Film Robert Wagner is 'person of interest' in Natalie Wood death investigation Six years after the reopening of the investigation into the actor’s mysterious death, CBS has learned her husband is a potential suspect Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood in their garden. Photograph: Rex Features
Nearly 40 years after Natalie Wood died mysteriously on a boat trip to Santa Catalina Island, investigators have named the actor’s husband Robert Wagner as a person of interest.
Natalie Wood's drowning death reclassified by Los Angeles coroner Read more
Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigators told 48 Hours, the CBS news magazine series, that they intend to speak to Wagner, 87, regarding the circumstances of Wood’s death in 1981.
CBS will be airing a special about the case – Natalie Wood: Death in Dark Water – which was reopened in 2011 after the captain of the Splendour, Dennis Davern, stated he had initially lied to police and believed Wagner to be responsible for Wood’s death. Davern alleged that Wagner and Wood had an argument that evening that escalated.
“As we’ve investigated the case over the last six years, I think he’s [Wagner] more of a person of interest now,” said Lt John Corina of Los Angeles County sheriff’s department in an interview with CBS correspondent Erin Moriarty. “I mean, we know now that he was the last person to be with Natalie before she disappeared.”
Shortly after the case was reopened, the Los Angeles coroner’s office reclassified Wood’s death certificate, previously attributed to accidental drowning, to say “drowning and other undetermined factors”. The actor Christopher Walken was also aboard the Splendour with Wagner, Davern and Wood, who was fearful of dark water.
“I’m not really the investigator here, and I’m far away from even thinking about profiting over a 30-year anniversary,” Davern told NBC News’ David Gregory in 2011 of his decision to speak out decades after the incident. “I’ve known this information for many, many years and my book has been out for two years. I’m not in it for any kind of profit, I’m in it for the justice of the whole situation.”
At just 41 years old, Wood had already amassed three Oscar nominations and starring roles in Rebel Without a Cause and West Side Story. In the days following the incident, Wagner and Walken agreed with the autopsy report stating Wood’s death was an accident while authorities believed Wood was trying to prevent the yacht from colliding with a 13ft dinghy also in the bay.
Investigators say that Wood’s autopsy noted fresh bruises on her wrists and upper body, including a “superficial abrasion” on her left cheek. In the interview with 48 Hours, detective Ralph Hernandez says Wood “looked like a victim of an assault”, while Corina added that the circumstances surrounding her death are “suspicious enough to make us think that something happened”.
“We have not been able to prove this was a homicide,” Hernandez told Moriarty. “And we haven’t been able to prove that this was an accident, either. The ultimate problem is we don’t know how she ended up in the water.”
The CBS special includes interviews with the detectives on the case as well as Wood’s sister Lana Wood.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s investigators say Robert Wagner is “more of a person of interest” in the death of actress Natalie Wood, who died nearly 40 years ago under mysterious circumstances.
“As we’ve investigated the case over the last six years, I think he’s more of a person of interest now,” Lt. John Corina told “48 Hours” in an interview that’s set to air Saturday. “I mean, we now know that he was the last person to be with Natalie before she disappeared.”
Silver Screen Collection via Getty Images Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood in 1970.
Wood, who starred in “West Side Story” and “Rebel Without a Cause,” was found dead in the water in 1981, near Santa Catalina Island off the coast of California. She had gone on a yachting weekend with Wagner, as well as Christopher Walken, who at the time was starring with the actress in the movie “Brainstorm,” and Dennis Davern, the boat’s captain.
Wood’s death was originally ruled an accident, but the case was reopened in 2011. The coroner changed her cause of death to “drowning and other undetermined factors” the following year.
Detectives who spoke to “48 Hours” said an autopsy report indicated there were a number of bruises on Wood’s body that appeared to have been fresh at the time of death.
“She looked like a victim of an assault,” Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Detective Ralph Hernandez said, noting that the marks made “it suspicious enough to make us think that something happened.”
ullstein bild Dtl. via Getty Images Wood and Wagner in 1958, shortly after their first marriage.
Investigators said Wagner — who was married to Wood twice, first from 1957 to 1962, and again from 1972 until her death — has been uncooperative since they reopened the case.
“I haven’t seen him tell the details that match all the other witnesses in this case,” Corina said of Wagner. “I think he’s constantly changed his story a little bit. And his version of events just don’t add up.”
Walken, however, has spoken with investigators.
Wagner wrote in his 2008 memoir, Pieces of My Heart, that “nobody knows” how Wood died.
There was a lot of drinking that night, he wrote. He said he and Walken also got into a fight about Wood’s career path.
“I picked up a wine bottle, slammed it on the table and broke it into pieces,” he wrote.
Nearly four decades after the unexplained drowning death of Hollywood star Natalie Wood, Los Angeles County Sheriff's investigators tell "48 Hours" that her then-husband, actor Robert Wagner, is now a person of interest. Investigators want to speak with Wagner about the circumstances surrounding her death one night in 1981, they say in interviews for "Natalie Wood: Death in Dark Water" to be broadcast Saturday, Feb. 3 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
"As we've investigated the case over the last six years, I think he's more of a person of interest now," Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Lieutenant John Corina says of Wagner in an interview with "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty. "I mean, we know now that he was the last person to be with Natalie before she disappeared."
Wood drowned off the coast of Catalina Island in California in November 1981 after she went missing from the Splendour, her family's yacht. Also aboard that night were Captain Dennis Davern, Wagner, and Wood's friend and fellow actor, Christopher Walken. The next day, the actress was found floating in the water wearing a red down jacket and flannel nightgown. After a two-week investigation, the death was ruled an accident. But, in 2011, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reopened the death investigation. And in 2012 the Los Angeles Coroner's Office amended the death certificate, changing the manner of death from an accidental drowning to "drowning and other undetermined factors."
Now, six years after the investigation was reopened, "48 Hours" talks with the investigators about new witnesses, new evidence and new theories as to what happened that night.
Rumors of foul play have long surrounded Wood's mysterious death. At first, the three men aboard the boat -- Wagner, Walken and Davern -- told detectives that Wood, famously terrified of dark water, took off in a dinghy and went ashore. Over time, however, Wagner and Davern's accounts have shifted, a red flag to the investigators.
Investigators say Wagner has refused to speak with them since the case was reopened. Corina tells Moriarty he doesn't believe Wagner has told the whole story.
"I haven't seen him tell the details that match ... all the other witnesses in this case," Corina says of Wagner. "I think he's constantly ... he's changed the -- his story a little bit. ...and his version of events just don't add up."
Walken has spoken with investigators.
Was it an accident or something more?
Investigators today note the autopsy report indicates there were a number of bruises that appeared to be fresh on Wood's body.
"She looked like the victim of an assault," says Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Detective Ralph Hernandez.
Los Angeles Coroner's Office
Do you believe Natalie Wood was murdered?" Moriarty asks.
"I think it's suspicious enough to make us think that something happened," Corina says.
"Do you believe Robert Wagner knows a lot more about what happened to his wife than he's ever said?" Moriarty asks.
"Well, I think he does because he's the last one to see her," Corina replies.
Moriarty and the "48 Hours" team have been covering the Wood case for six years and was the only news organization to capture the detectives searching the Splendour for clues. "48 Hours" reports on the latest information in the case through interviews with the detectives leading the case, with Wood's sister Lana Wood, as well as archival interviews with Wagner, Davern and others. "48 Hours"' efforts to get comment from Wagner and Walken were unsuccessful.
"We have not been able to prove this was a homicide. And we haven't been able to prove that this was an accident, either," says Hernandez. "The ultimate problem is we don't know how she ended up in the water."
Robert Wagner has been named as a person of interest in the death of his late wife Natalie Wood, 36 years after her mysterious drowning which has haunted Hollywood for decades.
The revelation was made by Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Lieutenant John Corina in a new documentary which will air on CBS on Saturday.
'As we've investigated the case over the last six years, I think he's more of a person of interest now.
'I mean, we know now that he was the last person to be with Natalie before she disappeared,' he said.
Wagner, who is now 87 and married to actress Jill St. John, did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's questions on Thursday morning.
Wood drowned while boating with her husband and their friend, actor Christopher Walken, off the island of Catalina in Southern California in November 1981.
The trio had just enjoyed a boozy dinner at an upscale restaurant when they were seen going back to the boat at around 10pm the night before Natalie was found.
In 2013, her sister revealed claims made by the boat's captain that Wagner had pushed Natalie overboard by accident and that he refused to help her once she was in the water.
The actress, who was 43 when she died, was found floating in the water in her nightgown the next morning.
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Robert Wagner has been named as a person of interest in the death of his late wife Natalie Wood who drowned mysteriously in 1981. They are pictured together on the boat from which she vanished in 1981, two weeks before she died
Police in Los Angeles say they want to speak to Wagner, who is now 87, about Wood's death. The actor is pictured in April 2017
Wagner's explanation for her death was that it was a tragic accident.
He said Wood fled the boat in a rubber dinghy after watching him and Walken get into an argument about her career.
He claimed the last time he saw her was when she was 'fixing her hair' in the bathroom and that when he went to bed, she was not there.
Authorities accepted his version of events at the time and declared the actress's death an accident.
But in 2011, they reopened the investigation after receiving requests from both Natalie's sister Lana and the boat's captain, Dennis Davern, who suddenly confessed that he had lied about what happened.
She looked like the victim of assault Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Detective Ralph Hernandez
He would not explicitly blame Wagner, but said an argument he and his wife had before she died was what caused her death.
An autopsy suggested that she had been the victim of an assault and had abrasions on her forehead.
Police have still not declared Natalie's death a murder and no charges have been filed against Wagner.
Detectives however believe he knows more than he revealed at the time.
'I haven't seen him tell the details that match all the other witnesses in this case.
'I think he's constantly changed his story a little bit. And his version of events just don't add up.
'I think he does [know more] because he's the last one to see her,' Corina said.
Wood drowned near her yacht, the Splendour, off the coast of Catalina in southern California in November 1981. Her husband said they had argued and that she took off in the rubber dinghy and somehow must have fallen into the water
An autopsy report showed that Wood had suffered a cut to her face which police say may show she was assaulted before she died
Christopher Walken (left in October and right, with Wood filming Brainstorm together in 1981) was also on the boat at the time
He would not explicitly say whether he believed the actress was the victim of murder, but said: 'I think it's suspicious enough to make us think that something happened.
'We have not been able to prove this was a homicide. And we haven't been able to prove that this was an accident, either.
'The ultimate problem is we don't know how she ended up in the water,' he added.
Detective Ralph Hernandez said Wood 'looked like the victim of assault' when she was pulled from the water.
Captain Davern, who was on the boat when Wood disappeared, participated in the documentary.
'I remember people coming on to the boat, saying they had found Natalie Wood. I just couldn't believe it,' he said in a teaser for the show.
He, along with the actress's sister Lana pleaded with police to reopen the case in 2011.
Lana always maintained that Wagner held the key to her death and she lambasted him for not being forthcoming with police.
In 2011, she told DailyMail.com how she had received death threats from his fans for not dropping her crusade.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Lieutenant John Corina says he believes Wagner has never told the full story of his wife's death
Captain Dennis Davern was on the boat on the day Wood vanished. He asked for the investigation to be reopened along with Wood's sister Lana (right) who told DailyMail.com in 2011 that she believed Wagner was responsible for her sister's death
Wagner is pictured with his current wife Jill St John. They married in 1990 and remain together
'After 35 years I feel we're so close to finding out what happened to my sister but the LA Attorney's Office is refusing to press charges against Robert Wagner - the man I believe is responsible.
'It's a cover-up and I won't rest until Natalie gets justice,' she said at the time.
In 2013, she revealed that Davern had once told her that her sister was pushed overboard by her husband and that he refused to help her once she was in the water.
They were drunk after a night of heavy drinking and Wagner, whom she called RJ, did not appear to understand how dangerous it was, she claimed.
'He said it appeared to him as though RJ shoved her away and she went overboard. Dennis panicked and RJ said, "Leave her there. Teach her a lesson."
The medical examiner found undigested food in Wood's stomach which suggested she had died at around midnight, two hours after she, Wagner and Walken were seen leaving the restaurant where they had dinner.
In 2013, Lana was seen confronting Wagner in a Palm Springs hotel at a lunch to honor his third wife, Jill St. John.
Wagner spoke out in 2016, 35 years after Wood's death, to insist it was a tragic accident which 'shattered' him.
The couple had their own children but Wagner also looked after Wood's daughter from a previous marriage after her death. They are seen in 1972
Wood and Wagner were Hollywood darlings and their turbulent romance ignited their fame. hey are seen in 1980 (left) and in 1974 (right)
He had previously claimed in a 2009 memoir that he argued with both Wood and Walken on the night in question and that Wood vanished afterwards, taking the dinghy from her family's yacht to get herself to shore.
'The last time I saw my wife she was fixing her hair in the bathroom while I was arguing with Chris,' he said. 'I saw her shut the door. She was going to bed.'
He described how he and Walken moved up to the deck as 'things were threatening to get physical' and they were calmed by the fresh sea air.
He said he waited up a little longer before going to bed – but his wife was not there.
'Yes, I blamed myself,' the actor wrote. 'If I'd been there, I could have done something. I wasn't, but ultimately, a man is responsible for his loved one.
Wagner is seen comforting Wood's daughter Natasha at her funeral. He later said her death 'shattered' the family
'I would have done anything in the world to protect her. Anything. I lost a woman I loved with all my heart and I will never completely come to terms with that.'
Wood shot to fame as a child star in Miracle in 34th Street and later appeared in films including Gypsy and Rebel Without a Cause.
Wagner, a star in his own right, were darlings of the film industry and their turbulent romance rivaled that of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
Wood and Wagner were married twice; first in 1957 and again in 1972. They both married others in between.
In 1969, Wood married British film agent and director Richard Gregson and the pair had a daughter together.
Wagner married Marion Marshall a year after his first split from Wood. They were together for eight years and had a daughter together, Katie.
In 1972, he and Wood reunited and in the same year, she gave birth to their only biological child together, Courtney.
CBS 48 Hours Natalie Wood: Death in Dark Water will air on Saturday, February 3 at 10pm EST.
