Heir denies having role in death of grandfather

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A Vermont man denied in court papers Wednesday allegations that he killed his millionaire grandfather in 2013 and claims he doesn't know the whereabouts of his mother who disappeared after a boat they were on sank off Rhode Island.

Nathan Carman has been called a suspect in the shooting death of 87-year-old real estate developer John Chakalos in Connecticut. No one's been arrested.

He has also been questioned about the day his boat sank with his mother, Linda Carman, on it. She's presumed dead. He said he doesn't know if anyone has seen his mother since their fishing trip in 2016.

In July, the three sisters of Linda Carman filed a lawsuit in New Hampshire accusing Nathan Carman of killing Chakalos and possibly his mother. They've asked a judge to block Nathan Carman from collecting money from his grandfather's estate. Chakalos left more than $29 million to his four daughters, including Linda Carman, and $7 million of that money could go to Nathan Carman.

The sisters' attorney, Dan Small, has said all the evidence points to Nathan Carman as the killer. If the family wins the lawsuit, Small has said any money that would have gone to Carman would go to investigate the death of John Chakalos and Linda Carman. Nathan Carman on Wednesday moved to dismiss the lawsuit, saying Chakalos wasn't a resident of New Hampshire at the time of his death.

The family on Wednesday insisted in a statement that Chakalos was a "long time resident of Chesterfield, New Hampshire, and a wellknown, active member of the community."