By Guy Page

A Rhode Island man has been arrested for the murder by strangulation of an elderly Windham woman in February – resolving, for now, one of 80 open attempted murder/murder cases in Vermont.

Law-enforcement authorities on Wednesday, Dec. arrested Shawn Conlon, 44, of Rhode Island  in the Feb. 20 killing of Claudia M. Voight, 73, at her home in Windham. He’s charged with second-degree murder and is being held without bail. 

Investigators said Claudia Voight’s death did not appear suspicious at first, but an autopsy revealed she had been strangled, according to the Marshals Service. Voight was the mother of NBC Connecticut news anchor Heidi Voight.

Conlon, 44, was taken into custody Wednesday morning at a Gold Star hotel in Groton, Connecticut, by the U.S. Marshals Service with the assistance of the Rhode Island State Police and the Groton Police Department. Members of the Vermont State Police, who have led the investigation into Ms. Voight’s killing, arrived in Groton shortly after the suspect’s arrest. 

The arrest reduces by one the 80 open attempted murder/murder cases now facing Vermont police. Tuesday December 19, Vermont House Judiciary Chair Martin LaLonde (D-South Burlington) informed the House Appropriations Committee that Vermont police have 80 open murder and attempted murder cases. 

Once an arrest is made, the cases must be adjudicated. The high number of ‘complex’ (Lalonde’s term for cases that include murder) cases accounts in part of the record-high court backlog in criminal cases. Of the state’s total of 3,714 felony charges, about half have been pending in court for more than a year (pg. 28 of Lalonde presentation). 

The Vermont State Police earlier this week obtained a warrant for Conlon’s arrest on a charge of second-degree murder. VSP’s investigation determined that Conlon had been renting a room in Ms. Voight’s home, though he stopped paying rent in late 2022 but remained in the house, until he attacked and killed her in February. 

After VSP obtained the arrest warrant, investigators coordinated with the U.S. Marshals Service to locate and apprehend Conlon. He initially was believed to be in Rhode Island but was subsequently tracked to Connecticut. Conlon was charged in Connecticut as being a fugitive from justice. During an initial court appearance, Conlon was ordered held for lack of $1 million bail on the fugitive charge. He waived extradition and will be transferred back to Vermont to face the murder charge at a future date. The Vermont arrest warrant for second-degree murder orders Conlon jailed without bail. 

This post includes excerpts from a Vermont State Police press release. 

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