Man charged with killing mother at sea to inherit estate

Nathan Carman was found floating on a raft in the ocean in 2016 after his boat sank and has been indicted on charges alleging he killed his mother at sea. Photo / AP

A man found floating on a raft off the coast of New England in 2016 after his boat sank has been charged with killing his mother at sea to inherit the family's estate.

The eight-count indictment released in federal court in Burlington, Vermont, also says Nathan Carman shot and killed his grandfather, John Chakalos, at his home in Windsor, Connecticut, in 2013 as part of an effort to defraud insurance companies, but he was not charged with that killing.

Carman was found in an inflatable raft eight days after leaving a Rhode Island marina to go fishing with his mother, Linda Carman, who was never found.

Carman, 28, of Vernon, Vermont, is due in federal court in Rutland, Vermont. His attorney did not return a call seeking comment.

William Michael, an attorney for Carman's mother's sisters, said the family had no immediate comment.

The indictment handed down May 2, but made public after Carman's arrest, describes what prosecutors said was a scheme to defraud the estate of Chakalos.

Federal agents execute a search warrant at Nathan Carman's residence after he was arrested and charged with the murders of his grandfather and mother. Photo / AP

"As a central part of the scheme, Nathan Carman murdered John Chakalos and Linda Carman," the indictment says.

Chakalos, who was a real estate developer, left an estate that was worth nearly $46 million, which was to be divided among his four daughters. Carman is in line to get about $11 million, as his mother's only heir.

Chakalos' three surviving daughters sued Carman in New Hampshire probate court, seeking to bar him from receiving any money from Chakalos' estate. A judge dismissed the case in 2019, saying Chakalos was not a New Hampshire resident. The probate case was refiled in Connecticut, where it remains pending.