n July 13, 2006: Richard Shenkman is charged with second-degree threatening following a domestic dispute in East Lyme. Nancy Tyler serves him with a restraining order.

n July 19, 2006: Tyler files for divorce in Hartford Superior Court after 12 years of marriage. The couple's primary residence is in South Windsor. They have a home in the Crescent Beach section of Niantic.

n January 2007: Shenkman adds himself to the homeowner's policy for the Niantic house without Tyler's consent.

n March 5, 2007: Beach home at 29 South Washington St., Niantic, is destroyed by fire. Shenkman and his dogs are rescued from a second-story porch.

n May 11, 2007: State police charge Shenkman with first-degree arson and reckless endangerment, saying he burned the house down the day before Tyler was supposed to take exclusive possession.

n May 14, 2007: Shenkman pleads not guilty, posts a $550,000 bond after spending the weekend in prison. Judge issues a protective order barring him from having contact with Tyler.

n March 2008: The divorce trial takes place over four days in family court in Hartford. Shenkman cross examines Tyler but does not testify himself, saying he could incriminate himself in the arson case and is invoking his right to remain silent.

n July 2008: Judge Jorge Simon issues a divorce decree granting Tyler the Niantic property and the proceeds from the insurance company that covered the Niantic home. The judge orders that Shenkman's South Windsor home be put in Tyler's name and sold to cover legal fees and other costs. Shenkman appeals the decision, which stays the judge's orders.

n August 2008: South Windsor police charge Shenkman with violation of a protective order after he allegedly photographs Tyler at a gym.

n January 2009: Shenkman changes his name from Richard J. Shenkman Tyler to Richard J. Tyler. Known publicly by his family name, Shenkman, he changed his name to Shenkman Tyler in the late 1990s when he adopted Tyler's children. He said he dropped the Shenkman from his name because it was causing confusion.

n April 2009: South Windsor police charge Shenkman with forging his ex-wife's signature to obtain a $9,000 loan against a life insurance policy she owned.

n May 2009: New London judge increases Shenkman's bond in the arson case after State's Attorney Michael L. Regan says Shenkman continued "tweaking" his ex-wife by sending letters to her attorneys that contained veiled threats and even changing his last name from Shenkman to Tyler (her surname).

n July 1, 2009: State Appellate Court upholds the divorce decree. Shenkman says he will appeal but will give Tyler $100,000 for legal fees rather than lose his home.

n July 7, 2009: Shenkman takes his ex-wife hostage at the South Windsor home.