Nathan Carman trial: Lobster boat captain says he saw no sign of Carman’s boat or life raft
"I knew his boat personally because I thought it was an attractive boat," Aucoin said. "I would have remembered a life raft because I would have gone to assist it."
Aucoin took the stand on the fourth day of Carman's federal civil trial where two insurance companies are fighting his effort to recoup
The boat, the Chicken Pox, sank and his mother,
There's been intense interest in the insurance trial because Carman's three aunts have accused him of murdering his grandfather
Police in
Aucoin, the fisherman who testified at the trial Friday, said he trawled for lobster throughout
Aucoin told the judge he would have recognized Carman's boat because they sailed out of the same marina and he was sure he didn't see it that day.
Attorneys for the insurance companies believe Aucoin, who was only recently located, raises questions about Carman's story of where the boat sank.
Carman told
Aucoin has been lobstering for 17 years and his testimony broke up what was mostly a day of experts providing more technical testimony about the changes Carman made to his boat the day before the trip.
The first witness Friday was
Klopman said Carman removed the boat's trim tabs and improperly sealed holes he created in the hull.
"It doesn't make any sense to me. It was an unnecessary repair made the day before the boat was going offshore," Klopman testified. "It leaves you with holes in the boat just above the water line."
Klopman also testified that he wasn't sure why Carman purchased a fiberglass repair kit and then didn't use it to repair the holes he made when removing the trim tabs.
"The instructions are very clear and all laid out but it appears he just ignored them," Klopman said. Trim tabs provide stability and control for a boat.
Carman stuffed the trim tab holes with paper towels and filled it in with an epoxy.
"There's no proper repair of a boat where putty would be used to repair a hole near the water line," Klopman said. "If I saw that I'd tell the boat owner to take the boat out of the water."
The insurance companies' other expert witness, naval architect
"It was a woefully inadequate way of filling those holes," Greene said.
Greene also cast doubt on Carman's story that the Chicken Pox sank so fast he barely had a chance to grab emergency gear let alone find his mother.
After his rescue,
But Greene said it would take very unusual circumstances for the Chicken Pox to sink quickly.
"I don't see anyway this boat could rapidly sink short of striking a huge object in the ocean or a rogue wave going over the top of it," Greene told the judge.
Greene will return to the witness stand Wednesday when the trial resumes. Carman is also expected to be called as a witness Wednesday.
McConnell, the judge, barred evidence related to Carman's grandfather's murder from being introduced at the trial. Chakalos was found in his
In June, a probate judge in
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