Did Nathan Carman Do It? Here’s if He’s Buried With His Family After He Was Accused of Murdering His Mom & Grandfather
The deaths of John Chakalos and Linda Carman are being reexamined in Netflix’s new true crime documentary The Carman Family Deaths. Now, more eyes are on the case and whether Nathan Carmen really killed his grandfather and mother.
Nathan Carman was born to Linda Carman, who was the daughter of John Chakalos, a wealthy real estate developer in the Northeastern US. He was labeled as a suspect after John was found dead in his home with a gunshot wound to the head. Suspicions grew more when Nathan’s mother was never found after the mother-son duo went on a fishing trip.
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Did Nathan Carman do it?
The Carman family murders are still considered to be unsolved, but there have been many suspicious moments that line up with Nathan Carman as the prime suspect.
After his grandfather’s death, it was revealed that he had purchased a $2,100 .308 caliber Sig Sauer rifle in New Hampshire. It was purchased a month before, and it was identified as the same caliber rifle that had murdered John Chakalos.
Nathan later denied that he had killed his grandfather and had an alibi that he was on his way to meet his mother for a fishing trip at 3 a.m. His neighbor had noted that there was a loud bang at 4 a.m. which is believed to be the gunshots that killed John. An arrest warrant was never signed due to the prosecutor needing more information. Nathan received $550,000 from two bank accounts his grandfather had set up and that he was the beneficiary of when Chakalos died
Three years after his grandfather’s death, Linda and Nathan were on her father’s boat the Chicken Pox, when it allegedly sank. Linda’s body was never found, but Nathan was rescued eight days later. Her son claimed that he wasn’t responsible for her death. “I know I wasn’t responsible for the boat sinking,” he told ABC News. “I know that I wasn’t responsible for anything that resulted from the boat sinking. I know I wasn’t responsible for my mom’s death.”
Nathan’s father, Clark, believed that his son did not kill his mother. “Because of his autism, because of his ability to be alone, Nathan, of any individual that I know, could have coped with being lost at sea,” he says in the film. “And I’m sure he used all his ingenuity in those eight days.”
He called his wife’s death “a severe accident,” saying, “I know if Nathan had the ability, he would have saved his mother.”
However, Linda’s sisters refused to believe that her nephew was innocent. Her sister Charlene told the US Sun: “He killed our sister. Our own mother so, yeah, we didn’t want anything to do with him. It was a horrid thing, just totally horrendous, what happened to our family. This whole situation’s just one big Greek tragedy.”
Nathan was arrested and charged with murder in May 2022 after he filed a claim with his insurance company for his boat, and the insurance company sued back. The FBI alleged that he engaged in a years-long scheme to ensure he would be John’s sole beneficiary and killed John and Linda to claim his inheritance early. He pleaded not guilty last year to fraud and first-degree murder in the death of his mother, per The Associated Press.
In a letter titled “Why I Am Reluctant to Cooperate With Police” that was found in his vehicle, he wrote, “Emotionally, I am not sure that I can bear another interview. Philosophically, the idea of proving one’s innocence repels me. Generally, the police are a corrupt and often criminal organization. Additionally, I have been advised by a lawyer to remain silent. I believe that is standard and generally accepted advice.”
Nathan was due to be on trial in October 2022. He died by suicide on June 15, 2023, CT Insider reported. He was 29 years old. His grandfather’s case remains unsolved, while his mother’s murder case was dismissed.
Still, Charlene had a grudge even after her family’s deaths. “Nathan should be remembered as a troubled soul,” Gallagher told 20/20. “I’m relieved that Nathan was buried in the family plot next to my dad. He needs to rest.”
“He controlled how he was going to murder my father. He controlled how he was going to murder my sister. He didn’t want to spend the rest of his life in prison. And so, you know, he controlled taking his own life.”
