Tortured

This individual kidnapped his wife and was thoughtful enough to call for a Roman Catholic priest to give her the last rites before he executed her. The priest reportedly arrived on the scene and administered the final Sacrament of the Church. He also demanded the judge that divorced them come to the scene to remarry them.

He later let her go, burned the house down and surrendered. He is charged with attempted murder.

It was just one of many chaotic episodes in the history of a man described by authorities as a threatening, angry ex-husband. He already faced charges of setting fire to another Connecticut house in 2007 rather than turn it over to Tyler.

Court records say Shenkman frequently violated a protective order and repeatedly threatened Tyler's life and his own, saying the only way they would become divorced was if one of them died.

Voicemail messages, e-mails and handwritten notes in the divorce case file show Shenkman's intense mental anguish.

"I am totally broke. In money. Mind and spirit. All I have left is the ability to shout to the world what you and Nancy have done to me, her children and herself," Shenkman wrote in a July, 2007 e-mail to Tyler's attorney.

At times, he used those messages to paint himself as a needy, groveling victim: "I need help praying. You and I could say a prayer together ... Please call me, please call me, please call me. Please," he begged in a voicemail to Tyler.

Frequently, he alluded to suicide: "Nancy, I want to call you back and give you a location. You can call the police and have them go there and find me," he said in another voicemail message.

When a rollercoaster of good and evil is this obvious, it's time for fasting, prayer, Sacraments and an exorcist.