Nathan Carman likely died by suicide while in jail: report

Vermont real estate heir Nathan Carman is believed to have committed suicide in jail while awaiting trial for allegedly killing his mother at sea for a $7 million inheritance, according to a new report.

Sources familiar with the investigation into the 29-year-old’s death at the Cheshire County Jail in Keene, New Hampshire, Thursday told the Boston Globe it was likely self-inflicted.

Authorities said Carman was alone in his cell when he was found unresponsive, and that his death “is not considered suspicious.”

An autopsy has been performed but Carman’s cause and manner of death have not been released as of Friday afternoon.

His two defense attorneys spoke of their shock after learning of their client’s sudden death, saying he appeared “upbeat” ahead of his October trial in federal court.

“We felt like he was going to be acquitted — this is a terrible shock,” said lawyer Martin Minnella.

Carman’s other attorney, David Sullivan, described him as being in “excellent spirits” during their final, “very productive and proactive conversation” Wednesday night, which lasted an hour.

Carman’s body was discovered inside a county jail cell in Keene at about 2:30 a.m. Thursday when officers were making their rounds, according to the Cheshire Corrections Department.

He was the sole occupant of the cell at the time.

Carman left a note for his defense team, but they did not know what it said as of Thursday afternoon, said Sullivan. Federal prosecutors told them about the note.

Carman pleaded not guilty last year to charges of fraud and first-degree murder in the killing of his mother, Linda Carman, during a fishing trip in September 2016.

Eight days after the mother and son set sail from a Rhode Island marina, Nathan was found floating alone in an inflatable raft.

He initially told the US Coast Guard that he had tried to rescue his mother when their boat sank but failed.

Prosecutors alleged in an eight-count indictment that Carman intentionally tampered with the boat to make it more likely to sink as if by accident — a claim he denied.

The indictment also said Carman shot and killed his wealthy grandfather John Chakalos as he slept in 2013, in order to obtain money and property from his grandfather’s estate.

But the indictment did not charge Carman with his grandfather’s killing, and he had consistently denied any involvement in it, instead pointing a finger at a woman he described as Chakalos’ “mistress.”

According to prosecutors, the deaths of Carman’s mother and grandfather paved the way for him to inherit an estimated $7 million — Linda Carman’s share of her father’s estate.

That inheritance remains tied up in probate court in Connecticut, where his three aunts sought to block Nathan from receiving any money from his grandfather’s estate.

The aunts said in a statement Thursday that they were “deeply saddened” to hear about his death and asked for privacy “while we process this shocking news and its impact on the tragic events surrounding the last several years.”

With Post wires