A twisted tale of two murders: Son, 29, accused of murdering his grandfather and then his mother in sick plot to inherit a multimillion-dollar fortune

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  • Nathan Carman was suspected of killing his grandfather John Chakalos in 2013
  • His mom, Linda, then went missing after the pair went fishing three years later
  • Carman, 29, denied involvement but took his own life in jail while awaiting trial 

An upcoming documentary is set to delve into the twisted tale of a son who is believed to have killed himself in jail after being accused of murdering his own mother and grandfather in a plot to inherit the family’s estate.

Nathan Carman was a suspect in grandfather John Chakalos’s death after the wealthy 87-year-old real estate developer was shot and killed in his Vermont home in 2013 – but a prosecutor rejected a warrant for his arrest pending more information.

Yet, three years later, the young man went on a fishing trip with mom Linda Carman, 54, whose body was never recovered after the boat sank off the coast of Rhode Island.

Prosecutors claimed that Carman had intentionally set out to kill his mother during the excursion – which he denied –  before the then 29-year-old took his own life while awaiting trial at the Cheshire County Jail in Keene, New Hampshire.

Here, FEMAIL has unraveled the true story as Netflix gives the green light to a documentary about what was dubbed by many at the time as ‘Murder on the High Seas.’

Nathan Carman went on a fishing trip with mom Linda Carman, 54, whose body was never recovered after the boat sank off the coast of Rhode Island

Nathan Carman went on a fishing trip with mom Linda Carman, 54, whose body was never recovered after the boat sank off the coast of Rhode Island

He was also a suspect in grandfather John Chakalos's (right) death after the wealthy 87-year-old real estate developer was shot and killed in his Vermont home in 2013

He was also a suspect in grandfather John Chakalos’s (right) death after the wealthy 87-year-old real estate developer was shot and killed in his Vermont home in 2013

The chilling case was sparked in September 2016 when Carman and his mom left to go fishing off the coast of New England on his 31-foot fishing boat named the ‘Chicken Pox.’

‘Nathan Carman planned to kill his mother on the trip,’ an indictment issued at the time read. ‘He also planned how he would report the sinking of the “Chicken Pox” and his mother’s disappearance at sea as accidents.’

Before the trip, Carman allegedly altered the boat by removing two forward bulkheads and trim tabs from the transom of the hull in order to make it more likely to sink that day.

Eight days after their departure, he was found clinging to an inflatable life raft off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard – an island off Massachusetts – by the crew of a passing freighter.

Linda was nowhere to be found and her body was never recovered.

Carman told the Coast Guard at the time that he said he heard a ‘funny noise’ in the engine compartment of the boat and then saw water pouring in.

The boat started filling quickly with water, he swam to the life raft and called for his mother but never saw her again, he claimed.

The young man denied doing anything to intentionally make the boat unseaworthy but, in 2019, a federal judge in Rhode Island decided that Carman had contributed to the sinking of the Chicken Pox.

The chilling case was sparked in September 2016 when Carman and his mother (pictured together) left to go fishing off the coast of New England on his 31-foot fishing boat

The chilling case was sparked in September 2016 when Carman and his mother (pictured together) left to go fishing off the coast of New England on his 31-foot fishing boat

Before the trip, Carman allegedly altered the boat (pictured) by removing two forward bulkheads and trim tabs from the transom of the hull in order to make it more likely to sink

Before the trip, Carman allegedly altered the boat (pictured) by removing two forward bulkheads and trim tabs from the transom of the hull in order to make it more likely to sink

US District Judge John McConnell issued a written decision in favor of an insurance company that had refused to pay out on his $85,000 claim. 

But the situation only deteriorated for Carman as the investigation unearthed a much bigger scandal.

Prosecutors alleged that his scheme to get his hands on his inheritance had begun years earlier when he purchased a rifle in New Hampshire.

It was said that he used that firearm to shoot his grandfather Chakalos, a Second World War veteran, on December 20, 2013, while he slept – just weeks after Carman’s grandmother died of cancer.

Chakalos, who was a real estate developer, left behind an estate that was worth nearly $29 million, which was to be divided among his four daughters. 

This meant that his mother would receive $7 million, which would all go to Carman in the event of her death – as he was Linda’s only heir. 

Police confirmed at the time that Carman was the last person to see Chakalos alive when he had dinner with him the night before his death.

He also owned a semi-automatic rifle similar to the one used in the killing – but the firearm disappeared.

Following his grandfather’s murder, the young man received $550,000 from two bank accounts Chakalos had set up that made him the beneficiary.

Carman moved from an apartment in Bloomfield, Connecticut, to Vernon, Vermont, in 2014.

He was unemployed much of the time, and by the fall of 2016 was low on funds when he hatched the scheme to kill his mother, prosecutors said.

Chakalos, a Second World War veteran, was shot at his home on December 20, 2013, while he slept

Chakalos, a Second World War veteran, was shot at his home on December 20, 2013, while he slept 

Carman was ultimately arrested in 2022, six years after the sinking, over the death of his mom but pleaded not guilty

Carman was ultimately arrested in 2022, six years after the sinking, over the death of his mom but pleaded not guilty

Carman had told ABC's 20/20 that he was misunderstood and an easy target for police because he suffered from Asperger's syndrome - a condition on the autism spectrum

Carman had told ABC’s 20/20 that he was misunderstood and an easy target for police because he suffered from Asperger’s syndrome – a condition on the autism spectrum

Carman was ultimately arrested in 2022, six years after the sinking, over the death of his mom.

He pleaded not guilty to fraud and first-degree murder, and was scheduled to go on trial in October. 

An eight-count indictment also said Carman shot and killed his wealthy grandfather in order to obtain money and property from Chakalos’s estate. 

But the indictment did not charge him with his grandfather’s killing, and he had consistently denied any involvement in the two deaths. 

Carman had told ABC’s 20/20 that he was misunderstood and an easy target for police because he suffered from Asperger’s syndrome – a condition on the autism spectrum. 

However, his former high school classmates painted a more disturbing picture.

They claimed that during Halloween in 2009 a parent of a trick-or-treater called police because he had been handing out Ziploc bags filled with fish guts. 

Carman had also held a fellow student hostage at knife point while in school and wrote extensively about how to construct homemade bombs, police documents previously revealed. 

He was awaiting trial when he was found dead in a county jail cell.

His death was ruled ‘not suspicious’ – meaning investigators determined no one else was involved, with no crime committed.

The AG refused to release an exact cause and manner of death for the suspect – citing a policy that states officials will not release such information in non-suspect cases.