Man to face charges of killing mother at sea for inheritance
Scheme allegedly dates back to death of grandfather in 2013
A 28-year-old man who was rescued from a raft off the coast of New England in 2016 after his boat sank awaited arraignment Wednesday on charges he killed his mother at sea to inherit the family’s estate.
Nathan Carman was expected to be arraigned in federal court in Rutland on multiple fraud charges and a first-degree murder charge in the death of Linda Carman. He shouted “Not guilty!” in the direction of reporters as he approached the courtroom.
Authorities allege in the indictment unsealed Tuesday that Carman also killed his grandfather, John Chakalos, at his home in Windsor, Conn., in 2013 as part of a scheme to obtain money and property from his grandfather’s estate, but he was not charged with that killing.
“As a central part of the scheme, Nathan Carman murdered John Chakalos and Linda Carman,” the indictment reads.
Carman was found in an inflatable raft eight days after leaving a Rhode Island marina to go fishing with his mother, who was never found. Prosecutors allege Carman altered the boat to make it more likely to sink that day. He has denied doing anything to intentionally make the boat unseaworthy.
Carman, who was arrested Tuesday, faces life in prison if convicted of killing his mother. His attorney did not return an email seeking comment.
Prosecutors allege the inheritance scheme that has spanned nearly a decade began with Carman buying a rifle in New Hampshire that he used to shoot Chakalos on Dec. 20, 2013, while he slept. He then discarded his computer hard drive and the GPS unit that had been in his truck, prosecutors said.
After Chakalos’ death, Carman received $550,000 (U.S.) from two bank accounts that his grandfather had set up and that he was the beneficiary of when Chakalos died. He moved from an apartment in Bloomfield, Conn., to Vernon, Vt., in 2014.
He was unemployed much of the time and by the fall of 2016, was low on funds, prosecutors said.
In September 2016, Carman arranged to go on a fishing trip with his mother on his boat named the “Chicken Pox.”
Before the trip, Carman altered the boat by removing two forward bulkheads and trim tabs from the transom of the hull, the indictment states.
“After leaving the marina, Nathan Carman killed his mother, Linda Carman, and eventually sank the Chicken Pox,” it states.
As a central part of the scheme, Nathan Carman murdered John Chakalos and Linda Carman.
INDICTMENT AGAINST NATHAN CARMAN