Deborah Roberts talk with producer Jonathan Balthaser about this deadly family drama, including the complex relationships, unanswered questions, and what is was like to shoot out on the ocean. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is the story behind Nathan Carman's survival?
Hi there, everybody. It's Deborah Roberts. Welcome to 2020 The After Show. Today, we're going to talk about family lies, our most recent episode, one which I reported on, and one which has just captivated so many people. When Nathan Carman was discovered adrift on a life raft in the Atlantic in 2016, the world saw a young man who narrowly escaped death. It was a
amazing, harrowing story of survival. His mom, Linda, was nowhere to be found, lost at sea with his boat called the Chicken Pox, which sank during a deep sea fishing trip. That's what he told everyone. But what started as a story of survival soon turns into something much darker.
As investigators look a little deeper into the accident, they discover that Nathan was also the last person to see his grandfather alive. millionaire real estate developer John Chakalos. The 87-year-old had been shot execution style in his own bed just three years earlier. And soon, detectives began thinking that the boat sinking wasn't an accident.
casting further suspicion on the surviving son who maintained his innocence in both cases. So the question becomes, could Nathan have orchestrated the death of two family members to get a hold of his inheritance? Is he a victim of tragic circumstances or a cold-hearted killer? Here's a clip from our program.
He calls for his mother throughout the rest of the day. Never once saw her, never heard from her. And he said upon nightfall, he gave up trying to search for her, and he went to sleep and then drifted through the Atlantic Ocean until he was located.
So let's get back to your mother. You talk to her all the time. You go out fishing twice a week. How would you describe your relationship with her? Is it good? I don't see the relevance to this particular incident here. I concur. I think this interview is over. Thank you. I think I'm tired. Thank you.
After the interview is over, from our perspective, we're like, OK, this isn't just a missing persons investigation. We may be dealing with maybe a homicide.
And that's what made the story so intriguing for us. My guest today is 2020 producer Jonathan Balthasar. Jonathan, I've been saying your name wrong.
Balthasar. Balthasar.
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Chapter 2: How did Nathan Carman become a suspect in family deaths?
To say the least. Yes. He was very generous with his money, but he used the money. He kind of ruled a little bit with an iron fist. So he was a guy who was obviously beloved in his family. He had worked very hard, but he could also be very tough.
He was tough, but Nathan and him had a very special relationship. Nathan was the firstborn grandson, and he was sort of the golden child for his grandfather. He was taking him to business meetings. He was paying for his apartment. His boat really just took care of him. And then Nathan emerges as really the heart of the story and a fascinating character. We learn he was on the autism spectrum.
That just makes watching him all the more fascinating.
Yeah, because you're not sure, is he just devoid of emotion or is that just part of his disability?
Everyone can watch and determine for themselves, is he just nervous? Is he lying? Is this just the way he behaves? He says in an interview with us, you know, I don't understand... I don't understand people. So he has, you know, he doesn't react to questions from police or from interviewers the way many people think he should. So that create a lot of extra suspicion on him.
Yeah. And that's what made you such a great producer on the story, just because you had been on it from the beginning. Then, of course, fast forward three years later, and then he's out on this boat and this whole, you know, bizarre, you know, rescue at sea. The boat has supposedly sank and His mother is nowhere to be found.
He doesn't know what happened, but thinks, assumes that maybe she fell overboard. So we decide, you know, of course, to pick up the story there because that's where so many people remember the story. And to tell it, you know, let's go out on a boat to talk about this.
Right.
And here it is.
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