A man wanted in connection with the killing of a television news anchor’s mother in Vermont back in February has been apprehended at a Connecticut hotel, announced the Vermont State Police.
Shawn Conlon, aged 44, was arrested in Groton with the assistance of marshals, local police, and Rhode Island State Police. Conlon is set to face an arraignment in Connecticut and will subsequently be extradited to Vermont, where he will be charged with second-degree homicide in the death of Claudia Voight, aged 73, a resident of Windham, Vermont.
Voight passed away in her home on February 20, initially believed to have suffered a medical event. However, a subsequent autopsy revealed that her cause of death was neck compression.
Claudia Voight was the mother of Heidi Voight, a news anchor for NBC Connecticut and Miss Connecticut 2006. Heidi Voight has not yet responded to inquiries.
In a social media post from July, Heidi Voight disclosed the details surrounding her mother’s death, stating, “My mother’s death was not natural, nor peaceful. 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 behind the killing has not been disclosed, but Vermont State Police stated in July that it was likely “not random.”
In their most recent statement, the police indicated that their investigation uncovered Conlon had been renting a room in Claudia Voight’s home and ceased paying rent late in 2022, yet continued residing in the house until her death in February.
The U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force, together with Vermont State Police and Groton police, collaborated in locating and arresting Conlon, who hails from Rhode Island. Following his initial court appearance, Conlon was detained on a fugitive charge with bail set at $1 million. He waived extradition and will be transferred back to Vermont to face the murder charge at a later date.
It remains unclear whether Conlon has legal representation at this time.
Heidi Voight is an award-winning reporter and morning anchor for NBC Connecticut, as per her online work bio. She was born and raised in Milford, Connecticut, and represented the state in the Miss America Pageant in 2006.
