How did Nathan Carman die? Vermont real estate heir accused of killing his mom over inheritance found dead in prison 

Nathan Carman, a Vermont real estate heir accused of killing his mother at sea over his inheritance in 2016, was found dead in his prison cell at the Cheshire County Jail in Keene, New Hampshire, on Thursday, June 15, while awaiting trial. Authorities said that he was alone in his cell when he was found unresponsive early Thursday morning.

While investigators have yet to officially disclose the 29-year-old’s cause of death, a source close to the investigation told New Haven Register that family members were informed that Carman died by suicide. The Department of Justice reportedly informed the family and his attorneys that Carman’s death was not deemed suspicious as they determined he had most likely taken his own life.

According to one of his lawyers, David Sullivan, authorities seemed to have arrived at the conclusion after they discovered a note in his cell. While the contents of the said note were kept under wraps, Sullivan said his client may have left an explanation before committing suicide. In a statement to New Haven Register, he said:

"We believe Mr Carman left us a note that we look forward to receiving to make sense of a very tragic situation."

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Lawyer says Nathan Carman was in "excellent spirits" before he was found dead in his jail cell

Briefly detailing the circumstances surrounding Nathan Carman’s death, Cheshire County Corrections Superintendent Douglas Iosue said the suspect, a sole occupant of his jail cell, was pronounced dead 40 minutes after he was found unresponsive by personnel conducting routine rounds at 2:20 am on Thursday.

Carman’s lawyer David Sullivan, who met with his client to discuss his case on Wednesday, described him as being in “excellent spirits” during their “productive” conversation about the trial as they believed he would be acquitted of the charges leveled against him.

Nathan Carman was indicted in May 2022 on charges of fraud and first-degree murder in the killing of his mother, Linda Carman. The charges were brought against him nearly six years after he told investigators his mother was lost at sea while the two were on a fishing trip off Block Island in a boat in 2016. His mother’s remains were never found.

Carman is also suspected of killing his grandfather, John Chakalos, who was fatally shot in 2013. While Carman was not charged in the incident due to lack of evidence tying him to the death, prosecutors argued that the accused killed both of them in an apparent scheme to gain the family's fortune of over $40 million.

The fortune has since been tied up in probate court in Connecticut, where his aunts sought to block Nathan Carman from receiving his inheritance from the family’s estate.

In response to Nathan Crama’s death, the aunts said that they were “deeply saddened” to hear of his passing and asked for privacy while they “process this shocking news and its impact on the tragic events surrounding the last several years.”

Carman, who pleaded not guilty last year, was set to go to trial in October 2023.