Inside the Twisty True Story of The Carman Family Deaths

Nathan Carman was long suspected of killing his mother and grandfather, but he insisted he was innocent until his death by suicide in 2023.

Netflix’s documentary The Carman Family Deaths, released Nov. 19, takes a deeper look at Nathan, the Carman family’s tensions, and the two deaths that upended their lives—presenting new details and unanswered questions surrounding each case.

Nathan’s grandfather, 87-year-old John Chakalos, was shot at close range in his home in Windsor, Connecticut, in December 2013. Nearly three years later, in September 2016, Nathan and his mother, Linda Carman, set out on his fishing boat, Chicken Pox. The boat allegedly sank offshore. Linda was never found and is presumed dead; Nathan was rescued from a life raft eight days later.

Six years after Linda disappeared, prosecutors charged Nathan with her murder. They also alleged he killed John—a wealthy real estate developer estimated to be worth about $42 million—in order to gain early access to his inheritance, according to NBC News.

Nathan, who had been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome (now considered part of Autism Spectrum Disorder), denied killing either relative. Still, he expressed guilt about inviting his mother on the trip, telling ABC News, “If I hadn’t asked my mom to go fishing with me that weekend, she would still be alive with me today.” About his grandfather, he told the Associated Press, “My grandfather was like a father to me… I loved him and he loved me, and I had absolutely nothing to do with his death.”

Here is what investigators, family members, and experts say happened—and what remains unclear.

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Nathan struggled with mental health for years

Nathan’s father, Clark Carman, said in the documentary that Nathan was diagnosed with autism around age 4. After the death of a beloved horse during his teens, Nathan reportedly withdrew from family life and began living in a camper on the property, refusing to come inside.

Clark and Linda sent him to a therapeutic camp in Utah, hoping to help. Clark said Nathan returned home in crisis and was placed on a psychiatric hold. After his release, he again isolated himself in the camper.

Linda’s best friend, Linda Gam, and her sister Charlene Gallagher claimed John Chakalos never fully accepted Nathan’s mental illness, despite a family history of mental health issues. Gam said John didn’t understand Nathan’s autism and frequently challenged Linda and Clark over treatment and appointments. She added that Linda feared her father’s growing influence over Nathan, but over time, that influence increased.

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Nathan bought a gun shortly before John was killed

In an April 2025 episode of 20/20, former Windsor Police Lieutenant Christopher McKee said ballistics suggested the killer likely used a SIG Sauer rifle.

When first asked whether he owned guns, Nathan reportedly said he had only an air gun. Investigators later learned he had bought a SIG Sauer rifle in New Hampshire weeks before John’s murder. Nathan told detectives he had “lost” the gun and didn’t know where it was. The rifle has never been recovered.

Police also alleged Nathan discarded his computer hard drive and his vehicle’s GPS device the morning after John was killed, according to the Hartford Courant.

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A disputed timeline may have given Nathan an alibi

John was murdered on Dec. 20, 2013. Police said Nathan could not fully account for the one-hour window between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., when they believe the shooting occurred.

Nathan said he was supposed to meet his mother for a 3 a.m. fishing trip. He claimed he left late, got lost, made navigation mistakes, and had to turn around more than once. His phone was inactive until 4:01 a.m.

However, a witness suggested the shots may have been fired around 2 a.m.—when Nathan was still at home. Defense attorney David Sullivan said a neighbor believed she heard gunshots at 2 a.m., and that surveillance video supported Nathan’s location at that time. Wired journalist Evan Lubofsky noted in the documentary that if the neighbor’s timing was right, Nathan’s alibi becomes significant.

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The defense floated a different suspect: Linda

In Casey Sherman’s 2025 book Blood in the Water, one of Nathan’s attorneys, Martin Minnella, said he discovered a text Linda allegedly sent before John’s death saying she wanted to “blow her father’s f—— head off.”

Minnella argued Linda may have had motive, claiming that John had recently required family members to sign promissory notes to repay at least $30 million removed from family trusts.

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Experts questioned Nathan’s account of the boat sinking

When Nathan was rescued eight days after the Chicken Pox went down, South Kingstown Police deputy chief Alfred Bucco III interviewed him, per ABC News.

Nathan told Bucco that he and Linda loaded bait from his truck into a cooler on the boat. Bucco, however, said the bait was still in the truck afterward, which raised doubts. Nathan also confirmed the pair had planned to go to Block Island but instead headed to the Block Canyon area, 60–70 miles farther offshore.

Coast Guard investigator Eric Gempp said Block Canyon is not a typical destination for an inexperienced boater without serious preparation.

Nathan said the boat began taking on water, and he tried fixing the issue without alarming his mother. He didn’t call for help because he believed they were too far out for anyone to hear a distress call. He claimed the boat gave way beneath them, he lost sight of Linda immediately, and the vessel drifted east. Oceanographer Richard Limeburner later said the currents that day would have pushed the boat in the opposite direction.

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Investigators doubted he spent eight full days on the raft

Gempp said Nathan’s physical condition seemed unusually strong for someone who had been adrift for a week near the continental shelf. He noted the lack of expected dehydration or hypothermia symptoms and said Nathan moved with surprising strength during rescue.

Defense expert and retired Navy SEAL Mike Sarraille suggested adrenaline might explain Nathan’s endurance.

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The insurance claim intensified scrutiny

Soon after being rescued, Nathan filed an $85,000 insurance claim for the lost boat. The insurer later sued him, and maritime investigator Liam O’Connell said that claim prompted deeper investigation.

A witness then reported seeing Nathan drilling holes into the stern and removing trim tabs at the marina before the trip. A judge ultimately ruled the boat sank due to faulty repairs—without deciding whether any damage was intentional—and the insurance claim was denied.

The insurer shared its evidence with federal investigators. In May 2022, Nathan was arrested and charged with murder and fraud. FBI agent Lisa Tutty alleged Nathan had plotted for years to become John’s sole beneficiary, then killed both John and Linda to collect his inheritance early. Nathan’s attorneys denied the accusation.

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Nathan refused to cooperate with police

Authorities said they found a handwritten essay in Nathan’s vehicle titled “Why I Am Reluctant to Cooperate With Police.” In it, he complained of being emotionally overwhelmed, rejected the idea that he should have to prove innocence, called police corrupt, and wrote that a lawyer advised him to stay silent.

He also refused a polygraph test that other family members took after John’s death, according to CBS News. Investigators claimed that during one interview Nathan mentioned a detail not yet public—saying he had learned his grandfather “got his head blown off.” That statement heightened suspicion.

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Autism may have shaped how investigators viewed him

In the documentary, investigator Mark Francis said he became more suspicious when Nathan spoke at length about John’s wealth.

Autism specialist attorney Elizabeth Kelley argued that interrogating Nathan without proper safeguards was a mistake, saying neurodivergent people can be unfairly perceived as cold, robotic, or overly precise—traits that may be misread as guilt.

Clark Carman also believed his son’s autism made him a target. One example involved a handheld water maker found with Nathan on the raft. Investigators saw it as suspicious foresight, while autism expert John Elder Robison said it reflected a common autistic tendency toward detailed planning and survival thinking.

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Not everyone believed Nathan was the killer

Author Casey Sherman, who investigated the case for Blood in the Water, said he doubted Nathan killed John. He argued Nathan loved only two people—his mother and grandfather—and stood to inherit significant money regardless.

Sherman also reported that John’s caretaker in New Hampshire, Joy Washburn, recalled an associate of the family allegedly asking in 2013 whether she would kill John and stage it as a hunting accident for $10,000. Washburn dismissed it at the time as venting, but John was killed two weeks later. Sherman said investigators later considered her credible enough that the claim was documented by the FBI.

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Nathan died before his case went to trial

Nathan pleaded not guilty to fraud and murder charges, according to CNN, and was awaiting trial. On June 15, 2023, he died by suicide in his jail cell, CT Insider reported. He was 29.

After his death, prosecutors dropped the charge related to Linda’s presumed murder. John Chakalos’s homicide remains an open case.