48 Hours Tonight

Who Is Ted Maher/Jon Green & Where Is He Now? 2026 Update & Background

by · May 14, 2026

Ted Maher became one of the most controversial figures in modern true crime history after he was convicted in connection with the 1999 Monaco fire that killed billionaire banker Edmond Safra and nurse Vivian Torrente. Once viewed as a trusted medical professional and former Army serviceman, Maher’s life eventually became defined by international headlines, criminal convictions, conspiracy theories, prison escapes, and new allegations decades after the Monaco tragedy.

Today, Maher, who later legally changed his name to Jon Green, is back behind bars in New Mexico following a conviction in a murder-for-hire case involving his estranged fourth wife, Dr. Kim Lark. His story remains one of the most bizarre criminal sagas of the last 25 years, stretching from luxury penthouses in Monaco to jail cells in the American Southwest.

Ted Maher’s Early Life and Military Background

Theodore Maher was born on June 9, 1958, in Auburn, Maine, and later grew up in upstate New York. He came from a working-class family and has described his childhood as financially difficult. After graduating from high school in the 1970s, Maher enlisted in the United States Army, where he served for several years and reportedly became part of the Green Berets, an elite Special Forces division.

Following his military service, Maher lived a varied and unsettled life before entering the nursing profession. Over the years, he worked several jobs, including as a police officer in Las Vegas, a casino surveillance worker, and even a pizza delivery driver in Alaska. Eventually, he attended nursing school at Dutchess County Community College and Pace University in New York, where he trained as a registered nurse.

Maher married multiple times and became a father. Friends and relatives described him as intelligent, resourceful, and capable of adapting to almost any situation. He later found stable work in neonatal intensive care at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York, where he built a reputation as a skilled nurse.

Landing the Job With Edmond Safra

Maher’s life changed dramatically in 1999 after a chance encounter involving a lost camera. A wealthy New York couple, Harry and Laura Slatkin, accidentally left behind a camera at the hospital where Maher worked. After Maher returned it, the grateful couple recommended him for a private nursing position with billionaire banker Edmond Safra.

Safra, who suffered from Parkinson’s disease, required around-the-clock medical care at his residences in Monaco and elsewhere. Maher was hired as one of Safra’s private nurses and relocated from his modest life in New York to Monaco, where he entered the billionaire’s highly secure world. The job reportedly paid more than $200,000 annually and provided Maher with a level of financial security he had never experienced before.

According to later testimony and interviews, Maher became deeply invested in keeping the position. He reportedly viewed the job as a life-changing opportunity and feared losing favor within Safra’s inner circle of nurses and assistants.

The Monaco Fire That Changed Everything

On the night of December 3, 1999, a fire broke out inside Safra’s Monaco penthouse at La Belle Epoque. Safra and nurse Vivian Torrente died from smoke inhalation after taking shelter inside a secure bathroom. Maher survived the fire with stab wounds and initially claimed masked intruders had broken into the residence and attacked him.

Maher told investigators he started a small fire in a trash basket to activate smoke alarms and summon help while he attempted to save Safra from the alleged attackers. However, authorities soon questioned his story after finding no evidence that intruders had entered the highly protected building.

Within days, Monaco prosecutors announced that Maher confessed to setting the fire himself and admitted his wounds were self-inflicted. Investigators alleged Maher staged the incident because he wanted to appear heroic and gain Safra’s approval. Prosecutors claimed he intended to create a dramatic rescue situation that spiraled out of control and led to the deaths of Safra and Torrente.

Conviction and International Infamy

Maher’s trial became one of the most sensational criminal proceedings in Monaco history. Media coverage referred to it as the “Trial of the Century.” Prosecutors argued Maher’s fabricated intruder story delayed rescue operations and directly contributed to the deaths inside the penthouse.

Maher admitted during the trial that he started the fire but insisted he never intended for anyone to die. His attorneys argued that failures by police and firefighters worsened the tragedy because emergency crews took too long to reach Safra and Torrente inside the secure room.

In December 2002, Maher was convicted of arson causing death and sentenced to 10 years in prison. The conviction brought worldwide notoriety. Yet even after the verdict, Maher continued insisting that he was innocent of intentionally killing Safra. Over time, he claimed the fire was connected to an assassination plot tied to Safra’s banking dealings and alleged organized crime connections.

The Prison Escape That Shocked Monaco

Only weeks after his conviction, Maher carried out a dramatic escape from Monaco’s historic prison fortress. Using hacksaw blades allegedly smuggled into the prison inside a nursing textbook, Maher and fellow inmate Luigi Ciardelli cut through metal bars and lowered themselves down the prison walls using a rope made from garbage bags.

Maher escaped into France and reached Nice before police captured him hours later. Reports later detailed how he contacted family members, his lawyer, and a priest while on the run. The escape attempt added another layer of notoriety to the already famous case.

Maher’s sentence was extended after the failed escape. He ultimately spent about eight years incarcerated in Monaco before being released in 2007 and deported back to the United States.

Life After Prison and Reinvention as Jon Green

After returning to America, Maher struggled to rebuild his life. His third marriage had ended during his imprisonment, and he lost contact with much of his family. Attempts to continue working as a nurse collapsed after licensing boards learned of his conviction and accused him of failing to disclose parts of his criminal history.

Over time, Maher legally changed his name to Jon Green. He worked as a long-haul truck driver and largely stayed out of the public spotlight for several years. However, he continued publicly maintaining his innocence in the Monaco case through interviews, television appearances, and his 2021 memoir, Framed in Monte Carlo: How I Was Wrongfully Convicted for a Billionaire’s Fiery Death.

Maher claimed throughout the years that authorities in Monaco coerced his confession and ignored evidence supporting his story about intruders. He insisted that unknown attackers targeted Safra and that he was made a scapegoat for the billionaire’s death.

Marriage to Dr. Kim Lark

In New Mexico, Maher met physician Dr. Kim Lark around 2017. The two eventually married in 2020. According to Dr. Lark, Maher told her early in their relationship about his past and claimed he had been wrongfully convicted in Monaco. She initially believed his version of events.

The marriage later deteriorated. Dr. Lark alleged Maher became increasingly unstable and aggressive. In 2022, authorities accused Maher of breaking into her office, stealing checks and personal items, attempting to withdraw nearly $50,000 from her bank account, and stealing her vehicle.

The case gained national attention because Dr. Lark’s three search-and-rescue dogs were inside the vehicle when it was stolen. One of the dogs was pregnant at the time. Authorities launched a search across multiple states before Maher was arrested in Texas in June 2022. The dogs were eventually recovered safely along with eight puppies born while they were missing.

Murder-for-Hire Conviction

Maher’s legal problems escalated further after his arrest. While jailed in Eddy County, New Mexico, prosecutors alleged he conspired with another inmate to murder Dr. Lark. Authorities claimed Maher offered financial assistance and bond money in exchange for killing her and stealing money supposedly hidden inside her home.

Investigators alleged the planned murder involved forcing Dr. Lark to ingest fentanyl and staging the death as an overdose. According to prosecutors, inmates later reported details of the alleged plot to authorities, including coded phrases and plans to dispose of her body.

In March 2025, a jury found Maher guilty of solicitation to commit first-degree murder. In June 2025, he received the maximum nine-year sentence allowed under New Mexico law for the offense.

Where Is Ted Maher Now?

Ted Maher, now legally known as Jon Green, is currently serving his prison sentence in New Mexico. Reports indicate he is incarcerated at the Central New Mexico Correctional Facility, where he is housed among older inmates and prisoners with medical needs.

Recent reports have also stated that Maher has been suffering from late-stage throat cancer while incarcerated. Despite his declining health, he has continued maintaining his innocence in the Monaco fire and has remained a controversial figure in true crime circles.

Maher’s story continues to attract public fascination because of the extraordinary twists that have followed him for decades. From the death of one of the world’s richest bankers to prison escapes, identity changes, and new criminal convictions in the United States, his life has unfolded like an international crime thriller that never fully reached an ending.

Why Ted Maher’s Story Still Fascinates the Public

Ted Maher remains one of the most unusual figures connected to a high-profile criminal case because the questions surrounding him never completely disappeared. Some observers continue to debate whether Monaco authorities fully uncovered the truth behind Edmond Safra’s death. Others believe Maher’s shifting stories, self-admitted lies, and later criminal conduct reinforce the prosecution’s version of events.

The release of documentaries, books, podcasts, and television specials has kept the case alive long after the original conviction. Productions such as Netflix’s Murder in Monaco and CBS’s 48 Hours episode “The Man with Two Names” have introduced Maher’s story to new audiences who remain captivated by the mixture of wealth, paranoia, deception, and violence surrounding the case.

For many people, Ted Maher represents a man whose life was consumed by one catastrophic night in Monaco. Whether viewed as a manipulative criminal, a desperate attention-seeker, or a man wrongly blamed for a billionaire’s death, his story continues to stand as one of the strangest and most controversial true crime cases of the modern era.

More “The Man with Two Names”

More Feature Articles

Avatar photo

Ryan Gill

Ryan is a passionate follower of true crime television programs, reporting on and providing in-depth investigations on mysteries in the criminal world.

You may also like...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *