The circumstantial evidence against Nathan Carman had been lying in plain sight for years before his surprising indictment and arrest this month on allegations he killed his mother at sea off New England in a plot to inherit millions of dollars.
Federal prosecutors in Vermont are not commenting on the timing of their decision to put the case before a grand jury, and the indictment offers no clues and no new information on the case, which included a dramatic rescue at sea and the suspicious deaths of two members of a wealthy New England family.
Legal experts and other law enforcement officials say the delay in bringing a criminal case could be the result of several factors, including that his mother and his boat have never been found.
“It’s very difficult to charge murder federally ... so I think what the government has been doing for the last six years is to build its case to charge him with mail fraud and wire fraud,” said Jessica Brown, a former state and federal public defender who is now an assistant professor at Vermont Law School.
The grand jury indictment accuses Carman, 28, of Vernon, Vermont, of murder and fraud in the killing of his mother, Linda Carman, during a fishing trip that began in Rhode Island. Carman made international headlines when he was found alone in a life raft near Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, eight days after he and his mother left port.
The indictment also accuses him of fatally shooting his millionaire grandfather, John Chakalos, in 2013 in Connecticut, but does not charge him with that killing. He has repeatedly denied any involvement in both deaths.
Federal prosecutors say their deaths paved the way for Carman to inherit an estimated $7 million — his mother’s share of Chakalos’ estate. The inheritance remains tied up in probate court in Connecticut, where his mother's three sisters are seeking to bar Carman from receiving any money from his grandfather’s estate.
Seven of the eight counts in the indictment are charges related to what prosecutors allege were fraudulent efforts to get money from his grandfather’s estate or insurance companies. The other count accuses Carman of killing his mother.
Vermont U.S. Attorney Nikolas Kerest, through a spokesperson, declined to comment on the case.
Chairman Imran Khan addressed the protesters at Islamabad's 9th Avenue on Thursday morning and gave a six-day deadline to the government for announcing elections and dissolving assemblies and warned that he would return to the capital with the "entire nation" otherwise.
"I had decided that I will sit here until the government dissolves assemblies and announces elections, but of what I have seen in the past 24 hours, they (govt) are taking the nation towards anarchy," he said, claiming that the government was also trying to create a divide between the nation and police.
Imran said the government would be happy if he staged a sit-in in Islamabad as it would lead to clashes between the people and police and the army.
He denounced the "tactics" used by the "imported government", including raids and arrests, to stop the PTI's march and thanked the Supreme Court (SC) for taking notice of the matter.
Imran said there was a "huge responsibility" on SC judges, as he went on to ask where in a democracy peaceful protests were not allowed and demonstrators had to face tear-gas shelling, police raids and arrests.
He claimed that five PTI protesters were killed in clashes after the PTI's march, saying that one had fallen off the Attock bridge amid tear-gas shelling and the other was pushed into Ravi river. He said he had also received information that three were killed in Karachi.
Addressing the SC, he asked, "What crime were we committing?" He said he "wants justice for the people of Pakistan from Supreme Court judges and the lawyers' community".
"I am again asking the judiciary to save your FIA (Federal Investigation Agency). In the future, no FIA officer will investigate the powerful if he will meet the same end as Dr Rizwan and Asghar," he added. Imran said peaceful protest was the right of every Pakistan and no one "gives you (the government) to treat the people in the manner that you treated them".
The PTI chief said he and the entire nation was looking towards the judiciary after what had happened during the past 48 hours.
He lauded female PTI protesters for participating in the "struggle for real freedom". He further lauded the protesters for their stamina and patriotism.
However, the magistrate said that the photograph submitted to the court did not show such an order but that he was having a cordial discussion with the suspect and proceeding with the procession.
A normal Monday morning on the 9th of May 2022, turned into a scene of chaos after pro-government supporters attacked the MynaGoGama protest site near Temple Trees following a meeting chaired by then-Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The meeting at Temple Trees was organized by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Local Government Members Forum and saw hundreds in attendance.
Following this meeting, the pro-government supporters attacked the MynaGoGama protest site near Temple Trees and dismantled the camp.
Thereafter, they moved to the main protest site in Galle Face known as GotaGoGama and destroyed several tents, and assaulted peaceful protestors.
Sri Lanka Police, the Riot Police, Sri Lanka Army, and other law enforcement agencies were called in to control the situation and Sri Lanka Police eventually imposed an island-wide curfew to control the unrest.
Following investigations, the MPs and several other local government members were arrested for their involvement in the attacks on the protest sites.
After Imran's speech PTI protesters holding a demonstration at Karachi's Numaish had dispersed peacefully. Later, the PTI lauded that "bravery of marchers who stayed despite shelling and tear gas attacks".
"But most celebrated thing was breaking barriers to get to D-Chowk; we defeated them!" the party said in a tweet.
The PTI chairman had entered Islamabad in the early hours of Thursday and marched towards D-Chowk, while the federal government authorised the deployment of the army in Red Zone to "protect important government buildings".
Later, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry tweeted that Imran would be addressing the protesters at the Centaurus bridge.
With Imran's convoy, which began the journey from Swabi's Wali Interchange, en route to D-Chowk via the Srinagar Highway, a batch of his party workers and supporters are already present in the face of intense police shelling.
Earlier, during a brief stopover in Hasan Abdal approximately 50 kilometres away from the capital, Imran reiterated that he and his supporters would not vacate D-Chowk until a date for new elections was announced by the "imported government".
The PTI leader claimed that when his caravan reaches its destination, the police would also come to realise that his mission is about "jihad and not politics". Later, a video shared on PTI's official account showed police officials waving and welcoming Imran's caravan on its way to D-Chowk.
The PTI's march towards the D-Chowk and the shelling of teargas by police took place despite the Supreme Court directives for the former to hold its protest in Islamabad's H-9 area and orders for the government to not make arrests or use force in connection with the march.
Earlier, as the PTI's Azadi March began, tensions in Punjab rose after police made use of tear gas and arrested several PTI marchers in cities across the province as activists attempted to remove shipping containers blocking routes to Islamabad.
Senior journalist Hamir Mir, on his Twitter account, claimed to have received a message from PTI leader Dr Shireen Mazari in which she claimed that the tear gas fired on women and children by the police was "expired".
"Use of expired tear gas is not only violation of court orders but it’s a terrorism against Pakistani citizens by Rana Sanaullah," he quoted Mazari as saying. Mazari retweeted Mir's tweet in an apparent confirmation of her claim.
