Newspaper Page Text
4A Sunday, March 26, 2023
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
LOCA^NATION
Two dead in Missouri flash flood
Former ‘Family Feud’ contestant
charged in estranged wife’s death
Layton Hoyer via AP
In this photo provided by Layton Hoyer, a red SUV is seen
submerged in floodwater on Old Ritchey Road in Granby,
Mo., early Friday, March 24. Hoyer rescued an elderly
woman from the car.
BY JIM SALTER
AND JACKIE QUINN
Associated Press
GROVESPRING, Mo. -
A car was swept away and
two passengers drowned
early Friday in Missouri dur
ing torrential rains that were
part of a severe weather sys
tem roaring across parts of
the Midwest and South.
The accident happened
just after midnight in a
sparsely populated area
of southwestern Missouri.
Authorities said six young
adults were in the vehicle
that was swept away as the
car tried to cross a bridge
over a flooded creek in the
town of Grovespring.
Four of the six made it
out of the water. The body
of Devon Holt, 20, of Groves
pring, was found at 3:30 a.m.,
and the body of Alexander
Roman-Ranelli, 19, of Spring-
field, was recovered about
six hours later, Missouri State
Highway Patrol Sgt. Thomas
Young said.
The driver told authori
ties that the rain made it dif
ficult to see that water from
a creek had covered the
bridge, Young said.
Meanwhile, the search
continued in another south
western Missouri county for
a woman who was missing
after flash flooding from a
small river washed a car off
the road. The Logan Rogers-
ville Fire Protection District
said the victim’s dog was
found safe, but there was no
sign of the woman. Two oth
ers who were in the car were
rescued. Crews planned to
use boats and have search
ers walking along the
river bank.
Some parts of southern
Missouri saw nearly 3 inches
of rain Thursday night and
into Friday morning as
severe weather hit other
areas. A suspected tornado
touched down early Friday
in north Texas as a volatile
storm system threatened to
spawn tornadoes in several
Southern states.
WOOD
■ Continued from 1A
grace, love, forgiveness and
the value of hard work.
Speaking directly to
Wood, Payne said he for
gave her and hoped that she
finds peace.
“A murderer is not who
you were created to be,”
Kramer’s grandson said.
“That’s not your purpose
nor the plan that He has for
you.”
Wood asserted self-
defense in the trial, testify
ing across two days about
being abused by Kramer.
Assistant District Attor
ney Rachel Bennett played
a video for the court show
ing Kramer, head in hands
and under a blanket, being
berated by Wood.
Bennett asked the judge
to impose a life prison sen
tence without the chance
of parole. She described a
“personal and up-close mur
der” of an 82-year-old man
brutally beaten while getting
undressed.
The prosecutor said Wood
drove the wedge between
Kramer and his family and
then used it against him.
Through the text mes
sages and stories Wood told
to friends and Kramer’s
family, Bennett pointed
to the consistent lying and
slandering of Kramer. For
weeks after Kramer’s death,
Wood impersonated him
and texted a friend that she
was being beaten.
“This was calculated,”
Bennett said. “It was manip
ulative. The defense of self-
defense is quite honestly
insulting in my opinion.”
During the trial, Wood
told the jury she possibly
blacked out when ques
tioned about Kramer’s fatal
injuries.
“It’s a real shame that
someone can use domestic
violence or try to use domes
tic violence as a justification
to get out of brutally beating
an 82-year-old man to death
in his bedroom, because it
makes it a lot harder for real
victims of domestic violence
to be able to share their
story,” Bennett said.
Burton sentenced Wood
to life in prison on malice
murder with the chance of
parole plus 10 consecutive
years for concealing the
death.
Parole cannot be consid
ered for 30 years.
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QUINCY, Ill. — A former contestant on the long-running
television game show “Family Feud” has been charged
with first-degree murder and home invasion in the slaying
of his estranged wife in western Illinois.
Timothy Bliefnick, 39, pleaded not guilty Friday after
noon at his arraignment in Adams County Circuit Court in
Quincy, according to court records.
Bliefnick was indicted Thursday by a county grand jury,
KHQA-TV reported.
The body of Rebecca Bliefnick, 41,
was found by a family member inside
her Quincy home after she failed to pick
up her children from school. She had
been shot multiple times.
Timothy Bliefnick was arrested March
13. His Quincy home was searched
March 1.
The couple was separated and going
through divorce proceedings, the televi
sion station reported from court records.
A restraining order had been filed against Timothy Blief
nick, who also filed one against his estranged wife.
In 2020, Timothy Bliefnick and some of his family mem
bers appeared on ABC’s “Family Feud,” KHQA reported.
One of the questions asked by host Steve Harvey was,
“What was the biggest mistake you made at your wedding?”
Bliefnick answered “I do.” He told Harvey “not mine to say,
not mine to say. I love my wife.” He also said, “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. ”
Associated Press
Bliefnick
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