Sherman slaying suspect is in medical isolation

The Sherman man accused of killing his husband in a drunken rage last year was transferred from a prison cell to a medical isolation unit this week, according to state officials.

James C. Maharg, 66, has been in state custody with bail set at $2 million since March 2019, after being arrested and charged with murder in the death of his 63year-old husband, Thomas Conley.

Maharg was transferred from the Cheshire Correctional Institution to the Northern Correctional Institution’s Medical Isolation Unit in Somers on Monday, state Department of Correction public information officer Andrius Banevicius said.

Although he cannot disclose an inmate’s personal medical information due to HIPAA, Banevicius said it is the Department of Correction’s policy to “transfer offenders who test positive for the COVID-19 virus, and are symptomatic” to the medical isolation unit.

Maharg is accused of killing his husband inside their Church Road home on March 20, 2019.

Authorities said the slaying followed months of trouble for the couple, and that Maharg called 911 and said, “My husband is dead.”

Maharg reportedly told police he and his husband had stopped going to their Manhattan fashion retail supply business because it was failing; as a result, they were losing their 20-acre farmhouse to the bank and were dealing with it by drinking three bottles of tequila a day.

First responders found empty tequila bottles in the couple’s house, as well as Conley’s cold, naked body at the bottom of a staircase with two wounds to the top of his scalp.

“The victim walked into the kitchen and said something nasty to Maharg, and Maharg pushed the victim’s chest, causing him to fall backward into the kitchen cabinet shelf,” according to a police affidavit.

Maharg, who is also charged with tampering with physical evidence, has a pre-trial hearing scheduled for July 1, in state Superior Court in Danbury.

Maharg