Lawyers blast man whose mom was lost at sea in "curious sinking"

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Insurance company lawyers on Monday blasted a Vermont man whose mother was lost at sea, saying he made suspicious alterations to his boat before what they called its "most curious sinking."

Lawyers for Nathan Carman's insurance company said in documents filed in federal court that the Vernon man is refusing to cooperate as they investigate his claim for his boat, which sank during a fishing trip he and his mother, Linda Carman, took out of Rhode Island in September 2016.

"With missing evidence, including Nathan Carman's mother and his suspicious structural alterations and repairs to his boat, plus its most curious sinking off the continental shelf, defendant's pre-litigation testimony on these topics is critical evidence here," lawyers for the National Liability and Fire Insurance Co. wrote.

Nathan Carman's lawyers didn't immediately return messages seeking comment Monday. According to documents filed with the court, his lawyers have said the insurance company is asking questions that are overly broad and not relevant to his claim. 

Monday's filing said Carman is refusing to confirm that testimony he gave under oath as part of the insurance investigation in December is true and accurate. The insurance company lawyers wrote that his objections "are evasive and not in good faith."

Carman's mother is presumed dead.

Police have said Carman is a person of interest in the 2013 slaying of his millionaire grandfather, who was found fatally shot at his home in Windsor, Connecticut, in 2013. Carman's aunts have sued in New Hampshire to try to block him from collecting an inheritance. The grandfather, real estate developer John Chakalos, left more than $42 million to his four daughters. Carman has denied involvement in his grandfather's death.