Top Stories
Dear MRN, I recently read a story online that claimed the cheapest day of the week to buy gas is Monday. Is that true? GasBuddy released a study in February 2022 that determined Monday offered the lowest average gas prices in 2021 in most of the United States, including Illinois, Michigan and Virginia. Monday also was…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY —Becky Bliefnick was shot 14 times in the bathroom of her home on Feb. 23 but was still alive for several minutes as she bled to death, according to testimony given Friday morning during the Tim Bliefnick trial in Adams County Circuit Court. Tim Bliefnick is accused of shooting Becky Bliefnick multiple times at…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Google searches and website visits for identifying if shotgun shells are shot out of a specific gun, opening a window from the outside with a crowbar and cleaning gunpowder off your hands were among the many results discovered in extractions of Tim Bliefnick’s computer and cellphone. Those results dominated the second half of…
Read Full Article 
Video testimony from the Tim Bliefnick murder trial from May 25, 2023.
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — A Palmyra man facing charges of first-degree murder in September 2021 received a 25-year sentence after entering an Alford plea on Thursday morning to an amended charge of voluntary manslaughter. Raymond D. Gum, 36, appeared in Shelby County Circuit Court with public defender Austin Smith during a hearing before Judge Frederick Tucker. Gum…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — A Quincy teenager is wanted by the Quincy Police Department in connection to a shooting incident Wednesday night on Jefferson Street between 11th and 12th Streets. The Adams County State’s Attorney’s Office obtained an arrest warrant on Thursday for Victor A. Weems III, 19, for aggravated discharge of a firearm. Weems is considered armed and…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Three members of the Quincy Police Department explained the evidence-gathering process that led to the arrest of Tim Bliefnick, who is charged with the Feb. 23 murder of his estranged wife, Becky Bliefnick. The fourth day of the murder trial was conducted in Adams County Circuit Court. The trial is scheduled to resume…
Read Full Article 
FROM THE QUINCY POLICE DEPARTMENT: QUINCY — Just after 10 p.m. Wednesday, Quincy Police Department officers were dispatched to a report of shots fired in the 1100 Block of Jefferson. Upon arrival, officers located female victim, 47, who was taken to Blessing Hospital before being life-flighted to Springfield for treatment of injuries. This does not…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — The Quincy Police Department responded Wednesday night to a call of shots fired on Jefferson Street between 11th and 12th Street moments after an alleged altercation in the LaGondola Spaghetti House parking lot. Sgt. Nick Hiland said officers responded to a call around 10:15 p.m. Upon arrival, officers found a shooting victim at 1110 Jefferson.…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — A Quincy Police Department detective said Tim Bliefnick cooperated with investigators on the night of Feb. 23, shortly after his wife was found dead in her home. Tim Bliefnick is on trial this week in Adams County Circuit Court. He is accused of shooting Becky Bliefnick multiple times at her Kentucky Road home…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Adams County Assistant State’s Attorneys Josh Jones and Laura Keck paraded a series of witnesses Wednesday afternoon before the jury in the Tim Bliefnick murder trial. Each of them said Bliefnick’s estranged wife, Becky, had reached out to talk and text about her fears and concerns as the couple went through a contentious…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Tim Bliefnick filed for divorce from Becky Bliefnick in Jan. 2021. For the next two years, according to testimony in Adams County Circuit Court Wednesday morning, the two didn’t agree on very much, but it appeared the divorce might finally be getting close to final in late Feb. 2023 But Becky Bliefnick didn’t…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — MRN Publisher Bob Gough and Editor David Adam will provide real time updates via social media. You can follow via Twitter @MuddyNews or on the Muddy River News Facebook page. As the trial breaks for lunch, Muddy River News will prepare a brief report on the morning’s happenings in the afternoon. Also, we will replay the morning’s…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — The sister of Becky Bliefnick testified on Tuesday afternoon that Becky sent her a text in 2021, telling her that “if something ever happens to me, make sure the No. 1 person of interest is Tim.” Tim Bliefnick, Becky’s estranged husband, is on trial this week in Adams County Circuit Court for the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Adams County Assistant State’s Attorney Josh Jones painted a picture of the last moments of Becky Bliefnick’s life, describing fear, panic and death and accusing Tim Bliefnick of shooting her 14 times. Jones presented the prosecution’s opening statements before a jury of six men and six women Tuesday morning. Jones described the crime…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — The Quincy City Council voted to execute a grant agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Illinois Department of Transportation for $12,971,382 as part of fourth phase of Quincy Regional Airport’s runway reconstruction project. U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced last week that $14.2 million in federal funding…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — A six-man and six-woman jury was selected Monday to hear testimony in Tim Bliefnick’s first-degree murder case beginning Tuesday. Bliefnick is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of home invasion in connection with the Feb. 23 shooting death of his estranged wife, Rebecca Bliefnick. Jury selection lasted about 8…
Read Full Article 
HANNIBAL, Mo. — A Hannibal man has been arrested and charged with first-degree assault and second-degree murder in connection with the Jan. 25 death of Taurean Snoddy. Robert J. O’Connell, 36, was arrested Friday, May 19 by detectives with the Hannibal Police Department on a warrant issued by the 10th Judicial District of Marion County. O’Connell…
Read Full Article 
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two whistleblowers on April 18 asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revive their False Claims Act cases, contending a lower court applied an improper knowledge standard when it rejected their claims that a pair of supermarkets overcharged the government for prescription drugs. One of the whistleblowers is Tracy Schutte, a Payson, Ill.,…
Read Full Article 
The president of Dot Foods talks to MRN’s Ron Kinscherf about his long history with the food distribution giant and his role as the first person outside the Tracy family to hold this title at the company. Mercantile Bank sponsors the Business Spotlight.
Read Full Article 
The new president of the Quincy Park District Board of Commissioners talks to MRN Editor David Adam about being elected president at his first meeting and what his vision is for the future of the Park District.
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Andrew Mays says Quincy Catholic Schools is looking for a strategic thinker who can guide the newly created organization of parochial schools. “Schools have done their thing, the way that they’ve done it in the parochial model, for the last whatever years,” he said. “That has some struggles in today’s world. We’re trying…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Ruth Shireman was a bit upset — in a good-natured way, of course — when her age was revealed at Friday’s 57th annual Quincy Exchange Club’s Public Safety Appreciation luncheon. The 88-year-old Shireman was named the Citizen of the Year, a tribute that has been part of the Exchange Club program for five…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — A narcotics detail aimed at targeting the possession and distribution of narcotics in Quincy and Adams County led to the arrests of 13 people. In a coordinated effort with the Illinois State Police, Adams County Sheriff’s Department, United States Marshal Service, Davenport Police Department and West Central Illinois Task Force, the Quincy Police Department…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Jury selection begins Monday in the first-degree murder trial of Tim Bliefnick, who is accused of fatally shooting his estranged wife three months ago. Bliefnick and his attorney, Casey Schnack, appeared before Judge Robert Adrian along with Assistant State’s Attorneys Josh Jones and Laura Keck Friday morning. The attorneys confirmed no plea arrangements…
Read Full Article 
