Inside the Tragic True Story of the Carman Family Deaths

Nivedita Dubey
November 20, 2025

Summary

Nathan Carman survived eight days at sea in 2016; his mother Linda was never found.
Authorities later accused him of killing both his mother and possibly his grandfather for inheritance motives.
Netflix’s The Carman Family Deaths examines competing narratives from claims of investigative bias to evidence pointing toward homicide.

The Carman Family Deaths is one of Netflix’s most unsettling true-crime releases of 2025, not because it reveals a clear villain, but because it sits in a rare grey zone. The documentary revisits the 2016 disappearance of Linda Carman, her son Nathan’s survival at sea, and the tangled accusations that followed. What emerges is a portrait of a fractured family, a community desperate for answers, and a case investigators closed but never truly resolved.

**What Is the True Story Behind The Carman Family Deaths?**

The Carman Family Deaths _ Official Trailer _ Netflix

To understand why the Carman case still grips audiences, you have to go back to September 2016. Twenty-two-year-old Nathan Carman and his mother Linda set out from Rhode Island on a fishing trip. Their boat disappeared. Eight days later, Nathan was found alive in a life raft off the coast of Long Island. Linda was never recovered, and the questions began immediately.

Nathan’s demeanor, the mysterious sinking of the family boat Chicken Pox, and the lingering shadow of his grandfather’s unsolved 2013 murder pushed investigators toward a theory they would chase for years: that Nathan planned the trip as part of a long-term inheritance scheme.

But the documentary immediately complicates that narrative, giving equal space to autism experts, family members, and Nathan’s own statements exposing a story where every detail is contested, every motive debated, and where even legal proceedings failed to bring closure.

Why Did Investigators Suspect Nathan Carman?

Law enforcement’s suspicions didn’t begin at sea they began years earlier with the shooting death of Nathan’s wealthy grandfather, John Chakalos, in 2013. Chakalos left behind a fortune and a set of complex family trusts. No one was ever charged in the murder.

By 2016, however, investigators had noticed a pattern they considered troubling.

1. Questions About Inheritance Before the Deaths

The documentary shows that before Chakalos died, Nathan wrote directly to the family attorney requesting clarification about what he would inherit if both his mother and grandfather passed away. To police, this felt calculated. To autism experts, it felt like a concrete, literal question typical of a person with an analytical, highly structured communication style.

2. The Sinking of the Boat — Accident or Orchestration?

Authorities argue that Nathan:

made questionable repairs to the boat
removed key stabilizing parts
did not bring his fishing bait aboard
failed to issue a distress call while the vessel took on water

Nathan insisted the repairs were harmless, the situation escalated quickly, and he believed he could fix the flooding without alerting Linda.

Two weeks after being rescued, Nathan filed an $85,000 insurance claim for the lost boat. The insurer denied the claim and handed their findings to federal authorities, intensifying the investigation.

3. His Physical Condition After Eight Days Adrift

FBI agent Lisa Tutty, interviewed in the documentary, says Nathan looked almost too strong — climbing the rescue ladder without hesitation, standing firmly, and answering questions calmly.

Experts counter that adrenaline, shock, and his autism could explain the lack of visible distress.

The contrast between these interpretations is part of what makes the case so confounding.

How Does the Documentary Present the Case for Nathan’s Innocence?

One of the most striking aspects of The Carman Family Deaths is how strongly it leans into the theme of miscommunication between neurotypical investigators and an autistic suspect.

Did Investigators Misread Nathan’s Behavior?

Autism defense specialists argue that:

autistic people often speak in monotone or with seeming emotional distance
long, detailed responses can be mistaken for evasiveness
planning behaviors can appear suspicious when they are simply coping strategies

Elizabeth Kelley, an attorney interviewed in the film, points out that autistic individuals are frequently misunderstood in high-stress interrogations because their affect “doesn’t match” what investigators expect.

Nathan’s Father Maintains His Innocence

Clark Carman, Nathan’s father, delivers some of the documentary’s most emotional testimony. He insists:

Linda’s death was an accident
Nathan tried to save her
police targeted Nathan because they lacked the tools to interpret autistic communication
Nathan’s subdued demeanor after his rescue showed remorse, not guilt

Clark’s voice becomes a counterweight to the prosecution’s narrative, reframing the ordeal as a tragedy rather than a crime.

What Do Authorities Believe Really Happened?

Investigators built a timeline suggesting that Nathan planned the trip as a means to kill his mother far from the Coast Guard’s search radius.

This theory rests on several pillars:

1. Suspicious Behavior Before the Voyage

Nathan allegedly left behind fishing bait and gear that should have accompanied a routine trip. A South Kingstown officer is seen in the film saying, “You don’t go fishing without your bait.”

2. The Missing Life Vest

Nathan admitted Linda wasn’t wearing a life jacket when water entered the boat. His explanation — that he wanted her occupied collecting lines — only deepened skepticism.

3. The Timing of the Boat’s Sinking

Prosecutors theorized:

he killed Linda earlier than reported
he hid along the coastline to avoid search teams
he sank the boat shortly before being spotted by the freighter Orient Lucky

The theory suggests that Nathan created the conditions for a staged survival — a narrative that would allow him to inherit from Linda’s estate.

4. Ocean Evidence Is Nearly Impossible to Recover

As FBI Agent Tutty notes, the ocean “erases” crime scenes instantly. With no body, no boat, and no physical evidence, much of the case remains circumstantial fueling both doubt and suspicion.

What Do We Learn About the Grandfather’s Murder?

While the documentary emphasizes that no one was ever charged, it presents investigators’ longstanding belief: that the deaths of John Chakalos and Linda Carman could be linked.

A 2022 indictment alleged that both deaths were part of a broader scheme to access Chakalos’ wealth. But Nathan never faced trial. In 2023, while awaiting proceedings, he took his own life — leaving the legal and emotional questions behind the case permanently unresolved.

The documentary doesn’t claim to solve the grandfather’s murder. Instead, it shows how the event shaped every subsequent suspicion.

**How Does Netflix’s The Carman Family Deaths Frame the Tragedy?**

The Carman Family Deaths Official Trailer — The Carman Family Deaths _ Official Trailer _ Netflix

The film chooses balance over certainty.

It presents:

police interviews
Coast Guard recordings
legal documents
autism experts
Nathan’s own voice
family testimonies
investigator doubts
community reactions

Rather than assigning guilt or innocence, the documentary highlights the limits of evidence, the dangers of assumption, and the human cost of a case defined by ambiguity.

It also leaves room for the uncomfortable possibility that both narratives may contain some truth — that Nathan could be both misunderstood and responsible, vulnerable and calculating, traumatized and dangerous.

This tension is what gives the documentary its power.