Netflix’s newest documentary, The Carman Household Deaths, revisits September 17, 2016, when 54-year-old Linda Carman and her 22-year-old son, Nathan, set sail on the latter’s boat, Hen Pox, to spend the night time on the water. When Linda went lacking at sea and Nathan was rescued after eight days adrift, many questions arose about what actually occurred.
The case was linked to the unsolved demise of Linda’s father, millionaire actual property developer John Chakalos, who was shot in his Connecticut residence in 2013. Because the final individual to see his grandfather alive, Nathan grew to become a spotlight of investigations amid suspicions involving the household’s $42 million property and inheritance disputes.
Identified with autism as a baby, Nathan’s account of mechanical failure conflicted with proof of skipped security checks and household tensions, together with stories of abuse and management points. A case of grief and authorized battles, The Carman Household Deaths explores privilege shadowed by suspicion.
The Carman Household Deaths: A short household background
John Chakalos, a self-made actual property developer from Connecticut, was the supply of the Carman household’s wealth. Born in 1936, Chakalos raised 4 daughters, together with Linda Carman, and collected a fortune exceeding $42 million by actual property developments in Windsor. Linda, born within the Sixties, married Clark Carman within the Nineteen Eighties. Their son, Nathan, was born in 1994.
After the couple’s fast divorce, Nathan was primarily raised by Linda in Vermont and Connecticut. Regardless of the breakup, Clark remained concerned in Nathan’s life, later describing household life as strained by emotional and monetary difficulties, in line with CNN.
Regardless of his privileged upbringing, Nathan confronted private challenges. As a baby, he was recognized with Asperger’s syndrome, now categorized as a part of autism spectrum dysfunction, which affected his social abilities and friendships. He shaped a robust bond together with his grandfather, who handled him like a popular inheritor, funding an condominium and sharing meals.
Chakalos’s affection contrasted with tensions at residence; Linda developed a playing behavior and collected money owed, and stories indicated family arguments and problems with management. In 2011, Linda confronted assault expenses after an altercation along with her father over Nathan’s care. Nonetheless, the case was dismissed on self-defense grounds, as proven in The Carman Household Deaths.
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The Carman Household Deaths: The unsolved homicide of John Chakalos
John Chakalos, 76, was discovered useless in his Windsor, Connecticut residence on December 20, 2013, after being shot 3 times within the head and again. There was no proof of pressured entry or stolen items, suggesting that the killer was somebody he knew.
Chakalos, a millionaire with an property valued at over $42 million, left his fortune to his daughters, together with Linda, together with his grandchildren as contingent beneficiaries. After eating with Chakalos the night time earlier than, Nathan, who was 19 on the time, was the final individual seen with him.
Nathan had purchased an assault rifle in the identical caliber, .223, because the homicide weapon, however he claimed to have forgotten and later misplaced it, in line with investigators. He erased knowledge from his laptop’s exhausting drive across the similar time. Police drafted an arrest warrant for Nathan, however hesitated as a result of a scarcity of possible trigger.
Linda handed a polygraph check and was not thought of a suspect, though her playing points raised questions on her motives, as reported by Biography. The killing strained household ties, with kin questioning Nathan’s involvement, given his shut connection to Chakalos. Windsor’s Chilly Case Unit continued investigating, however no arrests have been made.
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The Carman Household Deaths: The fateful fishing journey and the disappearance of Linda Carman
On September 17, 2016, Linda and Nathan departed from Ram Level Marina in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, round 11 pm for an in a single day fishing journey aboard the 31-foot boat, Hen Pox. It was a well-known outing for the duo, who steadily went fishing collectively. The following day, associates reported them lacking after Linda did not test in.
The U.S. Coast Guard launched a search overlaying roughly 62,000 sq. nautical miles however ended it on September 24, presuming the boat was misplaced at sea. On September 25, a Chinese language freighter noticed Nathan in a life raft about 100 miles south of Martha’s Winery. Dehydrated however alive, he was transported to Boston for questioning, in line with CNN.
Nathan recounted listening to a noise from the engine, noticing water flooding the boat, and witnessing it sink immediately as he grabbed a security bag. He mentioned he known as out for Linda however noticed no signal of her amid the chaos. The vessel was by no means recovered, and Linda’s physique stays lacking.
Initially, police thought of it an accident, however later particulars emerged: Nathan skipped pre-trip security checks, took a riskier offshore route, and had just lately put in an ill-fitting anchor chain. Ocean currents additionally didn’t match his drift path, transferring eastward as an alternative of westward, in line with CNN.
Family and friends reunited with Nathan, however his alleged composed demeanor throughout interviews raised early suspicions, particularly contemplating his autism analysis. He filed an $85,000 insurance coverage declare for the boat, which was later denied. This incident rapidly drew comparisons to the 2013 homicide, resulting in renewed scrutiny, as reported by Biography.
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Investigations, expenses, and Nathan’s demise in The Carman Household Deaths
Federal probes by the Coast Guard, FBI, and native police linked the ocean incident to Chakalos’s homicide, specializing in inheritance because the motive. Nathan stood to inherit thousands and thousands if Linda died earlier than accessing her share, which was blocked by household controls. Proof included his pre-trip modifications to the boat and inconsistent statements.
On Might 10, 2022, Nathan, then 28, was arrested in Vernon, Vermont, and indicted in federal courtroom for first-degree homicide on the excessive seas, together with fraud associated to insurance coverage and property schemes. He pleaded not responsible, claiming the sinking was unintentional and denying involvement in his grandfather’s demise, in line with Biography.
Prosecutors argued he staged the boat failure to kill Linda and declare the insurance coverage funds. A trial was scheduled for October 2023, however by no means proceeded. On June 15, 2023, jail employees discovered Nathan unresponsive in his cell at Cheshire County Jail in Keene, New Hampshire. Regardless of efforts together with CPR and defibrillation, he was pronounced useless at 28.
An post-mortem decided the demise was non-suspicious, presumably as a result of pure causes or overdose; a be aware with case particulars was discovered, but it surely was not thought of a suicide message. Prices had been dismissed posthumously, as reported by Biography.
Household reactions assorted; some aunts expressed reduction amid their grief, whereas the estates entered probate amid ongoing disputes, as proven in The Carman Household Deaths. The investigation into Chakalos’s homicide continues with out decision.
The Carman Household Deaths was launched on Netflix on November 19, 2025.
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Edited by Shreya Das
