A Connecticut news anchor revealed that she had to keep her mother’s cold-blooded murder a secret for months to protect the investigation while police searched for her killer.
Heidi Voight wrote in a social media post this week that the February death of her 73-year-old mother Claudia M Voight was not a medical incident like it was initially believed, but a homicide.
“She should still be here,” the Emmy Award-winning anchor for NBC Connecticut wrote on Instagram. “My mother’s death was not natural, nor peaceful. My mother was murdered, violently, in the place she should have felt safest. Our silence was necessary to protect the early stages of the intense criminal investigation.”
Vermont State Police announced on Monday that the department is investigating the murder of Voight, who was killed on February 20 in her home in Windham.
Heidi Voight reveals her mother’s death was a homicide.— (Heidi Voight facebook post)
Police said in the release that her death did not appear to be suspicious at first but an autopsy that was performed several days later at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington revealed further injuries.
In April, her cause of death was determined to be neck compression.
“Voight had sustained injuries that were detectable only during autopsy,” the police release read. “Final autopsy findings in April confirmed that Ms Voight’s cause of death was neck compression, and the manner of death was homicide. Due to the sensitive nature of the case from the early stages of the investigation, VSP opted to wait to disclose the incident to the public. The investigation has now progressed to a point where VSP is able to release information without jeopardizing the case.”
It was a daunting secret the woman’s daughter has been keeping for months.
Voight announced her mother’s passing on February 27 on Instagram, describing it as “sudden and unexpected, and there are many questions and challenges. If you can, please just call your mom today and tell her you love her.”
She has been on leave from NBC Connecticut ever since.
But several months later, she explained how she had to keep the news of the homicide to herself for so long in order to protect the investigation.
“For the last 161 days, the world around us has moved on. But my family and I have been living February 21st on repeat. There is an emotional purgatory that comes when you must silence what you want to scream from the rooftops. How could we write her obituary or plan her service until the world understood the true magnitude of this senseless loss? But our silence was necessary to protect the early stages of the intense criminal investigation.”
Voight thanked Vermont State Police for their hard work and her “other family, NBC Connecticut, for their continued love and support. I’m taking this time to be present for the many processes ongoing related to my mom’s case, and to make sure I’m getting the help I need to be mentally and physically okay for the long haul. 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.”
Police finally released information on Monday, stating that they believe the killing of Ms Voight was not random, and that there is no identified threat to the community.
No arrests have been made and Vermont State Police Spokesperson Adam Silverman told WCAX that he was not able to comment on whether they have any suspects at this time.
“But I can tell you that the evidence in the case does indicate that there is no specific or general threat to the public and that the homicide does appear to be targeted at Mrs Voight,” he said.
Police said the investigation remains active and ongoing with members of the Major Crime Unit, Bureau of Criminal Investigations, and Victim Services Unit.
