When one of Hollywood’s biggest stars drowns while on a private yacht with her husband and co-star, people are going to talk.
This documentary, executive-produced by Natalie Wood’s daughter, does just that. It discusses how the case was reopened in 2011 after Dennis Davern, the captain of Wagner’s yacht Splendor, changed his story about what happened that night. Keep reading the article below to learn more about Natalie Wood Murder.
In 1981, Natalie Wood was 43 years old when she drowned during a boat trip to California’s Catalina Island. The actress was on board her 60-foot yacht Splendour with co-star Christopher Walken and their friend, captain Dennis Davern. The trio had been drinking and arguing.
A spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has said that “if there was anything to go on, it would be that the death of Natalie Wood was suspicious,” adding that the agency’s investigation of the case is ongoing. He has also noted that new evidence has emerged since the case was reopened in 2011.
One big red flag for investigators is that there are several conflicting statements about what happened that night. Both Davern and Walken have described the argument as heated, but they have given differing accounts of what caused it. Walken alleged that Wagner and he got into a fight over Wood’s extended time away from her children while shooting the movie Brainstorm. Wagner initially denied that claim, but later wrote in his memoirs that the two did get into a heated argument about the matter.
The bruises that dotted Wood’s body are another point of contention. Initially, investigators thought that they were the result of her fall from the yacht into the water. Scratches on the side of her dinghy also seem to support this theory. But a medical examiner later revised the original cause of death from accidental drowning to a combination of hypothermia and undetermined factors.
Many believe that Wagner is to blame for Wood’s death. His behavior after she disappeared was also suspicious. He didn’t turn on the yacht’s lights to search for her, and he didn’t call for help when she disappeared. He later told a friend that he didn’t want to call for help because it might draw attention to the incident.
Suspected Assailant
In a time where Hollywood is often accused of being overly manipulative and exploitive, the case of Natalie Wood’s tragic death is a sad reminder that life can be brutal as well. Despite a long and successful career as one of Tinsel Town’s most alluring actresses, the blonde beauty was also prone to the dangers of stardom. In her later years, she fell prey to a dark side that would ultimately end in tragedy.
On November 29, 1981, the iconic actress was found dead in the Pacific Ocean off of California’s Catalina Island. She was on a Thanksgiving weekend boat trip aboard her yacht, Splendor, with her husband Robert Wagner and her Brainstorm co-star Christopher Walken, as well as her friend and the ship’s skipper, Dennis Davern.
While the initial ruling of accidental drowning and hypothermia seemed plausible at the time, questions arose over whether foul play had occurred. After all, she was terrified of the water and it was believed that she jumped or fell from the yacht’s dinghy into the water. Additionally, her body was covered with bruises and scratch marks.
Coroner Thomas Noguchi attributed her death to alcohol and drugs, saying she likely slipped into the cold water while trying to re-board the dinghy. He revealed she had a blood alcohol content of 0.14% and traces of painkillers and motion sickness medications in her system.
However, Noguchi’s theory has been largely discredited, with new evidence pointing to foul play. Specifically, a witness claims that he heard Wood’s cries for help from the water and that his calls were ignored.
In addition, it has been reported that a forensic psychiatrist has secretly told police he agrees with the findings of a 2013 supplemental coroner’s report that revised his own cause of death for Wood. The forensic psychiatrist also revealed that the bruises and scratches on Wood’s body were likely caused by someone else, not by her own fall from the dinghy.
Suspected Person of Interest
As the 40th anniversary of Natalie Wood’s mysterious drowning comes closer, police have reopened their investigation, calling her then-husband Robert Wagner a person of interest. The Hart to Hart star has always denied any involvement in his wife’s death, but he has now been named by investigators, who say they have new evidence that could help clear up the case.
Investigators have uncovered a series of witness accounts that could shed light on what happened to the Hollywood icon on Nov. 28, 1981, the night she went missing off the coast of Catalina Island. One of the witnesses was a former neighbor, who told RadarOnline that he had been 12 years old at the time and remembers being woken up late by someone banging on the door of his home. He said he ran to the door and saw that it was Natalie Wood, who appeared extremely upset and scared for her life. The man said she then ran off into the dark, yelling, “He’s going to kill me!”
Another witness, Davern, has previously told 48 Hours that Wagner stopped him from turning on the searchlights or calling for help when he discovered Wood in the dinghy, unable to swim. He also claims that Wagner threw her off the boat into the water and that she was screaming for help for hours before she disappeared.
Detectives have also noticed that the fresh scrapes and bruises on Wood’s body were all new when she was found, suggesting that she had been assaulted before her death. However, no charges have ever been filed in the case.
The investigation has refocused on Wagner, who has been interviewed twice by investigators in the past but was never formally charged with a crime. Police say they are reviewing information that has come to light since the case was reopened in 2011, including witness accounts of fighting between the two.
Investigators have contacted the 89-year-old actor’s rep, who declined to comment on the case. They are expected to interview him again, as a person of interest. A person of interest is not considered a suspect, but rather someone who may have valuable information to add to the investigation.
Reopened Investigation
Almost 30 years after Natalie Wood drowned off the coast of Catalina Island, homicide detectives are reopening the case. The move comes after a number of new witnesses came forward with information about the actress’s mysterious death, which has long been considered one of Hollywood’s greatest mysteries. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has cited fresh evidence as the reason for reopening the case, including a closer examination of bruises that appear to indicate the actress may have been assaulted.
Wood, who was 43 at the time of her death, was found dead in a cove off the California coast on Nov. 29, 1981. The actress, known for her roles in movies such as Miracle on 34th Street and Rebel Without a Cause, had been spending the weekend aboard her yacht Splendour with husband Robert Wagner and her Brainstorm co-star Christopher Walken. Her body was found floating in the ocean wearing only a flannel nightgown and a down jacket. The medical examiner initially ruled her death accidental, noting superficial bruises on her arms and knee and scratches on the dinghy of her yacht that could have been caused by attempts to climb back aboard.
However, the investigation was reopened in 2011, with more than 100 new witnesses coming forward to tell investigators what they saw on the night of the actress’s death. The LA County coroner later changed the original determination of accidental drowning to “drowning and other undetermined factors,” citing fresh bruises on her legs, arm and neck that suggested she had been attacked.
According to criminal law authority and author Marti Rulli, 94-year-old Wagner is now considered the prime suspect in the case due to these new witness statements. The writer plans to detail the new testimony in her upcoming book, Natalie Wood and the Devil She Knew. She claims two of the new witnesses told her that Wagner physically abused Wood and was screaming for help before she died.
While Rulli believes the evidence against Wagner is strong, he refused to cooperate with police when the investigation was reopened in 2011 and has never been charged with any crime. He also refuses to give interviews about the case, a decision that may be legally justified or could simply stem from his desire not to revisit the tragedy.