The man charged with killing his mother at sea during a 2016 fishing trip off the coast of New England in what prosecutors say was a scheme to inherit millions of dollars has died, federal authorities said Thursday.
The Vermont man charged with killing his mother off the coast of New England in a scheme to inherit millions of dollars has died in jail while awaiting trial, federal authorities said Thursday.
Nathan Carman, 29, pleaded not guilty last year to fraud and first-degree murder in the death of his mother, Linda Carman, and was scheduled to go on trial in October.
An eight-count indictment also says Carman shot and killed his wealthy grandfather John Chakalos as he slept in 2013, in order to obtain money and property from his grandfather’s estate. But the indictment does not charge Carman with his grandfather’s killing, and he had consistently denied any involvement in the two deaths.
The cause of Carman’s death was not immediately clear. He was the sole occupant of a county jail cell when guards found him dead at around 2:30 a.m., said Doug Losue, superintendent of the Cheshire Corrections Department, which runs the facility. Losue said the death was being investigated by police in Keene, which is near the Vermont state line.
The U.S. Marshals Service confirmed Carman died Thursday in their custody, adding that the service does not own or operate detention facilities but partners with state and local governments to house approximately 65% of its prisoner population.
One of his lawyers, Martin Minnella, said Carman appeared “in good spirits” when he last spoke to his defense team on Wednesday.
