Woman Mysteriously Lost At Sea Involved In Family Squabbles Over Money
WINDSOR, Conn. (CBS) -- A lawyer representing a Connecticut woman lost at sea says the family had squabbled over money, and that she always defended her son.
Linda Carman's son, Nathan Carman, was rescued off the coast of Martha's Vineyard this week. He is now the subject of a federal investigation spanning four New England states.
A freighter discovered him in a life raft he said he'd been in for more than a week after his boat capsized. Nathan, who has Asperger's Syndrome, said his mother disappeared during the ordeal. The Coast Guard says she is presumed dead.
Nathan has also been at the center of an investigation into his grandfather's unsolved murder nearly three years ago. John Chakalos, whose will says he was worth nearly $44 million, was found shot to death in his Windsor, Connecticut home. Nathan Carman was the last known person to see him alive.
"She was insistent that her son was not capable of murder," said Linda's Hartford attorney, Gerald Klein. "She explained to me in detail why there was no financial motive, that Nathan was going to inherit eventually what he was going to get, and the death of his then 87-year-old grandfather didn't expedite any financial benefit to him."
In fact it was Linda Carman who had confrontations with her father in the past. In 2011, Hartford Police accused her of assaulting her father when he threatened to stop giving her money.
The police report said, "Linda stated 'My father is worth 300 million and I want my share. He is not going to cut me off I need money." The report said the argument became physical. "John stated that he was struck upon his head multiple times with Linda's closed fists and also was being kicked at the same time by Linda." The case was dismissed.
"Like a lot of families, there have been disputes about money," said Klein, who also represented Linda Carman when she was a suspect in her father's murder. He said police moved on when she passed a lie detector test, something her son Nathan refused to take.