RI suspect in killing of TV news anchor's mother has been captured in Connecticut

GROTON, Conn. (AP) — 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 U.S. Marshals Service 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.

Claudia Voight, 73, of Windham, Vermont, died in her home 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.”

In a July Facebook 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.

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.

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

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