A man accused by family members of killing his real estate developer grandfather and his mother in an attempt to obtain millions in inheritance money pointed a finger back at the people who are suing him: his aunts. That accusation came Tuesday from Nathan Carman, who is being sued civilly for allegedly shooting and killing his grandfather, John Chakalos of Connecticut, in 2013. Carman, of Vermont, is further accused of killing his mother, Linda Carman, during a Rhode Island boating trip in 2016. Though Carman has not been charged with a crime, he is being sued in Concord, New Hampshire District Court by his aunts. They are seeking to have a court declare Carman the killer as a matter of estate law. If the aunts are successful, their move will block Carman him from inheriting his mother’s share of his grandfather’s $20 million estate.
Attorneys representing the aunts dismissed the accusation that the aunts were somehow involved in the deaths. Carman fired his attorneys and is representing himself.
WATCH part of the hearing in the player above, along with analysis from the Law&Crime Network.
Carman said his aunts had a greater motive than he did to kill their father, Chakalos. His aunts are accusing him of stonewalling the case by failing to turn over his own financial records, information regarding his grandfather’s accounts, and information about guns and shooting ranges. The judge hearing the case said he would order Carman to turn over information requested by his aunts.
The aunts believe Carman purchased a Sig Sauer semiautomatic rifle in New Hampshire. They want him to turn over records of the transaction. The weapon in question fires the same caliber of bullet that was later used to kill the grandfather. Carman has refused to turn over information about the gun and has attempted to assert a Fifth Amendment privilege surrounding the gun. He said his reason for asserting Fifth Amendment protection is because Connecticut, where the slaying occurred, has harsh gun laws. The attorney for the aunts, in a post-hearing interview with the Boston Globe, characterized Carman’s statement as an admission to carrying a weapon across state lines.
Apart from the grandfather’s death, Nathan Carman has been questioned surrounding his role in the presumed death of his mother, Linda. She was boating with her son, the defendant, in 2016 when their boat sank in Rhode Island. Linda Carman has been missing ever since. Nathan Carman allegedly made alterations to the boat right before the trip during which it sank, according to a different lawsuit filed there by an insurance company. In Tuesday’s hearing, Carman claimed it was not a crime to leave someone behind on a sinking boat. He also questioned whether there was proof his mother was really dead.
[Image via screen grab from WMUR-TV.]
[Editor’s note: this post has been updated.]