RI Man Pleads Not Guilty In Landlord's Killing

RHODE ISLAND — A Rhode Island man accused in the strangulation death of his landlord in Windham, Vermont Feb. 2023 pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder Friday.

Following an investigation that spanned three states, Shawn Conlon, 44 — the suspect in the Feb. 20 death of Claudia Voight, 73 — was caught at a hotel on Gold Star Highway in Groton Dec. 20, according to a statement from U.S. Marshals.

Conlon had been renting a room in Voight’s home, police said. He stopped paying rent at the end of 2022 before killing Voight a few months later, according to police.

Voight was the mother of NBC Connecticut anchor Heidi Voight.

Investigators said Claudia Voight’s death did not appear suspicious at first, but an autopsy revealed she had been strangled. Her injuries were only detected by the medical examiner, who confirmed the cause of death in April.

The U.S. Marshals' investigation started in Rhode Island, then shifted to Groton where it was determined Conlon had traveled following a Vermont State Police investigation.

Heidi Voight wrote in a social media post following her mother's death: "Claudia Voight was stolen from this world. She was stolen from her family, from her children, and from my precious daughters who now ask me almost every day, 'Why did Grandma go to Heaven?'"

The attorney who represented Conlon at his arraignment declined to comment on the case on Saturday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.