i'm so excited. thanks, megan. thank you guys so much. i really appreciate it. fantastic presentation. (daymond) good luck. good luck. thank you, guys. (robert) fantastic. (kevin) that's interesting. i mean, either she's got a category killer, or there isn't a category. that's okay. my kids will use all the lotion that's left then. (laughter) this means everything. it means that i can make a product... (voice breaking) and it's not gonna take the last 10 cents out of my bank account. like, it's amazing. (crying) (whispers) it's amazing.

tonight on "20/20" -- a fight to the finish divorce to goes up in flames. literally. >> we're going to have some fun here. >> 12 hours of terror caught on tape. >> i hope someone has a sense of humor here because there happens to be humor in death. >> announcer: held hostage by a madman, her ex-husband in the swanky suburbs, surrounded by s.w.a.t. teams. >> the house is wired for explosives. there isn't anything around this house that's going to survive. >> he was screaming at them saying, she's here and i've got a gun to her head and if you don't do what i say, she's going to die. >> announcer: a domestic armageddon played out in real time, two negotiators and reporters, like you never heard before. >> i'm leaving this property in

a body bag. how many other body bags you need, you're not in charge, i'm in charge. >>. >> announcer: when he demanded a priest what to perform a bizarre new marriage ceremony or last rites? >> your head is on the table, he has a gun pointed, he's going to count to ten and pull the trigger? >> yes. i just kept thinking is this going to be the end? >> one, two, three -- >> announcer: but it's what happens next that will blow you away. >> four -- >> please make him stop. >> five -- >> richard -- >> "taken:12 hours of terror caught on tape." here's robin roberts. >> good evening. it wasn't the usual his and her splitup of assets in a divorce settlement. no, all these belong him to be used on her, his ex-wife. 65 pounds of explosives, a pair of handcuffs, a gun and a rope to be turned into noose and what

had been their home wired for surveillance equipment so nobody could get in and no one could get out. trial attorney nancy tyler -- with her children by her side -- walked into court for what she hopes will be the final chapter in a disturbing and violent saga. >> over the years leading up to the kidnapping, mr. shenkman stalked me -- >> as she reads from her victim's impact statement in this connecticut courtroom, the man who tormented her looks on. her ex-husband of twelve years, richard shenkman. >> mr. shenkman named his battle the "war of the tylers." but he was the only one at war. the rest of us were just trying to survive. >> shenkman's "war of the tylers" was a reference to the "war of the rosss" -- >> i bought these lamps --

>> with my money! >> a popular film in which a divorcing couple played by michael douglas and kathleen turner both end up dead. nancy tyler's recollections of her abusive marriage to shenkman are a far cry from the life she imagined for herself in 1992 when she was set up on a blind date with a charismatic tv producer. >> you know, i wasn't really looking for someone. i had my two children and my father was ill at the time. so things were a bit upside down. and he came along, and we got along well. >> and was it the first time that you kind of leaned on somebody else? >> first time in a while, and i kind of felt like i could because he seemed to be in control and seemed to have it all together. >> shenkman seemed like the answer to nancy's prayers. she had suffered a heart attack just before they met and now says that may have made her more vulnerable to shenkman's charms. and blind to what he was truly capable of.

>> we're all going down in flames -- because i am going to destroy your life. >> they were married after a year-a-half of dating. his third trip to the altar and her second. nancy says things were fine in the very beginning of their marriage. they lived in a prosperous suburb of hartford, connecticut, and bought a victorian beach house on the shore. shenkman owned a tv studio and produced "the gayle king show." he adopted nancy's children, victoria and peter. but it wasn't long before nancy began to detect a darker side of her husband's personality. when did you notice the change? >> things were okay for the first couple of years as the relationship went on he became much more controlling. when he was angry, everybody knew it.

and he screamed, he yelled, sometimes threw things. he would slam his fist against a wall. foul-mouthed. just very obviously out of control. >> so he would be verbally abusive? >> yes. >> mentally abusive? >> yes. >> physically? >> not really, no. it was not, certainly, bruising and broken bones. >> is it sometimes harder to explain to people if you don't have a black eye or if you don't have the broken bones? >> i think it's harder to explain and also a reason why people don't seek help. >> nancy's sister marilyn says even her closest family members had no idea what shenkman was doing to her. >> he kept her isolated. he evidently told her that her family didn't care about her, which we had no idea about.

>> nancy's son, peter -- >> she made a very clear effort to shield us from it and to keep us out of the mix. >> nancy feared that should she file for divorce that shenkman would fight her for custody of her children. so they tried to make the best of it. >> any misstep, even if we didn't know that it was a misstep, could set off the mine field. >> but it would be a fight between shenkman and nancy's 16-year-old son over the use of his car that would ultimately finish off their crumbling marriage. >> my ex-husband just snapped. >> he went out into the garage and ripped the license plate off of the car, so that i couldn't drive it and starts screaming, bloodcurdling shrieking. >> hearing the way he was talking to my son, i knew that this was it. it could not go on any longer. >> nancy assumed that filing for divorce would end her troubles. but as it turned out, it was just the beginning.

>> i probably have two or three hundred emails that are very abusive. and it got uglier and uglier. >> in one disturbing e-mail, shenkman wrote, "this divorce is going places you've never seen. i've got nothing to lose that i care about so i will risk it all." he also left her vicious and taunting voicemails. >> you coward. you [ bleep ] coward. you can only get your divorce one way. and that's death. we're all going down in flames -- because i am going to destroy your life. >> nancy says shenkman began stalking her sitting outside her gym, taking pictures of her. and that wasn't all he took. >> there were times when i would go to the gym and he would take my car. >> how'd he get your car? >> because he had keys to the car, because they, they were cars we had had as a married couple. >> nancy had been granted an order of protection and used it

to have shenkman arrested. but the harrassment escalated. >> our divorce became the "war of the tylers." one of the very first things he did was send me an email to say, "you need to get new shoes." the husband in that movie cuts off the heels of all of the shoes belonging to his wife. it was always, "this is going to end up the way the movie ended." >> but unlike the "war of the roses," nancy was not forced to share a roof with her soon-to-be ex-husband. she was living at their beach house and had just arrived at work one morning when she received a chilling phone call. >> a friend of mine called and said, "you better turn on the news, because there's a house on fire in niantic, and i think it might be yours." so, i drove down here, and the beach house was just engulfed in flames from top to bottom, and it was completely burned to the

ground, with everything in it. >> nancy lost everything, and shenkman was arrested for arson. you see your home burn and everything you own burn and most people think that's as bad as it's going to get in a divorce. >> i thought he would do something, but i never thought it would go the way it went. >> after three painful years, nancy's divorce from richard shenkman was nearly over. on july 7, 2009 they were due in court for what nancy hoped would be the last time. unable to sleep, she left for work at dawn. but when she arrived at her office she was startled to see shenkman's car parked outside. >> i telephoned a friend on my cell phone, and said, you know, "something's kind of funny here." >> and she told me saw richard's van parked on the street. but she didn't see any sign of richard.

>> it was dark, there was nobody there, it was still very early in the morning. the last person i expected to see was him. >> and then in the course of the conversation, all of a sudden she screamed, "richard, get away from me!" >> and he came at me, and showed me a gun. and i had the phone in my hand and i said to my friend -- >> "suzanne, call the police." >> "he's here. he's got a gun." >> and then the phone went dead. >> we struggled for the phone, and he got it away from me and said, "get in the car." >> suzanne dialed 911 to report nancy's abduction. >> "she was on the street and then all of a sudden he came up to her." >> your heart must have been racing. >> i was very frightened for her. very frightened. i felt that richard was capable of absolutely anything, you know? >> but what richard shenkman was really capable of would shock everyone. >> i'm leaving this property in a body bag. >> twelve hours of terror.

>> you've got 'til nine. don't try to talk to me." >> please, please. >> i know, nancy. i know. >> caught on tape. when "20/20" returns. ♪

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>> announcer: once again, robin roberts with "taken." >> nancy tyler had been kidnapped at gunpoint by her ex-husband. but just seconds before he grabbed her, she managed to call for help. >> on this particular morning we received a call from the city of hartford. and they told us they were investigating a possible kidnapping. >> matthew reed is the chief of police in south windsor, connecticut, a rural suburb where nancy had lived for 12 years with her ex-husband richard shenkman. >> mr. shenkman was a bit peculiar, so we really needed to find out what was going on. >> in a stroke of luck, shenkman had forgotten to turn off nancy's cell phone. by triangulating its signal, police hoped to learn where he was taking her. >> we were able to track its location and that it was within about two miles of the south windsor police station. >> sergeant pete alix, a 22-year veteran of the south windsor

police, was on duty that morning. >> we had a vehicle description, a plate number. pretty much everyone that's in the building emptied out to see if we could find this vehicle. >> meanwhile, a terrified nancy drove with shenkman behind her, his gun pointed at her back. >> he didn't talk. he sat behind me. i could see him in the rearview mirror. he said, "shut up and drive." >> it wasn't long before nancy realized that he was taking her back to their south windsor home. once inside, it also became very clear that shenkman had prepared for this day. >> he had a big duffel bag on the counter of the kitchen, and he pulled a set of handcuffs out of them, and he said, "put these on." he brought me into the living room, and i saw that there were monitors set up. and he turned them all on, and we could see the outside of the house. and he started talking about, they're going to be here soon. >> it was 10:45 in the morning when the first police officer arrived at the house.

then in a surprising move, he called 911. >> south windsor police dispatcher marchesseault. >> get all the police officers off of 96 tumblebrook drive right now. >> who is this calling? >> i've got hostages and this house is wired for explosives. there isn't anything around this house that's going to survive. >> 911 dispatcher krista marchessault. >> he told me that he had nancy there and that everybody needed to get off the property. that he had it booby-trapped. he had explosives. he had cameras all around and could see everybody. >> what's going on in the backyard? tell them to get the [ bleep ] out of the yard! you got to understand. you're not in charge. i'm in charge. this is gonna be a situation that nobody's been trained for. because i'm in charge. >> he got the police dispatcher and laid out the ground rules that he was in charge, and they were going to do what he said, or someone was going to die. >> we're gonna have some fun here. i hope someone has a sense of humor.

because there's gotta be humor in death. >> within minutes police s.w.a.t. teams arrived, disrupting the peaceful neighborhood. >> he had blocked a lot of windows by either drawing the drapes, drawing the shades or he had attempted to block our view into the house. >> inside shenkman started to unravel as the police began surrounding the house. >> every officer that sets foot on this property has to understand that it's a suicide mission. i'm leaving this property in a body bag. how many other body bags you need, that's going to be determined by how stupid you are. >> when they showed up, he got upset and said, "it's too soon. i'm not ready." he was screaming at them, saying, "she's here, and i've got a gun to her head, and if you don't do what i say, she's going to die." and they did what he said. >> shenkman had a list of twelve demands, threatening to kill nancy, and blow up the house, if they were not met.

among them were a marriage license, a judge and a priest. >> i want a marriage license. my wife and i want to get remarried. >> did he really think that you were going to marry him again? you're being held at gunpoint. he's forcing you -- >> i don't know. i don't believe he had any feelings left for me or for anybody. it was something to make the police do to demonstrate that he was in control. and when that didn't work, when they did not get the judge or the priest, then he lost it again. >> shenkman's frustration with the police had terrifying consequences for nancy. >> i had my head on the desk, the gun at my temple, and his finger on the trigger, and he was doing a countdown, screaming at the police on the phone that if they didn't do what he said by the time he counted to ten, he was going to pull the trigger. >> one. two. three. four.

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he held his ex-wife at gunpoint in the suburban connecticut home. >> let me just tell you one thing. you're gonna [ bleep ] with me -- >> no, i'm not, richard. you know i'm not. >> yeah, you are. you are. and you're gonna have dead people here. >> no, i don't want that. >> well, i don't believe you. >> and i don't think you really want it either. >> i'm telling you, i've got nothing to lose. >> meanwhile, other police officers were discussing among themselves how best to negotiate with the raving gunman. if. >> what's the primary negotiator's -- what does he want do? >> we're trying to establish just more control of the situation. because this guy just wants to run things all around like crazy. and our issue is, if we give him too much, he acts like he really wants to end this whole thing in not a peaceable manner. we're really afraid of a murder-suicide here. >> and they had good reason to be afraid. when shenkman felt police were stalling for time in meeting his demands, he would press a gun to nancy's head and start a countdown.

>> one, two, three -- >> and he would get to six or seven, and they would do something that would appease him, and make him stop. >> i don't want you to count anymore. >> yeah, well i'm counting. you've got 'til nine. don't try to talk to me. >> please, please! >> i know, nancy. >> your head is on the table, he has a gun pointed, he's going to count to ten and pull the trigger? >> yes. >> and he got as high as -- >> six or seven. >> five. six. seven. >> what are you thinking? >> i was terrified. >> one. two. >> do you hear me? nancy, do you hear me? >> i understand that. >> he's gonna shoot me. >> three. four. >> does he have a gun? does he have a gun there, nancy? >> he's giving me another chance. i can't hear her! >> you better be in panic mode, lady. >> we had been through probably four countdowns by that time and

each time, i thought this was it. >> nancy instinctively knew that in order to stay alive she had to keep shenkman calm. >> i spent a lot of that day trying to talk him down from the various rages that he had and dealing with things like when he gave me the rope to hold that he said he was thinking about hanging me with, and explaining to me how he had something set up to hang me if nothing else worked. >> you want to grab that rope? >> what are you doing with the rope, richard? >> ah, there's going to be a noose around my wife's neck here. >> now why you want to do that richard? >> well, because i giet contraption that she's going to sit on this platform i have that has aremote control. 6 >> he would calm down sometimes for a while, but they were just temporary calming periods, waiting for something else to happen.

>> by 1:00 in the afternoon, in another act of shocking bravado, he called a local newspaper reporter, karen florin. >> wow, this guy's got his wife at gunpoint and he's threatening to blow up the house. what made you call me? >> i trust you. >> one of florin's colleagues at "the day" newspaper began videotaping their conversation, one of four they would have that day. >> i don't want to take innocent peoples' lives. >> well, then why are you, why do you have your wife there? ex-wife. >> because she's got her head on my shoulder and i've waited three years for that. and this is worth it. >> i'm trying to imagine, he wants you to put your head on his shoulder. is it an intimate moment? is he trying to recreate some kind of romance? >> a lot of what i did that day, was try to establish some kind of connection with him, to make him realize that i was a human being. >> during the third call, shenkman encouraged nancy to speak to florin. >> whatever you want to say, nancy. i don't want this to be like i'm

controlling what you say. >> i don't want either of us to be hurt. i want to come through this and move on. >> but in his final phone call there was a chilling reversal. shenkman demanded the negotiators bring him a priest. not to marry them, but to administer last rites -- something florin knew police would never do. >> if you comply with that demand and come in and give somebody last rites, it's almost like permission to kill her. >> there's nothing at risk to have a priest at the police station giving her last rites. >> i don't understand why you want a priest to give her last rites if you're not going to harm her. >> because they're going to harm her. they're going to do this. they're going to call my bluff. they're going to storm the house. they're not going to let me continue this much longer. >> honestly, i left that last conversation knowing it was the last conversation, hoping that he wasn't going to hurt her. >> i just kept thinking, is this going to be the end? is this the time he's going to actually pull the trigger?

>> 11 agonizing hours had passed for nancy. >> i was on my last legs, because it was emotionally exhausting. >> handcuffed to the same man who was holding a gun to her head, nancy made a last ditch attempt to end her harrowing ordeal. >> i had actually grabbed for the gun, and he backhanded me, knocked me to the floor. and i learned that wasn't a wise move. he didn't kill me at that point. he didn't do anything other than hit me, but i didn't do that again. >> outside, police were calculating their next move. >> a lot of it is a waiting game. we get the people in position tactically, we get a good view of the house. >> nancy's family had gathered at the south windsor police station. late in the day shenkman called to tell them they should speak to nancy one last time. >> my cell phone rang and it was richard. so i talked to him and to nancy

and she sounded horrible, but she said, "i'm okay." >> my whole family was waiting at the police station. and he had called a couple of times and allowed me to talk to my sisters. >> your children? >> no. >> just once. >> i didn't. did i? >> we said good-bye. >> that's one of those things i think i've blanked out of my mind. >> i was listening to her voice for the first time that day and she sounded frightened and she sounded harried. and he was in the background and she was trying to say good-bye to us and telling us that she loved us. >> they put my mother and richard on speakerphone, and she said, "good-bye." and so my brother and i told her we loved her, and we told her to stay safe, and then he hung up on us.

>> 12 hours into the siege, darkness was beginning to set in and police decided to make a move. >> the police had a robot that they sent up the driveway. and that enraged him, and he started screaming at them on the phone to get the robot out of the yard, or she's dead. >> get the robot and the phone off the steps. you have 20 seconds or she's dead. >> he dragged me across the house, and said "we're going in the basement. we're going into the bunker. this is it. i'm done with them. i'm done with you." and i started screaming at that point, and i said, "don't make me go in the basement. i don't want to die in the basement." >> when we come back -- the gun finally goes off. >> what did he do? what did he do?

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>> announcer: "20/20" returns with "taken:12 hours of terror caught on tape." >> it was a scene not even hollywood could have created. a hostage stand-off, carried out by a man obsessed with "the war of the roses" -- a film he used as a blueprint for torturing his ex-wife. >> you will never get that house! >> inside shenkman's house, he forced nancy down the stairs and handcuffed her to an eyebolt he'd screwed into the wall. >> he handed the phone to me and said, tell them what's going on. i am handcuffed to a wall. handcuffed to a wall. he's got a gun to my head. >> and the negotiator said to me, are you all right? and i said, no. i'm not. he's got a gun, he's going to kill me. and she said, is the gun

working? she's trying to make sure you really got a gun. okay, now do you believe him? >> what did he do? >> he shot the gun. >> the next one is in your head. >> do you hear that? >> i heard. >> do they think i'm bluffing here? >> and that was the point at which i thought it was over. i said good-bye to my kids in my head. i prayed for some dignity to get through whatever came next. >> but what came next caught nancy by surprise. shenkman turned and ran back up the basement stairs. it was the first time he had left her alone all day. >> i thought, this is it. i just got a chance, and i'm going to take it. and i'd been trying to unscrew the bolt out of the wall, and i yanked it out the rest of the way, and i ran out of the room, across the basement, to the back door. >> although shenkman had warned her that he had rigged the doors to blow up if she attempted to

escape, nancy decided she had to risk it. in the backyard, s.w.a.t. team sniper peter alix had his rifle scope trained on the basement door. >> i look through the scope and i see a woman coming out the basement door. i told my partner, i said, there she is. >> i opened the door, i ran out across the yard, and i started to climb the fence. and one of the s.w.a.t. team fellows just appeared out of nowhere. >> she turned around, saw us, comes running over. i noticed she was wearing a handcu handcuff, and i got on the radio and i said, we have the hostage in custody. >> after twelve terrifying hours, nancy was finally free. but shenkman was still holed up in the house with his gun. >> at that point, our sniper team leader comes back over the radio and he said, snipers stand down. >> with nancy out of harm's way the snipers no longer had the authority to shoot shenkman on sight. but only seconds later he ran out the basement door looking for her.

when he saw police he quickly turned and ran back inside. >> mr. shenkman probably missed meeting his maker by about two seconds. it was a very narrow window that determined whether or not this guy was gonna go to trial or go to a mortuary. >> nancy was taken to a local hospital where she was reunited with her children. >> there were so many emotions going on. i was so happy, but at the same time i was so angry that richard could have put our family through this. >> it's kind of like emotional roulette that you went through. >> it was, because he had demonstrated he was willing to pull the trigger. and i came out with a mark on my forehead from the barrel of the gun. >> seeing the very clear imprint

on her forehead made me realize exactly how close i came to losing her. >> you're a brave woman. >> i don't know if it's bravery. you do what you have to do. >> back at the house, shenkman was enraged, insisting to hostage negotiators that nancy return or he would take his own life. >> tell her i want her back if she wants to save my life. >> richard. >> i am not coming out of this house. now i'm ready to blow it up, but the only way i won't is if nancy comes back and talks. >> shenkman told police that he had 65 pounds of explosives in the house. >> you're pissing me off! >> i'm trying to talk to you in a reasonable. >> i don't give a [ bleep ] if you yell! you're not doing anything i ask you to do! stop giving me lip service. stop talking and wasting time. do something. i want to hear you do something. >> in an attempt to flush him out the police shot tear gas canisters into the house. suddenly, it erupted in flames. >> fire department moves in but

as they do that they start to hear what sounds like gunshots. so they say, we're not fighting a fire if somebody is going to be shooting at us. >> as the house burned down around him, it appeared as though shenkman had followed through on his final threat -- destroying all that was left of his life with nancy and killing himself in the process. >> the house is burning. people are calling to him. we get no answer. about that time we figure he must be dead. >> but remarkably, shenkman survived. >> we kind of figured when it gets hot enough, he'll come out. i have to say 99% of the house had burned and he ended up crawling out. >> with shenkman now behind bars, it looked as though nancy's ordeal was finally over. but she would still have to face him one final time in court. >> in over 40 years of practice i have never seen a criminal defendant say anything like what

i heard richard say to the judge, and the court. >> i feel it is a waste of time for me to rot in a cage for the rest of my life without a purpose. killing nancy tyler gives me without a purpose. killing[ female announcer ]e you said you love summer. and this memorial day, we're giving you plenty of reasons to celebrate it. the best deals are at jcpenney, in-store and online. now through monday, get 40% to 50% off swimwear for the entire family. plus, use your jcp credit card to get an extra 20% off original, regular, sale and clearance prices... or, get an extra 10% off with any other form of payment. kick off summer with memorial day savings at jcpenney. ♪ we know some people are never satisfied with a good idea. and work day and night until they end up in a place that no one ever dreamed of. because they know that things can always be better. well, us, too.

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we went to a park and we handed people 10- and 20-pound sandbags. here's what happened. i just truly feel winded. i can feel it in my back. i didn't realize what extra weight on the body feels like. oh, i definitely felt it in my knees. you can easily put 2, 3, 4, or 5 pounds on in a year. woman: 10 pounds makes a big difference. no one liked carrying the extra weight, but people do it all the time. wouldn't you like to drop that weight and stop picking up more?

man: i think this is a lifechanger for me. >> it was a day nancy tyler thought would be her last. >> i am handcuffed to a wall. he's got a gun to my head. please, please. >> her ex-husband, raving mad with a gun pointed to her head. >> one, two, three. >> counting to ten, threatening to shoot. >> four, five, six, seven. >> richard. >> make him stop. >> listen. >> more than a hundred police officers kept at bay for twelve hours. >> you're pissing me off! >> i'm trying to talk to you in a reasonable -- >> i don't give a [ bleep ] if you yell! you're not doing anything i ask you to do! >> until nancy incredibly escaped. at his trial in hartford, connecticut, richard shenkman was facing 90 years in prison for taking his ex-wife hostage in their family home. his lawyer, hugh keefe, presented an insanity defense.

>> the insanity defense is a defense of last resort, first of all, for criminal defense lawyers. this was a very difficult sell, notwithstanding the fact that i personally thought richard was, for a long time, had a problem. >> one of the most interesting portions of the trial, i think, was when they played the tapes of richard with the police. all those conversations. >> this is eight months of planning here. so it's not something that -- you know, most hostage things are reactionary. >> yeah, you're right. >> this one's not. >> i also think it was fatal for him because no jury that heard that was going to find him not guilty of committing these crimes. >> after a three-week trial, it took the jury less than five hours to convict him on all counts. but it wasn't over yet. nancy and her family would face him one final time at his sentencing. nancy and her son, peter, reading their victim's impact statements told the world what

it would mean if shenkman were ever to be released from jail. >> i have known richard shenkman since i was 3 years old. until the day he threw us out of the house, i called him "dad." shenkman's explosive and unpredictable anger will be forever a part of my childhood, but for future generations of our family, need not suffer the same abuse if he receives the sentence he deserves. >> i was lucky enough to survive that day, and everything that came before it. for mr. shenkman, this will never stop. >> and in a surprising twist that shocked even his own lawyer, shenkman also made a statement. >> i view myself right now as a prisoner of war, a p.o.w. in july 2006, nancy tyler declared war. she fired the first shot in the famous war of the tylers by filing for divorce. >> in over 40 years of practice i have never seen a criminal defendant say anything like what i heard richard say to judge dewey and the court.

>> i feel it is a waste of time for me to rot in a cage for the rest of my life without a purpose. killing nancy tyler gives me that purpose. >> incredibly, in open court, shenkman threatened to kill nancy, hatching an elaborate plot to hire a hit man from his prison cell. >> one lone experienced professional assassin has the green light from me to kill connecticut's self-proclaimed poster child for domestic violence. >> i've never seen a sentencing like that and i've been covering courts for quite some time. >> imagine my arrogance announcing to this court that i'm paying a killer to gun down nancy tyler while i'm chained in a maximum security prison. how delusional am i? nobody is going to believe it. >> judge julia dewey dismissed shenkman's claims of being a p.o.w. >> now the reason you're here today, mr. shenkman is not because you're a prisoner of war. and actually to state you're a prisoner of war is an insult to any american soldier who has fought and is a prisoner of war. you're here because of your own

conduct. >> she then rendered her decision. >> seventy years in prison. for the 63-year-old, it amounts to a life sentence. and for nancy, the specter of richard shenkman looming over her is finally gone. nancy says that looking back, she wished she had reached out to friends and called the police more often. >> a lot of women think if i call, it's going to put him over the edge and he will get worse. >> was that what you were thinking, too? >> yes. >> but your advice to women now? >> call. call and get help. at least make sure people know about what is going on. not just you. >> and although shenkman's threats continue even from behind bars nancy is committed to moving on with her life. even though he's in jail do you still feel he's in control, that he has control over you? >> no. i think he would like to.

>> but her daughter victoria acknowledges that no one in the family can afford to let their guard down. >> i don't think that my concern for her safety will ever go away, frankly. >> i think we are going to be a lot more careful for the rest of our lives. >> trying to strike that balance of living your life but knowing you have to be aware. >> because when you come that close to not living your life any longer, it makes you very conscious of what you have left. i'm just going to live and enjoy every minute of it as much as i can. >> after we first aired this report, richard shenkman continued to harass some of those involved and through letters threaten nan's life but he's not prohibited from sending mail from prison where he continues to appeal his conviction. nancy's doing very well. she does numerous speaking

engagements, educateding women on domestic violence. when we come back, something, well, completely different. >> announcer: next -- we're on baby bump watch for the baby of the summer. the royal baby. what do you give the baby who will have everything? >> a onesie with wings. >> yes. >> a trip to boot camp for the royal nanny. >> please burp. please burp. >> who is in line to be a find chinese restaurant. that's awesome. i know...voice activated and great gas mileage. ....so much better than choosing voice activated or great gas mileage... that'd be like eating sweet or sour chicken...

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balcony, kate and william, of course, you can only imagine how many are on baby bump watch for their first-born child. he or she is reported due in midjuly but if you can't wait that long, tune in monday for a special edition of "20/20" with barbara walters, "bringing up baby, royal edition." here's a sneak peek. >> their wedding was watched by billions. >> we recently asked him why did he take ten years to get married? and he said because i wanted it to be right. >> now the world waits for the birth of their first baby. the future heir to the british throne. >> it's going to be the biggest media event of the decade. >> that glorious chapter in the windsor soap opera. hurray, it's the season premiere. >> join us monday when we throw the duke and duchess a baby shower. what do you give as a

>> this is what i'm known for, the most beautiful -- >> a onesie with angel wings for a boy or girl? >> the perfect little present. >> you won't believe whose bump we bumped into in london. who is >> today? willi william's mum. >> and what insiders told us what happened inside the palace walls when prince william was growing up. >> outside of any camera or media and diana's way of saying this isn't what you think it is in kensington palace. >> amy robach in royal nanny boot camp, complete with olympic style diaper changing. >> you don't use huggies or pampers? >> and how to ward off kid mapping. and nick watt on christening plans for a future king and the answers to all of the burning

royal baby questions. what kind of a father is william going to be? her royal highness, breastfeeding? >> won't tell anybody. >> it's all on my upcoming special, "bringing up baby, royal edition" monday night at 10:00. so, be sure to tune in, once again, that's this coming monday at 10:00 pm pl eastern. pink or blue? you still have time to place your bets. i'm robin roberts. for all of us at "20/20" and abc news, thanks for watching and have a good night and safe memorial day weekend. it's in the genes. a rash of daring robberies

targeting a specific brand of denim stores. >> and a man supposed to protect the community was putting it at risk. what police say he was planing with all of these weapons.