Testimony complete in Nathan Carman civil trial

In Providence federal court Friday, Nathan Carman took the stand for his second and final day of testimony.

 

While the trial is about insurance money, Carman spoke on the stand about his mother’s disappearance. 

 

He recounted that fateful trip where his boat named “Chicken Pox”, shipwrecked off the coast of Long Island.

 

While 100 miles out at sea, Carman said he noticed his boat filling with water, and gave his mom a task to pull in the fishing lines because he knew she would panic.

 

He said in that situation she was, “more of a problem than a solution.”

 

When the boat went under, he said he didn’t call out for his mother right away. He waited until he was on the liferaft to start yelling out her name, and says he did so until nightfall. 

 

Judge John McConnell asked Carman if he ever dove into the water to search for his mother, Carman replied “no, I didn’t.”

 

Linda Carman’s body was never found. 

 

Carman says he floated on the raft for a week until being rescued. The insurance companies called two expert witnesses to the stand, one of them was oceanographer Richard Limeburner.

 

He testified that there was no way Carman floated from where he said he sank off Long Island, all the way to off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard where he was rescued.

 

Saying, “I don’t see how a drifting life raft can drift upwind or upstream.”

 

After the testimonies were complete, Carmines aunts issued a statement saying in part, “Even during this very limited trial, multiple witnesses still provided important testimony refuting Nathan‘s account of what happened at sea nearly three years ago.”

 

No word on when closing arguments will be taking place or when the judge will be delivering a verdict.

 

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