Nathan Carman has been at the forefront of New England’s true crime mysteries for nearly a decade now. Accused of murdering his mother while on a boat trip off the coast of Rhode Island in 2016, Carman vehemently denied the allegations. Although never charged, Carman was also suspected of the death of his grandfather in 2013. Although he took his life in 2023, his case remains a point of discussion for those following the case. His guilt or innocence is highly debated, and on April 4, the ABC true crime series 20/20 covered the case as well.
Nathan Carman’s Notorious Fishing Trip
A Vermont native, Nathan Carman was a member of a wealthy family, and his grandfather was a successful real estate developer. On Saturday, September 17, 2016, Carman headed to a marina in Rhode Island to start a fishing trip with his mother, Linda Carman, off the coast of Block Island. At some point during that voyage, the boat sank. While Nathan Carman was rescued, Linda was never seen again and is ultimately presumed dead. The details in between these two events, however, are the source of the mystery.
Nathan Carman has always insisted that the sinking of his boat was accidental, but police investigators argued otherwise. They allege that the boat was intentionally sunk, as the events of the day did not appear to add up. Police believe that the incident was related to money, and in a 20/20 interview released on Friday, former FBI Special Agent Lisa Tutty shared that it was a tough beginning to the investigation.
“We had no boat, we had no body. But as in any investigation, there’s always evidence that can be recovered. It’s just a matter of making sure that you know where to look,” Tutty told ABC. Detectives searched Nathan’s car during the search for the missing pair and discovered a bucket of eels (fishing bait) still in the car. This set off alarms, as there would be no reason to leave bait in a car for a fishing trip that has already taken place.
Another strange piece of information is that another individual at the marina that day, Mike Iozzi, noticed Nathan Carman drilling multiple holes in the bottom of the boat. According to Iozzi, he asked Nathan what he was doing, and Nathan responded by saying he was taking out his trim tabs because they were not necessary. Despite warning Nathan that it could cause the boat to sink, Iozzi claims Nathan launched the boat anyway after a mediocre epoxy job was completed.
Via People Magazine, Nathan Carman reported the boat was lost to the insurance company and applied for an $85,000 payout, though it was denied due to, in their view, faulty repair work. He reportedly told insurance companies that he reacted to the sinking boat too late to use the emergency locator or call for help because he did not realize it was happening. He reported that the boat continued east after the sinking. According to an expert on 20/20, however, that would have been impossible; it would have drifted west. Police used this inconsistency as circumstantial evidence as well.
Additional inconsistencies were also noted, including Nathan Carman’s disposal of his computer before the trip, the purchase of an anchor and line that would not work with the size of his boat, and his description of his use of safety equipment. Police felt the totality of the evidence pointed to the murder and ultimately arrested and charged Nathan with murder. He was being held awaiting trial in 2023 when he took his own life in his jail cell. The prosecutors ultimately dropped the charges upon his death.
Author Casey Sherman, of Blood in the Water, has written about the case and sheds light on some facts that do not add up. “I think that people that watch the special or read my book, you’re going to hear some people say that, ‘oh, Nathan Carmen’s innocent.’ Then you’re going to hear other people that say, ‘No, he’s guilty.’ Sherman said. “How does he stay 115 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard in a life raft, allegedly for seven days, hoping that a Chinese cargo ship passing in the shipping lanes of the North Atlantic is not only going to rescue him, but even see him?”
In the end, the story has sparked a lot of discussion, and no concrete evidence to prove the truth one way or the other. The only two people who know for sure what happened on that boat, Nathan and Linda, are both now presumed deceased.
Connected to Suspicious Death of Grandfather
Linda’s death is not the first suspicious death that has been connected to Nathan Carman. In December of 2013, his grandfather, John Chakalos, was shot dead at his home in Connecticut. Using ballistics data, police determined the gun used was likely a SIG Sauer rifle. Although Nathan claimed at the time to own only an air gun, he had purchased a SIG Sauer just a few weeks earlier. He eventually admitted to the purchase but claimed he lost the gun and only had it for his protection.
Nathan Carman’s alibi in this case also did not add up. Although he claimed to be headed to a fishing trip with his friends, there was about an hour in the middle of the night when Nathan was not seen or heard from by anyone. He claimed that he was lost when heading to the boat, and police could not disprove that statement. Police were also suspicious of Nathan discarding his computer drive and turning off the GPS. Nathan was uncooperative throughout the investigation.
A caretaker for the family also claimed that she was approached by “an associate” several weeks before the death, offering to pay her to shoot John. The caretaker never revealed who the person was, but police believe it was Nathan Carman. However, the evidence collected was entirely theoretical and circumstantial, and a judge refused to sign an arrest warrant in the case. The case remains open.
Final Thoughts
We may never actually know what happened in either of the cases Nathan Carman is potentially involved. With no one left alive to verify the exact details, only circumstantial evidence can point one way or the other. It is this factor that makes the situation debatable. Is Nathan innocent, a victim of a police force jumping to conclusions based on minimal evidence? Or is Nathan a cold-blooded killer who killed two family members purely for financial gain? Evidence could potentially point either way, and that is what makes the scenario one of the biggest modern mysteries in New England true crime.
