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A Family Feud participant is facing trial in Illinois for allegedly breaking into his estranged wife’s home and fatally shooting her in a vicious attack. Tim Bliefnick, 39, is charged with first-degree murder and home invasion in connection with the violent death of his 41-year-old wife Becky Bliefnick. Investigators say the couple was going through a contentious divorce that was in its final stages at the time of Bliefnick’s fatal shooting on 23 February. During the ongoing murder trial at the Adam’s County Courthouse in Quincy, prosecutors have presented evidence and witness testimony that they said prove Mr Bleifnick pried open his wife’s second-storey window with a crowbar before shooting her 14 times, KHQA reports. The tragedy comes nearly three years after Mr Bliefnick made an ominous joke during his appearance at ABC’s Family Feud. Answering a question by host Steve Harvey on what his worst mistake had been on his wedding night, Mr Bliefnick said that it was saying “I do” — the answer was second on the board. Now, the alleged murderer is facing between 45 years to life in prison if convicted for the shooting of his wife and the mother of his three children. In an obituary for Bliefnick, she is described as a compassionate and generous mother who had found her true calling in nursing. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Ms Bliefnick was a travel nurse at the Northeast Regional Medical Center and Hannibal Regional Hospital in Missouri. Loved ones first became concerned when Bliefnick failed to pick up her sons from school. Her body was then found on the floor in the bathroom of her home, with a towel underneath. Bliefnick was left “terrified, bleeding, and alone” after the fatal attack, prosecutors said on the first day of the trial on Monday. In March, the Quincy Police Department served a search warrant at Mr Bleifnick’s home. At the time, he denied any involvement with the crime and said through an attorney that he was surprised authorities didn’t show up at his door sooner. “Given the circumstances, it is not surprising that the search warrant was issued and executed,” the attorney told local news outlet Muddy River News. “My only surprise is that it took this long to do. It is just as important that QPD conduct such as investigation to rule Tim OUT as a suspect so that investigative efforts can be spent elsewhere.” Mr Bliefnick has since entered a not-guilty plea. Prosecutors have revealed during the first week of trial that they found chilling searches for “how to wash off gunpowder,” “average police response time,” and “how to open a door with a crowbar.” DNA from the crime scene also links Mr Bliefnick to the crime scene, according to prosecutors. Adams County Assistant State’s Attorney Josh Jones told a jury of six women and six men that shell casings found in Mr Bliefnick’s basement matched the casings that were found near his wife’s body. Crime scene investigators also reportedly found Bleifnick’s DNA in an Aldi bag found at her husband’s home. The couple had filed for divorce in early 2021, court filings show. Mr Jones said during opening arguments that Mr Bliefnick had reportedly told his slain wife that “she would not get his money.” The prosecutor also told jurors that Bliefnick had texted a friend before her death that if anything happened to her, her husband was behind it. Bliefnic’s body was found by her father William Postle. Before discovering the gruesome scene, Mr Postle said that his son-in-law texted asking him to check if Bleifnick was going to pick up the children. Bliefnick’s boyfriend Ted Johnson also took the stand on Tuesday. Testifying for the prosecution, Mr Johnson said that Bliefnick was looking forward to having her difficult divorce finalised. Sarah Rilley, Bleifnick’s sister, claimed that Bleifnick had first wanted to remain married to Mr Bliefnick for their three children but in the months leading up to her death had become afraid for his life. “If something ever happens to me, make sure the number one person of interest is Tim. I am putting this in writing that I’m fearful he will somehow harm me,” Bliefnick reportedly texted her sister in 2021. Read More Police: Student fatally shot by another student outside Pittsburgh school Will releasing the Nashville school shooter’s manifesto inspire a new massacre — or prevent it? Prosecutors in Guyana mull charges for teen suspect in deadly blaze at girl's dorm

Residents from a small Icelandic town under threat from volcanic eruption have described ‘apocalyptic’ existence as they fear for their future. Last Friday, thousands of Grindavik residents were ordered to leave as the town was rocked by hundreds of earthquakes. The small fishing town is 34 miles from Reykjavík and is home to the famous tourist attraction the Blue Lagoon. Many have been unable to return to the ‘danger zone’ to collect their belongings, as earthquakes continue to strike the town. Grindavik resident Andrea Ævarsdóttir, 46, told The Independent: “Everything just seems so unreal, I feel like I’m in a dystopian movie. I’m just waiting to wake up from this nightmare.” The mother was getting ready to go into Reykjavík to celebrate her son Björgvin Hrafnar’s 16th birthday when their house started to shake on Friday. “Some of them [the earthquakes] were like a big truck had driven past your house, the bigger ones were like the same truck had hit your house,” she said. “Everything was shaking so bad, the floors were going up and down.” The family planned on staying overnight at her mother’s home, but they were alerted en route that they were going to be evacuated so only had their overnight bags and had left their cats behind. Ms Ævarsdóttir made the difficult call to return home to get her cats and medication but was stopped at a checkpoint on the main road Grindavikurvegur. Fortunately, the mother was granted special permission to return to collect her tablets and three pets before heading back. Like other Grindavik residents, Ms Ævarsdóttir was allowed to return home on Monday to collect her belongings but had to obey a 10-minute time limit. She is now living with her 16 and 14-year-old sons in her mother’s cramped two-bedroom apartment. Describing the surreality and sadness of leaving her home, she said: “I was crying non-stop when we got to Grindavik, we were allowed to drive into town. “We had ten minutes, you don’t have the mental capacity to think, I was in panic mode, I just grabbed what I could see. “I grabbed all of the clothes I could think of but I left one of the packed suitcases behind.” The children do not yet have to return to school as they recover from the shock, but it remains unclear where they will go, explained the mother. The distraught mother works as the director of a local and public school library and explained the families ‘entire existence is in Grindavik’. Her home of eight and a half years is still standing but some have fallen to the ground due to the strong quakes. “It was really hard to see the state of some of the houses and streets. My house seemed fine but this area is really unstable.” Now the mother has to decide whether she wants to eventually move back to the town, if it isn’t destroyed by the volcanic eruption. She says residents have accustomed to living with earthquakes, but living on an active volcano fissure is a different story. “I love living in Grindavik, it’s a really nice close-knit town but now comes the fear if we get to move back, do we want to move back?” she said. “This area is really unstable. Do we want to experience evacuation again?” Siggeir Ævarsson, 38, is another Grindavik resident who does not know if he will be able to return to his family home. The teacher had planned to meet his brother and sister-in-law but after the earthquakes stuck on Friday his brother-in-law urged them to come sooner. “I’ve seen a lot Earthquakes but this is something I’ve never felt before. “The sources were 2km away from our house. Things were falling down from shelves, I was standing in the kitchen I thought, can I even put pans on the stove.” Alongside his wife and youngest daughter,Þorgeir Úlfar,14, they grabbed their two cats and left. The 38-year-old says he and his wife, Soffía Sveinsdóttir, 39, have been fortunate as his sister-in-law has a spacious house with spare rooms. Mr Ævarsson was allowed to return on Sunday and was able to fill two cars with their items. “It was like going into an apocalyptic movie. The town was empty and lifeless. There were cracks everywhere. “It was very weird to walk into the house, it looked exactly the same the lights were still on. “Other houses are cracking in two, my house was fine, but a few metres up the road they are ruined.” As a born-and-bred Grindavikian, the father–of-two is trying to remain positive and “not think about lava flowing through his home”. “I’m trying to think of this as extension of a holiday, I’m watching movies, drinking beer.” Read More Iceland residents describe ‘apocalyptic’ scenes as they flee volcano threat Iceland eruption likely scientists warn as ‘biggest bulldozer’ deployed - live Biggest volcanic eruptions in the last 10 years as Iceland town faces devastation Is it safe to travel to Iceland? Your rights if you have a holiday booked Huge cracks appear on roads in Iceland’s volcano-threatened town Iceland earthquake: Town could be obliterated if volcanic eruption strikes

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A member of the security detail for Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle and a cab driver who transported the couple during a paparazzi chase on Tuesday night have opened up about the ordeal. A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said that a relentless pursuit unfolded after the couple and Ms Markle’s mother Doria Ragland attended an awards ceremony in New York City. The “two-hour-long” chase reportedly resulted in multiple near collisions involving “other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers.” Chris Sanchez, a member of the Sussexes security team, told CNN in an exclusive interview on Wednesday that he “had never” come close to the chaos he experienced on Tuesday night. “What we were dealing with was very chaotic. There were about a dozen vehicles: cars, scooters and bicycles,” Mr Sanchez said. “The public [was] in jeopardy at several points. It could have been fatal. They were jumping curbs and red lights. At one point they blocked the limousine and started taking pictures until we were able to get out.” “[I] was concerned about [Prince Harry and his wife] but more about the public because they [the paparazzi] were being so erratic,” Mr Sanchez added. “People were on sidewalks and crossing streets and the [paparazzi] were crossing red lights. We did everything by the letter of law.” But the taxi driver who picked up the Sussexes from the New York City Police Department’s 19th precinct, where they had gone to in an attempt to lose paparazzi, told the Washington Post he didn’t feel threatened. The driver said Meghan and Harry’s security asked him to drive back to the station out of concern their location would be shared with more people. “I don’t think I would call it a chase,” Sukhcharn Singh told the Post. “I never felt like I was in danger. It wasn’t like a car chase in a movie. They were quiet and seemed scared but it’s New York—it’s safe.” The NYPD told The Independent in a statement that the department assisted the couple’s “challenging” transport, but no collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests were reported. Meanwhile, Mr Sanchez told CNN that Prince Harry and Meghan were left frightened and exhausted by the time they arrived to safety. NYC Mayor Eric Adams said during a press conference on Wednesday that he was told two officers could have been injured. The mayor said while he found it “hard to believe that there was a two-hour high-speed chase,” even an incident lasting 10 minutes could have been “extremely dangerous”. “It’s clear that the press, the paparazzi, they want to get the right shot,” Mayor Adams said. “But public safety must always be at the forefront.” “New York City is different from a small town somewhere. You shouldn’t be speeding anywhere but this is a densely populated city,” he added, noting the amount of traffic and movement and people on the streets. It is understood that the Sussexes believe the pursuit, which is said to have involved six blacked-out vehicles, could have been fatal. Prince Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, died in 1997 from injuries sustained in a car crash after trying to flee paparazzi who were following her vehicle. The duke, who was 12 years old when his mother died, spoke about his concern of history repeating itself in his AppleTV+ docuseries The Me You Can’t See, in which he drew parallels between the treatment of his mother and the scrutiny he and Meghan faced. “It’s incredibly triggering to potentially lose another woman in my life, but the list is growing. And it all comes back to the same people, the same business model, the same industry,” Harry said. In the docuseries, Harry also reflected on the inquest into Diana’s death, which concluded she was unlawfully killed due to “gross negligence” of her driver, Henri Paul, who had been drinking, and the paparazzi who were following her car at the time of the crash. According to the duke, he was “so angry” that there was “no justice at all” after the inquest. “Nothing came from that. The same people who chased her into the tunnel photographed her dying in the backseat of that car,” he recalled. The royal has also spoken about the trauma of his mother’s death in his revealing memoir Spare. Prince Harry said in the book he’s retraced the route his mother’s driver took in Paris on the night she died. “I’d thought driving the tunnel would bring an end, or brief cessation, to the pain, the decade of unrelenting pain. Instead, it brought on the start of Pain, Part Deux,” he wrote. The pursuit of the Sussexes is said to have involved a number of traffic violations including driving on the pavement and through red lights, reversing down a one-way street, illegally blocking a moving vehicle and driving while photographing and while on the phone. In the statement, the spokesperson for the Sussexes condemned the “dangerous” way images of the couple and Ms Ragland leaving the event were obtained. “While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone’s safety,” the spokesperson said. “Dissemination of these images, given the ways in which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all involved.” Read More Harry and Meghan latest news: Buckingham Palace silent on ‘near catastrophic’ car chase with paparazzi Buckingham Palace refuse to comment on paparazzi car chase involving Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Prince Harry’s fears about ‘history repeating itself’ resurface amid paparazzi car chase