The man wanted in the killing of Connecticut anchor Heidi Voight‘s mother in Vermont in February was captured at a Connecticut hotel on Wednesday, the U.S. Marshals Service said.
Shawn Conlon was arrested in Groton, Connecticut by marshals, local police and Rhode Island State Police. Authorities said Conlon was arraigned in a Connecticut court later Wednesday and detained on $1 million bail, pending extradition to Vermont to face a second-degree murder charge.
Claudia Voight, 73, of Windham, Vermont, died in her home on February 20. Law enforcement later determined she died from neck compression that was detectable only during an autopsy.
Because of the delay in releasing the information, Voight, who anchors for NBC owned station WVIT, announced on Facebook that she had to carry the “painful secret” about her mother’s death for months in order to protect the investigation.
“My mother’s death was not natural, nor peaceful,” wrote Voight. “My mother was murdered, violently, in the place she should have felt safest – her own home in Windham, Vermont.”
Vermont State Police said Conlon rented a room in Voight’s home and stopped paying rent in late 2022 but remained in the home until allegedly attacking and killing her in February 2023. The reason for the attack was not disclosed.
Heidi Voight, who anchors for WVIT in Hartford, reacted on social media by posting, “HALLELUJAH” in all caps.