Nathan Carman died in jail in 2023 before standing trial on allegations he killed his grandfather and mother — both Connecticut residents — in an alleged plot to inherit millions of dollars, leaving the door open as to whether he was the 29-year-old greedy, murderous man prosecutors portrayed him as or simply wrongly accused.

At least one person involved in the case believes there is overwhelming evidence to tie up any loose ends and give the public answers, which could come out in an ABC “20/20” special airing on Friday night.

“It seems that of the hundreds of articles and books that have been written … it seems like most of them sort of leave a reasonable doubt as to whether he really did (it),” David Farrell, who interviewed Carman for hours as part of an insurance investigation, told the Courant. “And I really don’t think there is that reasonable doubt. I think it’s pretty clear — or very clear.”

Nathan Carman dies awaiting trial for his mother’s death in 2016 fishing trip off New England

Farrell was one of several people interviewed for the special on Carman entitled “Family Lies,” which is set to air Friday at 9 p.m.

Carman died in jail in New Hampshire in an apparent suicide in June 2023, months before he was expected to go to trial in the death of his mother, Linda Carman of Middletown, who was never seen again after going on a fishing trip with her son in September 2016 off the coast of Rhode Island. Nathan Carman was found floating in a raft eight days after taking off from a marina and said his mother had disappeared when his boat sank.

In an eight-count indictment that later came down, federal prosecutors said they believed Nathan Carman killed his wealthy grandfather, John Chakalos, who was shot and killed before being found in his Windsor home in 2013, according to the Associated Press. Though prosecutors made the allegation in the indictment, Nathan Carman was not charged in his grandfather’s death, the AP reported.

After receiving $550,000 as the beneficiary of two bank accounts set up by his grandfather, Nathan Carman moved from Bloomfield to Vermont. By 2016, prosecutors alleged that he was low on funds and set up the fishing trip with his mother in a plot to inherit the $7 million share she had of Chakalos’ estate, according to the AP. Prosecutors alleged that he intentionally sank his own boat, named the “Chicken Pox,” as part of the inheritance plot. Nathan Carman denied involvement in both deaths and had pleaded not guilty before his death.

Nathan Carman set off on a fishing trip with his 54-year-old mother Linda Carman of Middletown in September 2016. He was found a week later on an inflatable life raft 100 miles off the coast of Massachusetts but his mother had died in a “terrible tragedy.”

Farrell, a maritime lawyer based in Chatham, Massachusetts, said he interviewed Nathan Carman for hours as part of the insurance claim he filed seeking $85,000 for the loss of his boat — a claim rejected by insurers. During the interview, Farrell said he uncovered tons of evidence that was later subpoenaed by federal investigators and used as part of the basis for the indictment charging the 29-year-old in his mother’s death.

The most damning piece of evidence, Farrell said, stems from Nathan Carman’s account of how and where his boat sank. According to Farrell, he told officials the boat sank bow-first without any time to call for help over his radio, give his mother a lifejacket or even exchange any words with her about the sinking.

“It’s absolutely ludicrous,” Farrell said, adding that the particular type of 31-foot boat he had would have gone stern-first and left at least have enough time for him and his mother to discuss what was happening.

Additionally, Farrell said, the account of him drifting for about a week at sea against the wind and in the opposite direction of the current, ending up where he did before he was rescued, made no sense.

“It didn’t happen,” Farrell said. “It is impossible. Every single one of those days he said he was drifting at sea was a lie.”

Nathan Carman after he is picked up by the crew of the freighter Orient Lucky on Sept. 25, 2016.

Farrell said he believes Nathan Carman operated the boat for several days until after the Coast Guard called off the search and rescue efforts and “snuck it up” to be in line with the course of an oncoming ship, sinking it there and jumping into a life raft. According to Farrell, he uncovered other evidence of how he believes he killed his mother, though he said those details would appear in his book and he did not wish to divulge them.

Had he never filed an insurance claim on his sunken boat, Farrell speculates that Nathan Carman might never have been caught.

“One of the stupidest things he ever did was make an insurance claim,” Farrell said.

“I think he would have (gotten away with it),” he said, adding that investigators were never able to obtain a warrant charging him in Chakalos’ death and took several years to charge him in the death of his mother.

The “20/20” special set to air should have a lot of new information, said Farrell, who underwent an extensive interview as part of it.

“I thought they asked very intelligent questions and had a pretty good grasp on things,” he said.

Farrell was also interviewed for an upcoming Netflix special on the Carman story. The untitled production, which was announced in February 2024, is expected to be released this year.

“I think there was a lot of public interest in the Hartford area to begin with, with the murder of the grandfather in 2013, and then it just completely gets exponentially wilder when Nathan’s mother went missing too,” Farrell said. “And now he’s in line for millions in an inheritance.”

Despite the extensive coverage the case has received, Farrell said most reports leave it open for interpretation whether or not Nathan Carman was guilty. In his mind, however, the evidence is clear.

“That’s why I wanted to write a book,” Farrell said. “To set the record straight. There never was a final outcome with the criminal trial.

“If you’re an outsider looking in you don’t have access to all the information that I had that was obtained through the course of litigation. I’m the one that has the evidence,” he continued. “Nobody else has access to the evidence. Nobody else knows the testimony, the expert witnesses that we assembled.”

Originally Published: April 4, 2025 at 5:00 AM EDT