A 24-year-old man at the center of a long-running legal saga involving allegations of murder and fraud is set to battle it out in federal court over an $85,000 insurance claim for his sunken boat.
Nathan Carman’s civil trial began in Providence, Rhode Island, on Tuesday over an insurance company’s refusal to pay out the claim after his boat sunk three years ago and cost his mother her life.
The trial will only focus on allegations that Carman made faulty repairs to his boat that caused it to sink when he set off on a fishing trip with his mother Linda in September 2016.
He has long been dogged by allegations that he staged his mother’s disappearance – her body has never been found – in a bid to claim her $7 million share of his grandfather John Chakalos’ estate, three years after he was found shot dead.
Carman has denied any involvement in either death.
Nathan Carman’s civil trial began in Providence, Rhode Island, on Tuesday (above) over an insurance company’s refusal to pay out the claim after his boat sunk three years ago and cost his mother her life
The trial will only focus on allegations that Carman made faulty repairs to his boat that caused it to sink when he set off on a fishing trip with his mother Linda in September 2016
The judge overseeing the current civil hearing issued an order last week prohibiting questions or evidence that may allege Carman had a hand in the deaths of his mother and grandfather.
The National Liability and Fire Insurance Co. filed a lawsuit against Carman after he put in for a $85,000 claim soon after his fishing boat – named Chicken Pox – sank.
They argue that the claim is void because Carman made suspicious modifications to the 31-foot aluminum boat that caused it to sink.
He has long been dogged by allegations that he staged his mother’s disappearance in a bid to claim her $7 million share of his grandfather John Chakalos’ (above) estate three years after he was found shot dead
In opening statements on Tuesday, the insurance company alleged that Carman removed two bulkheads that would keep the boat afloat if it takes on water and also removed other parts that created four holes in the vessel.
Carman’s attorney, however, has argued that that boat was 35-years-old and always had integrity issues because of prior alterations.
The young man had set off on a fishing trip with his 54-year-old mother Linda on September 18, 2016.
He told authorities that his boat started rapidly taking on water soon after they left Ram Point Marina in South Kingstown, Rhode Island.
Carman said that he never saw his mother go overboard when the boat sank.
Her body was never recovered and she is presumed dead. The boat has also never been found.
When they failed to return from their fishing trip, the pair were reported missing and the Coast Guard launched a widescale search covering 62,000 nautical miles.
The Coast Guard called off the search after six days.
Carman was rescued by a freighter called the Orient Lucky, which spotted his raft about 100 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard on September 25.
The National Liability and Fire Insurance Co. filed a lawsuit against Carman after he put in for a $85,000 claim soon after his fishing boat – named Chicken Pox (above) – sank
Carman had set off on a fishing trip with his 54-year-old mother Linda on September 18, 2016. He told authorities that his boat started rapidly taking on water soon after they left Ram Point Marina in South Kingstown, Rhode Island
He told authorities following his rescue that he had spent eight days floating in a life raft.
The boat saga came three years after Carman’s 87-year-old grandfather, John Chakalos, was found with gunshot wounds to the back of his head at his home in Windsor, Connecticut, on December 20, 2013.
At the time of his murder, Chakalos was a real estate developer worth approximately $40 million.
Law enforcement, who unsuccessfully tried to obtain an arrest warrant for Carman, have long suspected him of murdering his grandfather.
Police say he was the last person to see Chakalos alive, he got rid of his GPS and computer hard drive the morning of the murder and that he refused to take a polygraph test.
Carman has also allegedly refused to answer police questions about a now-missing gun that he legally purchased about a month before Chakalos was shot dead.
He has never been charged in relation to his grandfather’s death.
Carman’s three aunts, who are Linda’s sisters, filed a ‘slayer petition’ lawsuit in July 2017 in a bid to stop him from getting his mother’s inheritance.
Chakalos had left more than $29 million to his four daughters when he was killed.
The slayer petition is a legal instrument designed to ensure someone who kills can not profit from their victim’s estate.
The Coast Guard searched for Carman and his mother for six days. He was rescued by a freighter called the Orient Lucky who spotted his raft about 100 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard on September 25
Carman told authorities following his rescue that he had spent eight days floating in a life raft. He is pictured arriving at the Boston Coast Guard base on September 27, 2016
His aunts have been trying to get a judge to rule that Carman killed both his mother and grandfather.
During court proceedings in that case, Carman said there was no way he would have killed his grandfather because he was already supporting him financially.
Chakalos had been paying Carman’s rent, utilities and education until his death, according to court documents.
Carman said if anything, he had lost out financially as a result of his grandfather’s death.
‘I did not kill my grandfather or my mother, nor did I engage in the violent behavior in my childhood that has been reported,’ he said.
‘It is my aunts who are being driven by malice and greed to make the vexatious, false, and insupportable allegations which form the basis of their probate lawsuit in New Hampshire.’
In October last year, Carman claimed that a 25-year-old woman who spent a weekend with his grandfather before his death could shed light on his killing.
Carman’s attorney’s said they were looking to interview the woman, who was only identified as ‘Mistress Y’ in court documents.
They claim she spent time with Shakalos at a Connecticut casino in the days prior and that he had given her $3,500 for breast enhancement surgery.
Court documents also allege that the woman spoke on the phone to Chakalos for roughly 19 minutes the night he was killed.