Judge puts off request to dismiss lawsuit in mystery deaths

NASHUA, N.H. — A New Hampshire judge has put off a decision on whether to dismiss a lawsuit accusing a Vermont man of killing his millionaire grandfather and possibly his mother to collect an inheritance.

Nathan Carman has been called a suspect in the 2013 shooting death of 87-year-old real estate developer John Chakalos in Connecticut. No one has been arrested. He also has been questioned about the day his boat sank last year near Rhode Island with his mother onboard. She's presumed dead.

RELATED: New England's Unsolved Podcast: John Chakalos

Carman has denied any involvement in either case.

His mother's three sisters sued in New Hampshire in July. Carman wants the lawsuit dismissed, saying his grandfather wasn't a resident of New Hampshire at the time of his death.

“It’s clear there are holes, not just in Nathan’s boat, but in Nathan’s story. Nathan bought a $3,000 assault rifle, the same caliber used to murder John Chakalos. He refused to tell the police about it, he refused to tell the Court in Rhode Island until Court ordered and he refused to tell the Court here in New Hampshire, claiming in his response filing that he was ‘without knowledge,'" Attorney Dan Small said. "How does a clever, calculating person like Nathan buy a $3,000 assault weapon, lose it, and then forget about it?  There are still, too many questions without answers and too many answers without justice.”

MORE: Rescue at sea turns new attention on unsolved 2013 killing

Judge David King on Friday said he take the dismissal request under advisement.

TOP STORIES:

Associated Press