What happened to Nathan Carman and did he kill Linda Carman and John Chakalos?

Netflix is examining yet another disappearance in new documentary The Carman Family Deaths.

This series tells the story of Linda Carman and her son, Nathan, whose fishing trip became a real-life tragedy, as described by Netflix.

The documentary includes interviews with Nathan Carman’s father, Clark Carman, and others involved in the case, revealing existing conflicts and conflicting allegiances.

Keep reading to find out what happened to Linda Carman, and how her vanishing led investigators to revisit a cold case murder.

What happened to Linda Carman?

In 2016, Linda Carman and her son, Nathan, left South Kingstown, Rhode Island, for a short overnight fishing trip.

When Linda didn’t reach out to a friend the next day, people became worried and reported both her and Nathan missing. This triggered a large-scale Coast Guard search that covered approximately 64,000 square miles of ocean.

Eight days after the incident, Nathan was found alive on a life raft and brought to safety. Sadly, Linda was never found.

Did Nathan Carman kill Linda Carman?

Okay, so from what I understand from the police interviews, Nathan said he’d asked his mom to reel in the fishing lines. But then, while he was grabbing the emergency stuff from inside the wheelhouse, the boat just… gave way. He ended up falling into the water, completely submerged. It sounds terrifying, honestly.

He informed Alfred Bucco III, the deputy police chief of South Kingstown, that he hadn’t seen or heard from his mother.

The police investigation revealed that Nathan’s insurance claim for his missing boat was rejected because his explanation didn’t quite add up.

The judge determined Nathan’s boat repairs were flawed and sided with the insurance companies. However, the court didn’t decide whether Nathan deliberately sank the boat or caused Linda’s death.

In 2022, Nathan was formally accused of murdering his mother, Linda, but he denied the charges in court.

What happened to John Chakalos?

In late 2013, John Chakalos was found shot dead in his home.

Investigators believe Chakalos was probably shot with a Sig Sauer rifle, the same one Nathan had bought just weeks before the killing.

Former Windsor Police Lieutenant Christopher McKee shared in a 20/20 interview that the suspect admitted to purchasing the weapon. However, when questioned about it, the suspect claimed he had lost it and didn’t know its current location.

Did Nathan Carman kill John Chakalos?

Police couldn’t find the murder weapon, so they didn’t have enough solid evidence to make an arrest.

Nathan was never charged with the murder of John Chakalos. To this day, the case remains unsolved.