Richard J. Shenkman, serving a 70-year prison sentence for kidnapping his ex-wife and holding her hostage at his South Windsor home before burning it to the ground, wants his trial in his Niantic arson case.

Shenkman, a 63-year-old former marketing executive, is accused of setting fire to Nancy Tyler’s beach house in Crescent Point in March 2007, in the midst of their acrimonious divorce. His arson case was pending in New London Superior Court when he kidnapped Tyler in July 2009.

Shenkman sent a handwritten speedy trial motion from the MacDougall Walker Correctional Institution to the clerk at New London Superior Court on March 2, noting the case has been on the trial list for 58 months and that expert witnesses have died while the case was pending.

He appeared in court briefly on Tuesday, where Judge Patrick J. Clifford told him that he would not accept the pro se speedy trial motion because Shenkman has an attorney, Hugh F. Keefe. The judge continued the case to April 12, when Keefe will discuss it during a pretrial conference with State’s Attorney Michael L. Regan and Clifford.

Shenkman was sentenced to 70 years in January after a Hartford jury rejected his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity and convicted him kidnapping Tyler at gunpoint and torching his South Windsor home after a day-long standoff in July 2009.

Under state law, a convicted prisoner facing additional charges has a right to a speedy trial 120 after sentencing.

k.florin@theday.com