A new Netflix true crime documentary, The Carman Family Deaths, is gripping audiences with its exploration of a tragic family saga described by relatives as a real-life 'Greek tragedy'.
A Twisted Tale of Fortune and Loss
The story centres on Nathan Carman, who took his own life in prison in 2023 while facing charges for the murder of his mother, Linda Carman. Linda vanished during a fishing trip in 2016, and her body was never recovered.
This was not the first tragedy to strike the family. Three years earlier, in 2013, Nathan's wealthy grandfather, John Chakalos, was found shot dead in his Windsor home.
As the documentary reveals, investigators believed Nathan was responsible for both deaths, allegedly as part of a scheme to inherit the family's $50 million fortune.
The Unsolved Murder of John Chakalos
John Chakalos was a successful real estate tycoon known for developing nursing homes across New England. A father of four daughters, he was characterised as controlling but shared a close relationship with his grandson, Nathan.
The night before his death, Nathan had dinner with his grandfather at a Greek restaurant. He later drove Chakalos home and they chatted briefly before Nathan left. The next morning, one of Chakalos' daughters discovered him murdered.
Detectives theorised that the killer stood at the foot of the bed and shot Chakalos while he slept, firing once in the stomach and once in the head.
A Missing Murder Weapon
Authorities believed the murder weapon was a Sig Sauer rifle – the same type of firearm Nathan had purchased just weeks before the killing. Nathan, however, claimed he had lost the gun.
Despite being the last person to see his grandfather alive and the circumstantial evidence, there was never enough proof to formally charge Nathan with the murder. The case remains officially unsolved, and no other suspects have ever been identified.
In the years between the two deaths, Nathan spent significant time with his grandfather and convinced his mother, Linda, to make him a beneficiary of her inheritance from the family trust.
The US Attorney's office in Vermont later stated that both killings were part of a plan to obtain money from John Chakalos' estate. Nathan Carman consistently denied any involvement in either death until his suicide.
The Carman Family Deaths is available to stream on Netflix.
