Nathan Carman, the man accused of murdering his mother at sea in 2016 so as to inherit the family’s millions, has died awaiting trial, according to federal authorities.
His cause of death was not disclosed.
Carman, now 29, was slated for trial in October after pleading not guilty last year to charges of fraud and first-degree murder in his mother’s death.
Nathan Carman was indicted in 2022 for allegedly arranging a fishing trip with his mother, Linda Carman, with the intent to kill her. He went missing for eight days until being found floating in an inflatable life raft, 100 miles off Martha’s Vineyard. Carman told authorities their boat had capsized. Linda Carman, 54, of Middletown, Connecticut, was never found.
Relatives immediately suspected the son, but he denied any involvement. He held a private memorial service.
The eight-count indictment also states that Carman shot his wealthy grandfather John Chakalos at home in Windsor, Conn., three years earlier in his attempt to gain inheritance money and property. However, he is not formally charged with that murder.
U.S. authorities were tight-lipped about Carman’s cause of death.
“Mr. Carman was in the custody of the U.S. Marshal, as is the case for all pretrial defendants who are detained. The U.S. Marshal confirmed Mr. Carman’s death this morning. We have no further comment beyond our public filing,” Fabienne Boisvert-DeFazio, public affairs officer for the Vermont U.S. attorney’s office, told the Associated Press.
Carman’s attorneys on Thursday expressed shock at their client’s death, which they learned about from the U.S. Marshals Service.
“We had spoken to him yesterday. He was in good spirits,” lawyer Martin Minnella said. “We were meeting with some experts today over Zoom at 12 o’clock. We were prepared to start picking a jury on Oct. 10 and we were confident we were going to win. It’s just a tragedy.”