Man Whose Relatives Died Mysteriously Must Give Gun Info
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A Vermont man whose mother and grandfather died in mysterious circumstances must turn over information related to a missing gun, as well as phone and other records, in a Rhode Island lawsuit over insurance on his sunken boat.
Nathan Carman must turn over the information about a Sig Sauer .308-caliber semi-automatic rifle he owned, U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia Sullivan said Friday. That weapon is now missing, according to documents filed in a different lawsuit in New Hampshire. The documents say the same caliber weapon was used to kill Carman's millionaire grandfather in Connecticut in 2013.
But Sullivan rejected a request by the boat's insurer to get information about other guns Carman may have owned, saying it was "sheer speculation" for them to ask for records about every firearm Carman might have ever owned or possessed.
Carman and his mother, Linda, embarked on a fishing trip out of Rhode Island on Sept. 17, 2016. The boat sank and she is presumed dead. He was rescued a week later after being found floating on a life raft in the Atlantic Ocean.
The judge said Carman must turn over phone records from Sept. 1 through Sept. 25, 2016, the day he was rescued.
Carman and the insurer for his boat, the Chicken Pox, are fighting over his insurance claim.
Carman has acknowledged patching some holes on the 31-foot-long boat with marine putty before going fishing with his mother but insisted the boat was seaworthy. In a filing on Thursday, the insurer's lawyers alleged that Carman must have enlarged the holes in his boat's hull.
"No wonder the boat sank and Carman's mother died," the filing said.
Carman's lawyer said he would not address "unsupported allegations" or engage in "litigation in the press" when asked about the assertions about the holes after Friday's hearing.
The New Hampshire lawsuit was brought by Linda Carman's three sisters, who accuse her son of killing his grandfather, real estate developer John Chakalos, and possibly his mother. Police have previously described Carman as a person of interest in Chakalos' slaying.
Nathan Carman has denied allegations that he killed Chakalos, and said he doesn't know the whereabouts of his mother.
Chakalos left more than $29 million to his four daughters, and $7 million of that money could go to Nathan Carman. The sisters have asked the New Hampshire judge to block him from collecting any money.
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