What happened to Nathan Carman? Netflix's 'The Carman Family Deaths' uncovers the dark true-crime mystery
Back in 2016, a rather innocent fishing trip turned out to be a tragic episode for an unlucky family. In the recently released Netflix true-crime documentary, 'The Carman Family Deaths', the harrowing case of Nathan Carman is revisited with chilling detail. Twenty-two-year-old Nathan, who was diagnosed with autism at an early age, took a fishing trip with his mother, Linda Carman, back in September 2016 to Block Island, located in the vicinity of Rhode Island, as per Tudum. When they failed to return home on time, the other family members were quick to alert the U.S. Coast Guard. An intensive search and rescue operation was launched, during which the Coast Guard scanned a vast 62,000 nautical mile area.
The search yielded no immediate results, and efforts had slackened by the time Nathan was discovered drifting in the sea on an inflatable raft. He was spotted and rescued by a passing freight ship. There was no sign of his mother, Linda. Although Nathan put up a brave face in front of the ensuing media attention, he stated that he had survived on emergency food rations and kept calm while being stranded at sea. Nevertheless, both the police and the public quickly came to realize that his survival story had several holes in it and didn't stand up well to scrutiny.
'The Carman Family Deaths' further reveals in detail the two horrific murders committed by Nathan during the course of three years, starting in 2013. Linda's father and Nathan's grandfather, John Chakalos, was an influential real-estate magnate. Apart from being incredibly rich, he was also known to be somewhat hot-tempered, manipulative, and controlling. He had a conflicted relationship with his daughters, but financially provided for Linda. John was fond of Nathan, whom he wanted to follow in his footsteps.
When John was shot to death in 2013, investigators soon descended upon Nathan as a primary suspect, as explained by Oxygen. It was discovered that before the murder, Nathan had emailed his grandfather's estate enquiring about the line of inheritance. A receipt for a rifle was also recovered. However, the police didn't charge Nathan with the murder since he had an alibi at the time. The documentary also sheds light on the tense relationship between Nathan and his mother, as the latter considered him to be an isolationist and wanted to bond with him over their shared love of fishing trips.
Nathan's insurance claim after Linda's death was contested, and he was charged with the murder of his mother. A witness even saw him renovating his boat before the day of the murder, to make holes in the boat's hull. Nathan was arrested but escaped justice by taking his own life in prison. After Nathan's death, all charges against him were dropped by the State.
