Vermont man accused of killing mom and grandfather in elaborate inheritance scheme

MONTPELIER, Vt. (TCD) -- A 28-year-old man was arrested this week for allegedly killing his mother in 2016 after sinking their boat during a fishing trip.

In a statement released Tuesday, May 10, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont announced Nathan Carman was taken into custody on an eight-count indictment that charged him for allegedly killing his mother Linda Carman "on the high seas, and related frauds to obtain family and insurance funds."

Carman allegedly fatally shot his grandfather, John Chakalos, at Chakalos' residence in Windsor, Connecticut, in 2013, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Three years later, Carman’s mother died. The U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges Carman "sunk his boat during a supposed fishing trip off the coast of Rhode Island" and killed her.

Both deaths were reportedly part of a large scheme to receive money from his grandfather’s estate and to defraud the company that insured the fishing boat.

According to The Associated Press, Chakalos' estate was worth about $29 million and it was split among his four daughters, including Carman’s mother. Carman was reportedly due to inherit $7 million as his mother’s heir. The indictment, which is cited by AP, alleges Carman bought a gun using a New Hampshire driver’s license and then shot Chakalos on Dec. 20, 2013, while he was sleeping.

In 2019, an insurance company refused to pay $85,000 for Carman’s insurance claim regarding his boat, AP reported at the time. After the boat sank, Carman was reportedly found on a life raft nearly a week later. A judge, however, ruled in favor of the insurance company.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Carman could face life in prison if he is convicted of murder on the high seas and up to 30 years for each fraud charge.

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