judge to impose a sentence of natural life in prison.

The defense said Timothy had a college education, was employed, was a youth football coach who coached his sons. She said credit should be given for the life he lived prior to committing the crime. "Life in prison without parole should be reserved for the worst of the worst. Tim is not the worst of the worst," she said.

WATCH SENTENCING:

An Adams County Jury found Timothy Bliefnick guilty on all charges on May 31 after four hours of deliberation.

Those include two counts of first-degree murder and one count of home invasion.

Timeline of events

As evidence was presented in the six-day jury trial, the prosecution detailed the events leading up to Timothy killing his wife of 14 years by shooting her 14 times.

Jones and fellow Adams County Assistant State’s Attorney Laura Keck relied heavily on evidence that formed an exact timeline of the murder. That timeline is presented below.

2009

Sept. 18

Timothy Bliefnick and Rebecca Postle get married.

2021

Jan. 21

Timothy files for divorce. Rebecca is represented by attorney Dennis Woodworth.

May 9

A text from Rebecca to longtime friend Nicole Bateman: “He told me if I outed his dad that he (Ray) would probably have to move then kill himself [...] I absolutely think he will try to take the kids sometime.”

June 4

Facebook messages between Rebecca and former coworker Becky Spotts claim Rebecca doesn’t want Timothy’s father to have unsupervised contact with her children ever again.
Rebecca feared he would secretly run off with the children.
Messages say Rebecca believes Timothy has “true mental health problems” and is scared to get an Order of Protection.

October

Timothy Bliefnick’s phone is factory reset.

November

Rebecca is now represented by Gerald Timmerwilke.
According to Timmerwilke, Rebecca still does not have a 9mm handgun that she requested Timothy to return to her.
Sometime this year, Guardian Ad Litem Rick Zimmerman is appointed to the Bliefnick’s divorce case.

Dec. 16

Rebecca files for an Ordinance of Protection against Timothy’s father.

2022

March 14

Facebook message from Rebecca to Christine Mandel: “If he doesn’t get it his way he may literally lose his mind.”

August

A court order claims details how the exchange of children must be made, that Timothy and Rebecca must stay within 3-feet of their cars when exchanging children.

Oct. 10

A John Smith Facebook account inquires to Michael Blaesing via Timothy’s cell phone about a blue, 26″ Schwinn mountain bike for sale.

Oct. 12

Timothy Bliefnick inquires via Facebook to Amy Webster about a black Mongoose bike for sale, he purchases the bike.

2023

Jan. 5

Rebecca sees Melissa Young at TJ MAXX, Young says she appeared mentally exhausted, they talked about Rebecca’s divorce and Rebecca said she felt like Tim could snap at any moment, she said Tim told her “You’ll be dead before you get any of my money.”
Sometime this month, Timothy asks his neighbor, Bradley Ehmen, if he has any video cameras pointed toward his backyard.

Feb. 10

Timothy Bliefnick calls Quincy Police. He asked if they could return a 9mm handgun to Rebecca because he didn’t want to give it to her face-to-face, police denied the request.

Feb. 13

Rebecca’s significant other, Ted Johnson arrives at her home about 11:45 p.m. and stays the night.

Feb. 14

12:00 a.m. Timothy’s WHOOP armband loses connection, and his phone is locked.
12:00 a.m. to 1 a.m. - video surveillance detects a bicycle rider going past the Quincy bus barn, past a residence at 224 S. 20th Street, and back.
Rebecca’s next-door neighbor Taylor Heimann receives an alert notification that a moving object was detected in his driveway surveillance camera, the video shows a person walking up and down the driveway.
1:10 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. - Laptop search history on Timothy Bliefnick’s shows searches for ”license plate lookup,” “title/registration lookup, VIN check lookup, vehicle records” and the search for Ted Johnson’s exact VIN and license plate number.
- His WHOOP reconnects.
1:32 a.m. - A phone call is made to the Missouri Dept. of Revenue, which handles vehicle registrations.

Feb. 15

Divorce set for trial on March 3.

Feb. 16 to Feb. 20

No bicyclist captured on video.

Feb. 19 to 20

Rebecca stays at a friend’s house prior to an abdominal surgery scheduled that week.

Feb. 21

12:45 a.m. - Timothy’s WHOOP arm band disconnects.
2:11 a.m. - Timothy’s WHOOP arm band reconnects to his phone. QPS bus barn video surveillance shows a bicycle rider southbound on 20th Street, then going east on Prairie Street, and additional footage captures a bicycle rider heading north on 20th street between these hours.
12:30 p.m. - Rebecca returns home.
Rebecca messages Tim, asking if he can keep the kids overnight for the next two days.
That evening was the last time Ted Johnson saw Rebecca alive.

Feb. 22

12:42 a.m. - Timothy’s WHOOP armband disconnects.
2:19 a.m. - Timothy’s WHOOP armband reconnects.
2:22 a.m. - Timothy’s phone unlocks.1:20 p.m. - Timothy’s next-door neighbor goes to his house, then leaves about 30 minutes later.
1:20 p.m. - Timothy’s next-door neighbor goes to his house, then leaves about 30 minutes later.
Video surveillance again shows a bike rider going southbound past the Quincy bus barn, turning east on Prairie, then back the other way sometime later.

Feb. 23

12:28 a.m. - Timothy’s phone locks.
12:36 a.m. - Timothy’s WHOOP arm band disconnects from his phone.
12:55 a.m. - Video of a bicyclist rider riding southbound past the bus barn.
12:57 a.m. - Video shows the bicyclist turning east on Prairie.
1:11 a.m. - Rebecca attempts to call 911, her phone was found behind a bedroom door.
1: 12 a.m. - An ADT front door alert said the front door was opened.
1:16 a.m. - Video shows a bicycle rider heading northbound past the Quincy bus barn.
1:27 a.m. - Another ADT alert said the front door was still open.
2:01 a.m. - Timothy’s WHOOP arm band reconnects.
2:07 a.m. - Timothy’s phone unlocks.
6:45 a.m. - Kentucky Road resident Brian Lash leaves for work and notices Rebecca’s front door is open.
7 to 9 a.m. - Kentucky Road resident Amy Schmiedskamp sees Timothy bring a Little Tike’s basketball hoop to his dad’s house.
11:51 a.m. - Timothy calls St. Peter School, telling them to not let his three kids walk home to Rebecca’s house.
1:50 p.m. - Surveillance shows Timothy arriving at St. Peter School, exactly 57 minutes before school lets out.
3:03 p.m. - Timothy texts Rebecca’s father, Bill Postle, asking if he can call her to find out when she’s getting the kids, because he claims the school called him saying no one has picked up the kids.
3:30 p.m. - Bill Postle finds Rebecca dead in her home. He goes to neighbor Rolla Wike’s home to use their phone to call 911.
3:33 p.m. - QPD Officer Matt Hermsmeier gets dispatched to 2528 Kentucky Road.
About 4 p.m. - Wike picks up Rebecca’s mother, she calls Tim, and he replies “WHAT!?”
About 7 p.m. - Ted Johnson is questioned by QPD and given a DNA swab test.

Feb. 27

Police find an abandoned blue, Schwinn bike by the Quincy Public Schools bus barn.

March 1

About 8 a.m. - Police search Timothy’s home in the 1600 block of Hampshire Street.

March 13

About 8 a.m. - Timothy Bliefnick is arrested on Kentucky Road, charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of home invasion.

March 14

Bliefnick makes first court appearance, judge denies bail.

March 15

Police are seen searching a lagoon on a property owned by Timothy.

March 24

Bliefnick pleads not guilty.

April 13

Judge orders up to $10,000 from the county to aid Bliefnick defense.

May 22

Takes nine hours to finish jury selection.

May 23

Witness testimony begins in trial.

May 31

Timothy is found guilty on all counts.

Aug. 11, 1:30 p.m.

Scheduled date of the sentencing hearing. Prosecutors say they’ll seek a life sentence.

Map of possible bike route used by Timothy

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

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

Each of them linked within minutes of each other, including the times Timothy Bliefnick’s phone was locked, his WHOOP 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 Timothy’s home.