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Netflix Releases The Carman Family Deaths, Examining a Vanished Mother and a Slain Patriarch

The film revisits two unresolved cases after the accused son died in custody before trial.

Overview

  • Premiering Nov. 19 on Netflix, the documentary recounts the 2016 fishing trip from Rhode Island after which Linda Carman disappeared and her son Nathan was rescued eight days later in a life raft.
  • The film presents competing views, featuring family and autism experts who say Nathan was misread, alongside law enforcement and an FBI agent who outline evidence they found suspicious.
  • After his rescue, Nathan’s $85,000 insurance claim for the lost boat was denied; a judge later found he had made faulty repairs, and prosecutors alleged he intentionally sank the vessel.
  • In 2022, a federal grand jury in Vermont indicted Nathan on murder and fraud charges, alleging a scheme to obtain money from his mother’s estate and from insurance.
  • The 2013 shooting death of Nathan’s grandfather, John Chakalos, remains unsolved; Nathan died by suicide in jail in 2023, the charges were dismissed, and Linda was later declared dead.