On the morning of December 20, 2013, Elaine Chakalos pulled into the driveway of her father’s home, 87-year old John Chakalos on 52 Overlook Drive in Windsor, Connecticut at 8:23 am. The family had been grieving the loss of John’s high school sweetheart & wife of 59 years & Elaine’s mother, 84-year-old Rita Chakalos who lost her battle with cancer on November 21, only a month earlier & a week before Thanksgiving. John & Elaine were married in 1954 & settled in Windsor where they raised their four daughters, Elaine, Linda, Charlene & Valerie. In 1994 the couple built a home in West Chesterfield, New Hampshire & began splitting their time between there & Windsor. John was a veteran of the U.S. Army where he served as a paratrooper in the Philippines during WWII, participating in many high risk missions. John graduated with his B.S. in textile engineering in 1951 from Bradford Durfee College of Technology.
John dedicated his life to his family & lived by the motto, “without family, you’ve got nothing; family is everything.” John was a self-made man who worked as a real-estate developer, working full-time even at age 87. John & Rita felt an obligation to give to those that were less fortunate & the couple was known for their kindness & generosity. Each & every Christmas, they opened their New Hampshire home to the public to view their amazing six million-light drive-through Christmas display. They began assembling the display in August, completing it by Thanksgiving, inviting visitors to drive through from 6-9 pm.
Their West Chesterfield home had one of the most impressive decorations in the state & they requested that spectators provide a monetary donation or nonperishable food to a local charity, Joan’s Food Pantry. The event would bring in over a thousand bags of food & thousands of dollars to carry the food bank over for months. The couple also generously donated to many charitable organizations. John worked as a nursing home and assisted living developer in the Pioneer Valley area of Massachusetts as well as Connecticut & in December of 2013, another facility was in the works in Northampton. The facilities were named after John’s family members, having names including Zoe Life Retirement Community, Linda Manor, Charlene Manor & Elaine Manor. John was also a co-developer of a 42 unit luxury condo development in Northampton.
John’s business had been incredibly successful; he was said to have made tens of millions of dollars & the home that he & Rita built in West Chesterfield was over 15,000 square feet on 88 acres of land. As part of his estate planning, John established various trusts, including the Chakalos Family Dynasty Trust (Dynasty Trust) which was designed to distribute his assets to his four daughters & was valued at $42 million. The executor of the estate was John’s daughter Valerie & certain additional assets in John’s name would pass from his estate into the Dynasty Trust after his death.
The house John was currently living in at 52 Overlook Drive often served as an office for him; it was a modest size of about 2,000 square feet. Before Rita became ill, they used their large property in West Chesterfield as a place to gather & come together with their kids & grandkids. Despite being almost 90-years-old, John still had a passion for work. After Rita’s death, John’s daughters encouraged him to stay in nearby Connecticut so he’d been spending more time at this location since his wife’s passing.
On the morning of December 20, Elaine stopped by her dad’s house to check on him. To her shock & horror, she found him shot to death in his bed. Windsor police were the first to arrive & the department called in the Connecticut State Police major crimes squad to assist; detectives began working to piece together events in the weeks leading up to John’s death. There was no sign of forced entry & nothing was stolen from the home. Police began speaking with family to develop a list of anyone that had a motive or reason to harm John. A state medical examiner determined he had died from a gunshot wound to the head & chest; he’d been shot a total of 3 times & the case was ruled a homicide. No gun was found at the scene.
John’s daughter Linda Carman was initially considered a suspect because she allegedly assaulted her father in 2011 during an argument over her son’s care, Nathan Carman, who has Asperger’s syndrome. The case was never prosecuted & eventually dismissed with Linda claiming self defense. Linda was questioned though cleared from the case. The case remained unsolved for the next three years until the family faced yet another tragedy. Before John’s murder, his grandson, Nathan Carman began spending more time with his grandfather & attending business meetings with him. He also began asking detailed questions to John’s trust attorney & financial advisor about his own financial interests in his grandfather’s assets & the operation of the trusts.
By 2013, John had set up two bank accounts that Nathan would have control of upon his death. One contained about $150,000 & was to be used as a college fund, the other contained about $400,000 & listed both Nathan & his mother, Linda Carman as the beneficiaries. Throughout 2012-2013, John was able to convince Linda to designate Nathan as the beneficiary of her trust from the Dynasty Trust. John was also paying for Nathan’s personal expenses during this time, purchasing him a truck & paying for his apartment. In 2012, Nathan graduated from high school & moved onto community college only to fail to complete his classes in 2013.
54-year-old Linda tried to maintain a relationship with her 22-year-old son & she made efforts to do so by connecting over fishing. In 2015, Nathan purchased a 31-foot boat called Chicken Pox & insured the boat through Boat Owners Association of the United States (Boat U.S.). At approximately 11:13 pm on Saturday, September 17, 2016, Linda & Nathan Carman set out from the Ram Point Marina in South Kingstown, Rhode Island on the Chicken Pox. While planning the trip, Nathan told Linda that they would be fishing in the immediate vicinity of Block Island, Rhode Island & told his mom they would come back the next day, Sunday, September 18 at about noon. When the Chicken Pox didn’t return to the marina as scheduled the next day, the Coast Guard began an extensive search & rescue mission, exhausting all efforts & searching an area larger than the state of Georgia from south of Block Island, Rhode Island to the Canyons off New York. The search went on until Nathan was found on September 25 by a commercial Chinese freight ship, the Orient Lucky, 8 days later, floating in an inflatable raft that contained food & water, wearing a life vest & clearly alone. He’d been in the raft for seven days & he was 100 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. Where was Linda?
Nathan spoke to the Coast Guard command center in Boston via telephone while on the freighter & said that when his boat began to sink, it went down very quickly. He said he looked for his mom but couldn’t see her so he grabbed some food & water & jumped into the life raft; he asked the Coast Guard if they had found Linda yet but they hadn’t. The Coast Guard hadn’t received a distress call when the boat began to sink & the Coast Guard spokesperson said that it wasn’t clear if the boat was equipped with a radio but that recreational boaters are urged to carry a radio with a waterproof case. The crew of the Orient Lucky described Nathan as very sad at the time he was pulled from the raft.
When they reached dry land, Nathan spoke to the media & asked the public for continued prayers for his mom. Empathy was felt for Nathan, knowing he’d lost his mom & the fact that public speaking was likely difficult for him since he has Asperger’s. At that point, the Coast Guard made the decision to end the search for Linda since too much time had passed “beyond a survivability window.” Police were aware of Nathan from an incident from 2011 when he was 17 & living with his mother in Connecticut; his parents said he disappeared after the death of his horse. After an extensive search, he was found in Sussex County, Virginia; he had taken a bus there & brought a scooter which he planned to ride to Florida. There were reports of another incident when Nathan was in high school; there was a charge that he was essentially holding a student hostage & waving a knife at them.
Nathan grew up in Connecticut but had been living in Vernon, Vermont in recent years. In October of 2016, Nathan presented an insurance claim to Boat U.S. for the loss of Chicken Pox for approximately $85,000 & in January of 2017, his claim was denied. He filed a second claim with another insurance company which was also denied. Both companies denied the claim indicating that the sinking of the boat was not accidental & there was potential for criminal wrongdoing. In July of 2017, Nathan’s aunt Valerie who is the executor of John’s estate filed an action in New Hampshire Probate Court that Nathan killed both John & Linda & sought action to prevent Nathan from the inheritance; he was set to inherit $7 million from his grandfather’s death alone & $10 million for his mom’s death. On Monday, July 17, 2017, Linda’s three sisters made the agonizing decision to file a lawsuit that accused Nathan of possibly killing both his mother & grandfather. They indicated the decision had nothing to do with money & everything to do with justice & felt it was what their father & sister would want them to do. A judge dismissed the case in 2019 because John was not a New Hampshire resident & the case was refiled in Connecticut where as of May of 2022, was still pending.
It was discovered that on November 6, 2013, Nathan was living in a rented apartment in Bloomfield, Connecticut though registered his truck in New Hampshire & obtained a New Hampshire driver’s license. He listed his residence as the home his grandfather owned in West Chesterfield. On November 11, 2013, he used his new driver’s license to purchas a $3000 Sig Sauer 716 Patrol .308 caliber rifle at Shooter’s Outpost in Hooksett, New Hampshire & it’s theorized that he went to his grandfather’s house on December 20 & shot him twice in the head as he slept. At least one of the three bullets that hit John had come from a .308 caliber class. When police spoke with Nathan about guns after the murder, he never mentioned the rifle & when police learned of its existence, he claimed it was lost.
It’s alleged that after Nathan murdered John, he tried to cover up the crime by destroying his computer hard drive & the GPS that had been in his truck. Between December 20, 2013 & January 2014, Nathan denied any involvement in John’s murder & lied about his whereabouts between 3 am on December 20, 2013 when he left his apartment in Bloomfield and approximately 4 am when he arrived at the location where he planned to meet his mom for a charter fishing trip. He denied purchasing the rifle in November. Reports indicate that there was a breakdown between police & the D.A., the D.A. believing they needed more evidence, so Nathan was never arrested for his grandfather’s murder.
After his grandfather was murdered, Nathan received approximately $550,000; $150,000 from the college fund & $400,000 from the beneficiary-on-death account. In 2014, Nathan moved to Vermont & blew through much of his money between 2014 & 2016 & most of this time, he was unemployed. By the fall of 2016, his funds were running low & at this point, he began to plan the fishing trip that his mom, Linda wouldn’t survive. Nathan’s family was so fearful of him that they armed private security to protect their homes.
Only hours after Nathan was rescued on September 25, police in Vermont seized items from his Vernan home after obtaining a search warrant which was issued for the investigation of his reckless endangerment for allegedly taking his mom on a boat that was in need of repair. He’d also taken her to a different location than he told her they planned to go. Linda had told her roommate that they were going to be fishing in a new spot about 20 miles off the coast of Rhode Island in an area known as Block Island. Before leaving, Linda sent an eerie message to her friend saying, “Call me 12 noon if you don’t hear from me.” Investigators couldn’t understand how Nathan had the time to donn a life vest, inflate a huge life raft, grab provisions, but not have time to locate his mom during the process. Linda’s family began wondering if her disappearance was an accident at all. When Nathan turned in his insurance claim, information surfaced that Nathan was seen by witnesses at the marina doing repairs on the boat, only hours before he left for the fishing trip with his mom.
An investigation of the boat indicated it was in need of mechanical repairs & the trim tabs had been removed which help stabilize performance; this left holes that he tried to seal with an epoxy stick. He also removed two forward bulkheads which are the vertical separations on a boat that provide structural reinforcement & reduce the extent of flooding in the event of damage. An attorney representing the family said that the modifications that were done to the boat had no rational basis unless your goal was to take the boat out & sink it since the removal of the trim tabs leave holes behind. Nathan ultimately admitted to removing the trim tabs but denied intentionally sabataging the boat. It also was noted that Nathan’s computer had been removed from his home which authorities believed he purposely did so it couldn’t be reviewed while he was away.
When Nathan was picked up from the raft, he said that he’d done repairs & the boat was safe, saying that had it not been, he would have never taken his mom out on the water. He said he was in no way responsible for the boat sinking or for his mom’s death but he felt responsible that he’d put his mom in that situation, bringing her out on the water, “If I hadn’t asked my mom to go fishing with me that weekend, she would still be alive with me today.” Nathan explained that he & his mom were offshore, fishing for tuna when he heard an odd noise & noticed the boat taking on water. He said at the time, he hadn’t realized they were in danger, therefore, he didn’t activate a distress signal. He said he didn’t realize they were sinking until they sank. He indicated that he thought he had time to diagnose the problem & bring them safely back to shore. He said he was carrying a piece of safety equipment, he felt the boat was sinking very rapidly; he was walking on the deck which was there & then it wasn’t. According to Nathan, during this time, his mom was in the cockpit & he was at the front of the boat. It took three to five minutes for Nathan to notice water in the boat until the time it actually sank. He said when this happened, they were off the coast of New York, near Block Canyon & he was unable to find his mom.
Nathan’s dad, Clark Carman was recently back in his son’s life & addressed the fact that his son had been investigated in his grandfather’s murder though hadn’t been charged for his death. Clark insisted that Nathan wasn’t involved in John’s murder nor his mother’s disappearance which was purely an accident. He said that Nathan’s suspicous behavior was related to Asperger’s rather than actual guilt in regards to comments about some of the things he’d said or his socially awkward behavior. According to a firearms seizure warrant from 2014, Nathan was the last person to see John alive at about 8:30 pm the night before he was murdered when the two had dinner together. During the investigation, authorities indicated they’d found several inconsistencies in Nathan’s whereabouts during his grandfather’s murder from 10 pm on December 19, 2013 & 8 am on December 20, 2013. Nathan claims that he had nothing to do with his grandfather’s murder as he was the closest person to him; “He was like a father to me & I know I was like a son to him.” He said that he knows that his grandfather was the biggest victim in his homicide though it feels like he is the second biggest victim since he lost the most important person in his world. He indicated that he’d tried his best to work with the police but it was very, very difficult to deal with.
On Tuesday, May 10, 2022, Nathan was arrested with an eight-count indictment that said that Nathan shot & killed his grandfather as part of an effort to defraud insurance companies though didn’t charge him with murder in his death. Seven of the eight counts of the indictment are related to fraudulent efforts to get his grandfather’s money & that he was responsible for murdering his mother. If convicted of murder, Nathan faced a sentence of life in prison; Nathan pleaded not guilty to fraud & first-degree murder in the death of his mother. A trial was set for October 2, 2023 in Rutland, Vermont. Nathan remained in prison since his arrest in May of 2022 since he was considered a flight risk & a danger to the community. He had been seeking release pending his trial & had been willing to surrender his passport, submit to electronic monitoring & turn over all the money he has which was said to be $10,000. The motion indicated that he’d always shown up to his court cases in the decade he was facing civil litigation & that he was not a danger to others since he’d lived a quiet life with solid ties to his community, participating in town forums, attending church & had many local friends. It indicated that he’d never tried to contact a witness inappropriately or influence a witness in any way. He remained in prison because he was considered to be a flight risk as well as a danger to the community.
On Thursday, June 15, 2023, 29-year-old Nathan was found dead in his jail cell at 2:30 am by guards at a county jail in Keene, New Hampshire; he was the only person in his cell & left a note behind for his lawyers. One of Nathan’s lawyers indicated that they’d spoken to him one day earlier & Nathan seemed upbeat, feeling confident that when they went to trial, they were going to win. He makes a point of saying that Nathan is innocent until proven guilty. His death wasn’t suspicious but a full medical report will be complete within 60 days. On Thursday, June 22, 2023, a funeral was held in Waterbury, Connecticut in a nearly empty church; his attorneys paid for his funeral & burial.
Reports indicate that three family members attended the service.
References:
- Obituary for Rita B. Chakalos
- Obituary for John Chalakos
- Daily Hampshire Gazette: Developer shot dead in home
- Daily Hampshire Gazette: Developer’s slaying remains unsolved
- Dark Downeast: John Chakalos & Linda Carman: Murdered at Home & Missing at Sea
- AP News: Rescued boater spent week adrift on raft; mom presumed dead
- Maritime Page: What Are Bulkheads In Ships?
- abc News: Rescued boater Nathan Carman says he ‘wasn’t responsible’ for mom’s death
- abc News: 1 of 2 Missing Boaters Found After 8 Days Adrift at Sea
- Nathan Carman indictment
- Boston 25 News: Family claims man rescued at sea killed mom, grandfather for inheritance
- Boston.com: Nathan Carman arrested for allegedly killing his mother at sea off Rhode Island
- CBS News Boston: Nathan Carman, charged with killing mother at sea, dies in jail
- CBS News: Nathan Carman, man changed with killing mother in 2016 at sea, dies in New Hampshire while awaiting trial
- Eyewitness News 3: Funeral held for Nathan Carman, man accused of killing mother in inheritence scheme
- WCAX 3: Vermont man charged with killing mother at sea seeks freedom
- Daily Mail: Philanthropist, 87, famed for elaborate six-million light Christmas display at his Connecticut mansion is found mysteriously murdered just weeks after wife’s death
- CNN: Man was accused of killing his family members to get money Now, he has died in custody, authorities say
- True Crime Daily: Sisters want nephew named murderer of John Chalakos; Linda Carman presumed dead
