Suspect in killing of TV news anchor's mother captured at Connecticut hotel

A man wanted in the killing of a television news anchor's mother in Vermont in February was captured at a Connecticut hotel Wednesday, the Vermont State Police said.

Shawn Conlon, 44, was arrested in Groton by marshals, local police and Rhode Island State Police. Authorities said Conlon will be arraigned in Connecticut and later extradited to Vermont to face a second-degree homicide charge for the death of Claudia Voight, 73, of Windham, Vermont.

Voight died in her home on Feb. 20. Law enforcement officials initially believed she suffered from a medical event but later determined she died from neck compression that was detectable only during an autopsy.

Voight was the mother of Heidi Voight, an NBC Connecticut news anchor and Miss Connecticut 2006.

Heidi Voight did not immediately return an email message Wednesday. On her Facebook page, she posted "HALLELUJAH."

HALLELUJAH

Posted by Heidi Voight on Wednesday, December 20, 2023

In a July social media posting, Heidi Voight revealed the manner of her mother's death.

"I have been carrying this painful secret: My mother's death was not natural, nor peaceful," she wrote. "My mother was murdered, violently, in the place she should have felt safest — her own home in Windham, Vermont. ... This has broken me and changed me. But I am my mother's daughter, and I will come back stronger. I will fight for her."

The motive for the killing has not been disclosed, but Vermont State Police said in July they believe it "was not random."

In their latest statement Wednesday, police said their investigation found that Conlon had been renting a room in Claudia Voight's home and had stopped paying rent in late 2022 but continued to stay in the house until her death in February.

The Marshals Service said Vermont State Police identified Conlon, of Rhode Island, as a suspect and obtained an arrest warrant Monday. Vermont State Police, Groton police and the U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force worked together to find Conlon, authorities said.

The Marshals Service said the effort to find Conlon first led to Rhode Island before authorities determined he had traveled to Groton, Connecticut.

During an initial court appearance, Conlon was ordered held for lack of $1 million bail on a fugitive charge, police said Wednesday. He waived extradition and will be transferred back to Vermont to face the murder charge at a future date. 

Conlon was being detained by Groton police. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer who could respond to the allegations.

"This has broken me and changed me. But I am my mother's daughter, and I will come back stronger. I will fight for her," Heidi Voight wrote this summer.

According to her online work bio, Voight is a an award-winning reporter and morning anchor who was born and raised in Milford, Connecticut. She represented the state at the Miss America Pageant in 2006.

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• Murder
• Connecticut