Rhode Island man arrested in Vermont woman's killing. What to know.

In a death that initially wasn't considered suspicious, a Rhode Island man has been charged with murder in the killing of a 73-year-old Vermont woman from whom he'd been renting a room, the Vermont State Police said.

Shawn Conlon, 44, of Westerly, was arrested Wednesday morning in a hotel in Groton, Connecticut, for the strangulation of Claudia M. Voight, who was killed Feb. 20 at her home in Windham, Vermont, the police said in a press release.

Voight's homicide originally overlooked as a 'medical event'

Voight's death was initially thought the result of a "medical event," the police said. But Voight's daughter Heidi Voight requested an autopsy because of "suspicious interactions and phone calls she had" with Conlon on Feb. 21, the Brattleboro Reformer reported, citing an affidavit.

An autopsy at the Chief Medical Examiner's Office in Burlington "indicated the death was suspicious, and Voight had sustained injuries that were detectable only during autopsy," the police said. "Final autopsy findings in April confirmed that Ms. Voight's cause of death was neck compression, and the manner of death was homicide."

The Vermont State Police did not make a public statement about the homicide until July 31 when, in a news release, the agency said it waited to disclose the incident to the public because of the "sensitive nature of the case" and the potential for jeopardizing the investigation.

Carrying a painful secret

Heidi Voight, a news anchor and reporter for NBC Connecticut, wrote on Instagram Friday, "Friends, I want to thank you for the outpouring of kindness since my mother's death in February and your many messages of care and concern during my current absence from NBC Connecticut."

"I know you've had questions, and there is something I've been wanting to tell you, but up until now, couldn't. I have been carrying this painful secret: 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."

"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.' "

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Why was Conlon arrested?

The Vermont State Police said their investigation revealed that Conlon had been renting a room from Claudia Voight. Although he stopped paying rent in late 2022, Conlon continued to live in the house "until he attacked and killed her in February," the state police said.

Earlier this week, the Vermont State Police obtained a warrant for Conlon's arrest on a charge of second-degree murder. Investigators initially believed Conlon was in Rhode Island, but he was tracked to Connecticut.

Conlon was charged in Connecticut as being a fugitive from justice; he waived extradition and will be transferred back to Vermont to face the murder charge, the police said. The Vermont arrest warrant orders Conlon jailed without bail, the police said.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI man charged with murder over Vermont woman's death