A man accused of killing his mother in 2016 during a fishing trip off the coast of Rhode Island has died months before he was set to appear for trial, according to authorities.
In court records, prosecutors said Nathan Carman, 29, “died on or about June 15, 2023.” Authorities sought a dismissal of the charges against Carman in light of his death, which a judge granted Thursday. At the time of his death, Carman was in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service, The Associated Press reported.
His cause of death was not immediately known.
“We had spoken to him yesterday. He was in good spirits,” one of Carman’s attorneys, Martin Minnella, told the AP. “We were meeting with some experts today over Zoom at 12 o’çlock. 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, a tragedy.”
Authorities arrested Carman in May 2022 to face first-degree murder and fraud charges in the death of his mother, Linda Carman. Prosecutors said her death was part of a scheme orchestrated by Nathan Carman to get funds from his family and from an insurance company.
Prosecutors alleged that Nathan Carman killed his maternal grandfather, John Chakalos, late in 2013 to gain access to two bank accounts worth $550,000. Chakalos, who had made tens of millions of dollars through real estate ventures, died after being shot twice while he was sleeping at his home in Connecticut, officials said.
Nathan Carman was never charged in Chakalos’ death, WFXT reported.
By 2016, prosecutors said Nathan Carman was low on funds, prompting him to plot his mother’s death. On Sept. 17, 2016, authorities said he took Linda Carman out for a fishing trip on his boat, the Chicken Pox. During the trip, he killed his mother and sank his boat off the coast of Rhode Island, prosecutors said.
A commercial ship found him floating on an inflatable raft eight days later. His mother’s body was never found, according to WFXT.
In a statement obtained by the AP, Nathan Carman’s aunts — Linda Carman’s sisters — said through their attorney that they were “deeply saddened” to learn of his death.
“While we process this shocking news and its impact on the tragic events surrounding the last several years we ask for your understanding and respect relative to our privacy,” they said in the statement.
