Vermont native Nathan Carman is accused of killing his grandfather to obtain money from a trust fund and later killing his mother while they were at sea for a purported fishing trip to access millions of dollars in inheritance, according to a federal indictment unsealed on Tuesday, May 10.
NBC News reported that the 28-year-old had been charged with federal murder and fraud counts. According to federal prosecutors, Carman's mother, Linda, disappeared during a fishing trip on her son's boat, Chicken Pox, back in 2016. Carman purposefully sank the boat off Rhode Island to kill his mom.
Prosecutors alleged that Carman rigged the boat so it would take on water during its voyage. He then lied to the Coast Guard and other law enforcement officials about his mother's disappearance.
Money, the reason behind the killings
Prosecutors said that Carman killed his grandfather John Chakalos three years earlier by shooting him twice while he slept in his home in Windsor, Connecticut. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Vermont issued a statement on Tuesday, saying, "Both killings were part of a scheme to obtain money and property from the estate of John Chakalos and related family trusts."
The federal public defender's office in Vermont, which was representing Carman, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Carman has been consistent with his denials, saying he had nothing to do with his grandfather's death or his mother's disappearance.
According to WBZ News Radio, Chakalos bequeathed a $42 million estate to his four adult daughters, including Linda Carman. Prosecutors said that Chakalos managed to amass tens of millions of dollars by building and renting nursing homes.
According to the indictment, Nathan Carman spent "significant time" with his grandfather in 2012 and 2013. Prosecutors said that Chakalos, who was 87 years old at that time, put $550,000 into the bank accounts of his grandson.
The indictment alleges that Carman persuaded his mother to designate him as a beneficiary of her inheritance during the same period. Prosecutors said that the so-called dynasty trust inheritance arrangement for Chakalos' adult children was valued at $42 million.
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Carman purchased the rifle used to kill his grandfather
The indictment states that Nathan Carman, who was living in a New Hampshire home built by Chakalos, purchased the rifle used in the murder on November 11, 2013.
According to the indictment, Nathan Carman discarded his computer hard drive and the GPS unit that had been in his truck the night of the murder after he killed his grandfather John Chakalos as part of his plan to cover up his involvement in that crime.
The NPR reported that Carman planned to kill his mother on a fishing trip years later, with the indictment stating that he altered the boat by removing two forward bulkheads and trim tabs from the transom of the hull before the trip, leading to its sinking.
