Kriti Mehrotra
When tragedy struck twice in the Chakalos family household over a period of 3 years, it left the entire community and country baffled to the very core owing to the complexities involved. Self-made multimillionaire John Chakalos was actually shot dead inside his home in 2013, whereas his second-born daughter and single mother, Linda Carman, went missing at sea in 2016. However, as indicated in Netflix’s ‘The Carman Family Deaths’ by Charlene Gallagher, the remaining loved ones all believed the latter’s son, Nathan Carman, had murdered both individuals.
Charlene Gallagher Always Thought Her Nephew Was Responsible For Both Deaths
It was around the early 1960s when Rita Baranowski and John Chakalos started their family, welcoming a total of 4 daughters into their world before raising them in the heart of Connecticut. Their eldest is Elaine Jane Chakalos, who was followed by Linda Chakalos Carman and Charlene Chakalos Gallagher, before Valerie Chakalos Santilli came to complete their family unit. The patriarch was allegedly “controlling” towards his loved ones in order for them to do his bidding, yet all his third-born daughter remembers is his kindness and the way he always provided.
“(Dad would) give you a hard time,” Charlene once told ABC News. “But he always did it out of love.” In fact, she added that he provided for them even after they had grown up and was determined to look after their kids too. Linda’s only child, Nathan, though, was someone he was especially protective of, not only because of his autism spectrum diagnosis but also because he was the oldest grandson in the dynasty. Nevertheless, as per the documentary, Nathan had his fair share of issues in terms of his mental health, especially as he grew up and faced adversity as well as loss, resulting in some reportedly disturbing behaviors.
Therefore, when John was found shot to death in his bed the morning after he’d had dinner with Nathan in December 2013, the entire family suspected the young man was somehow involved. The fact that he was reportedly unaccounted for for an hour on the fateful night, had purchased a rifle weeks prior, and asked specific questions regarding his grandfather’s estate, also didn’t sit well with them. The sisters thus distanced themselves from both Linda and Nathan owing to their silence, with all of them also being almost certain that his mother knew something but was not speaking up so as to protect him in the long run. That’s the only aspect Charlene regrets in hindsight – isolating Linda – because she disappeared at sea while on a fishing trip with Nathan in 2016 – he returned, but she never did.
Charlene Gallagher is Doing Her Best to Move Forward in Life
When the Carman family held a memorial for Linda following Nathan’s return to land after 7 days in the water, none of her sisters attended because they were certain she wasn’t missing. “(Nathan) killed our sister,” she stated in the Netflix original. “His own mother. So, yeah, we didn’t want anything to do with him. It was a horrid thing, just totally horrendous, what happened to our family. This whole situation’s just one big Greek tragedy.” Hence, of course, she, along with all her remaining sisters, breathed a sigh of relief when he was federally charged with murder on the high seas in 2022, thinking they would finally be able to get some sense of justice soon, but to no avail.
That’s because Nathan died by suicide in his prison cell on June 15, 2023, following which all charges against him were dismissed. Charlene, Elaine, and Valerie all attended his funeral despite their belief that he had killed their father and sister because they understood he was a “troubled soul.” They thus even ensured that he is buried in the family plot, right next to the person he was once the closest to – his grandfather – so that he can have some rest. Charlene admittedly grieved her nephew for the person he once was, but she also still struggles with what she believes were his alleged heinous offenses.
Coming to Charlene’s current standing, from what we can tell, she is currently based in Surf City, North Carolina, where she is leading a happy, quiet life surrounded by loved ones. She is a proud wife, a mother of 2 sons, a grandmother to at least 2 granddaughters, as well as a dog mom to a poddle and a great dane named Ella and Henry. The family-oriented woman also seems to be very passionate about politics, nature, and traveling. Moreover, it’s imperative to note that despite everything the family has endured – losing the matriarch to cancer in November 2013, the murder of the patriarch a mere month later, and the loss of Linda – the sisters have all managed to maintain a close relationship.
Read More: Clark Carman: What Happened to Nathan Carman’s Father?
