Overview
- The Carman Family Deaths premiered on Netflix on Nov. 19, revisiting the 2013 killing of John Chakalos and the 2016 disappearance of his daughter, Linda, during a fishing trip with her son, Nathan.
- A Coast Guard search ended with Nathan found alone in a life raft eight days later, while Linda’s body was never recovered and she was declared dead in 2023.
- A 2022 federal indictment charged Nathan with murdering his mother and alleged fraud tied to his grandfather’s death; he died by suicide in jail on June 15, 2023, and the charges were dismissed.
- The documentary highlights investigative threads including an email Nathan sent about inheritance and a rifle he denied owning, alongside insurance filings that concluded his boat’s loss was caused intentionally after alterations.
- People reports omissions from the film, including court claims about a much-younger girlfriend of John, a probate ‘slayer action’ by Nathan’s aunts to block inheritance for further investigation, and a note found in Nathan’s cell that his lawyer said was not a suicide note.