CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A Vermont man accused by family members of killing his millionaire grandfather and possibly his mother said several of his relatives are “being driven by malice and greed” and are spreading lies about him.
Nathan Carman has been called a suspect in the 2013 shooting death of 87-year-old real estate developer John Chakalos in Windsor, Connecticut. No one has been arrested. He also has been questioned about the day his boat sank with his mother, Linda Carman, aboard near Rhode Island in 2016. She is presumed dead. He was rescued a week later, after being found floating on a life raft in the Atlantic Ocean.
Carman, who lives in Vernon, Vermont, has denied any involvement in either case.
In July, his mother’s three sisters filed a lawsuit in New Hampshire accusing him of killing Chakalos and possibly his mother. They have asked a judge to block him from collecting money from his grandfather’s estate. Chakalos left more than $29 million to his four daughters, and $7 million of that money could go to Nathan Carman.
“I did not kill my grandfather or my mother, nor did I engage in the violent behavior in my childhood that has been reported,” Carman said in statement released Wednesday.
“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,” he said.
Dan Small, an attorney representing the sisters, accused Carman of being “fixated on money” and said the Chakalos family only wanted “justice.”
Small said in a statement the family has made it clear that if they win the case, “the proceeds that Linda would receive would be donated to charity in her name.”
Carman said he was planning to fire his two attorneys in the New Hampshire case, Hubert Santos and Richard Thorner. He accused them of lacking basic competence and the time needed to devote the case. He also said he was worried they could not ensure the best outcome.
Carman said he would represent himself until he finds new attorneys.
“I plan to aggressively pursue all legal avenues available to me for rectifying the injustices which have already been perpetrated and obtaining a just outcome in the matters that are ongoing,” he said.
His attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Last month, an insurance company asked a federal judge to force Carman to discuss what happened to a missing gun that matches the caliber used to kill his grandfather. National Liability & Fire Insurance company lawyers filed a motion in Providence, Rhode Island.
The insurance company also is seeking to avoid payment on an $85,000 policy for the boat Carman was on when he and his mother went missing at sea.
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