At 79, Karen Carpenter’s Brother Finally Breaks Silence

At 79, Karen Carpenter’s Brother Finally Breaks Silence Have you ever watched someone carry grief for over four decades and still find a way to speak about it with love instead of bitterness? That is what Richard Carpenter has done since February 4, 1983, the day his sister Karen stopped breathing on the floor of their parents' home in Downey, California. He was 36 years old then. He is 79 now. And in the years between, he has guarded her legacy, revisited her story, and broken his silence in ways that reveal not just a brother still in mourning, but a man who understood her better than anyone and blames himself for not being able to save her.