A New England man, taken to court by his aunts to stop him inheriting his family’s estate, has refused to take a lie detector test on numerous occasions. Representing himself in the civil case he has also invoked the 5th Amendment when questioned by the plaintiffs’ attorney.
This case is interesting in that the police have not prosecuted Nathan Carman for two deaths that remain unsolved.
The murder of millionaire John Chakalos occurred in 2013. He was Carman’s grandfather whose fortune was made in real estate. He died as a result of being shot with a rifle at his residence in Connecticut. Coincidentally, Carman owns a rifle of the same calibre that killed his grandfather. Carman remains a suspect in the investigation which is now considered to be a ‘cold case’.
Linda Carman, Nathan’s mother, is missing (presumed dead) since she went on a boat trip with Nathan in 2016. Carman was himself rescued 8 days after the trip began drifting in a life jacket.
Motive for murder
The aunts’ contention is that Carman had a motive for murdering his relatives and as such should not benefit from an inheritance worth $7 million. Conversely he alleges that the plaintiffs have a greater motive but hasn’t substantiated the claim.
Carman has so far dispensed with the services of his lawyers despite Judge David King advising him against conducting his own defence. Carman currently is attempting to sell his home in Vermont so that he can afford new attorneys. In the video below you can hear the advice the judge gave to the defendant:
Refused to take a lie detector test or answer questions
The lawyer representing the family inferred that not answering pertinent questions and the fact Carman refused to take a lie detector test was not the action of someone who was concerned about his grandfather. Nor was it the conduct, he alleged, of someone who wanted to discover who murdered him.
The questions Carman would not answer related to his rifle and financial papers that might highlight his role in the tragedy.
So does the fact that he refused to take a lie detector test suggest to you that he is guilty?
Reasons people might refuse a polygraph test
Polygraph machines do not detect lies. They measure physiological reactions including respiration, heart rate and perspiration among other things. Somebody who is already nervous about a test might think they will fail. This is not true because a qualified examiner will take into account that a subject is nervous. Lie detector tests can take hours to undergo.
A subject will be put at ease by an experienced polygraph examiner and taken through a series of structured questions. These will include questions that are not related to the matter in hand as well as those to determine deceit.
Another reason may be the fear that results from the test may be used to incriminate the subject. And lastly, the person may indeed be guilty and of course they know it
