Natalie Wood, a Hollywood actress famous for her roles in West Side Story and Rebel Without a Cause, drowned off the coast in November 1981. She was on a yacht called Splendour with her husband, Robert Wagner, and fellow actor Christopher Walken.
The yacht’s captain, Dennis Davern, claimed that Wood went back to her state room after hearing a quarrel between Wagner and Walken. Keep reading the article below to learn more about Who Killed Natalie Wood.
Natalie Wood was a star of Hollywood’s golden age, with hits including “West Side Story,” “Rebel Without a Cause” and “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.” She had an outsize personality that endeared her to millions of fans. But behind the scenes, she was troubled and often lonely. She fought depression and had several affairs, including one with her co-star in her last film, Christopher Walken. Her life ended tragically in 1981 when she drowned while yachting off Catalina Island with Wagner and Walken.
In 2008, Wagner published an autobiography in which he blamed himself for her death. In the book, he describes a stormy argument with Walken and her subsequent disappearance from their yacht Splendour. He also claims he heard people from nearby boats shouting and yelling during the night of her disappearance, but did not offer that information to authorities at the time.
He also alleges that the sheriff’s department used a well-connected Hollywood fixer, Peter Pitchess, who had close ties to Frank Sinatra and others. The author argues that this relationship, along with the fact that Wagner was the beneficiary of the largesse of many wealthy friends, may have tainted the investigation.
The sheriff’s department denied these allegations and said they had attempted to interview Wagner 10 times before he refused to cooperate. In 2013, the sheriff’s department reopened the case, but they have not been able to talk to him again.
In 2013, the captain of the boat Wood was sailing on, Dennis Davern, told the NBC “Today” show that he had changed his version of events in the days leading up to Wood’s disappearance. He also said he had asked Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigators to reopen the case. But a sheriff’s department spokeswoman played down the comments, saying nothing new had been learned from the reopening of the investigation.
Dennis Davern
When it comes to the mysterious death of Natalie Wood, Dennis Davern is one of the most interesting and elusive players. The skipper of the yacht Splendour has long claimed that he was lied to by police after his initial interview and that Robert Wagner was actually responsible for her death. He also claims that he saw bruises on her body that were not apparent in the initial autopsy and that he heard arguments between Wagner and Walken on the night of her death. He is now telling NBC’s Today show that he will not be silenced.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reopened the investigation into Wood’s death in 2011, and the coroner officially changed her cause of death to “drowning and other undetermined factors.” Police have also stated that they believe bruises seen on her body were inflicted before she died. Davern has been a consistent critic of Wagner’s account of the incident and has spoken out about his beliefs for years, including in a 1992 appearance on a Geraldo Rivera special, in a 2000 Vanity Fair article, and in his 2009 book with Marti Rulli, Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour.
In his most recent comments, he said that he was pleased that investigators are finally looking into his story. He says that he is not a murderer and that he did not intend to hurt anyone. He also said that he has witnesses who support his claim and that he passed a polygraph test after being interviewed by detectives.
Davern claims that he heard a fight between Wagner and Walken on the evening of November 28. He said that they were fighting about Wood’s career and that she left the yacht to go to her cabin. When she did not return, he assumed she was back in her cabin, but she never returned. He said that he then saw her floating in the water, but it was too late to save her.
Despite the fact that no one has been charged in connection with Wood’s death, her daughter Lana believes that Wagner murdered her. In an interview with Erin Moriarty for the 48 Hours Mystery podcast, Lana explains that she was convinced of this after hearing from a tormented Davern who told her about his thoughts on the matter.
Christopher Walken
For decades, many people have speculated about what happened to Natalie Wood on the night of November 29, 1981. The famous actress, who starred in films like Miracle on 34th Street and Rebel Without a Cause, disappeared from a yacht off the coast of Catalina Island. Her body was found in the water a few days later, and her death has been ruled an accident.
However, many believe that the case remains suspicious. One reason is that there are several bruises on her body, which were noted in an autopsy report. These bruises have not been explained, and they appear to have played a big role in the medical examiner’s decision to change the manner of her death from accidental drowning to undetermined.
Another reason is that Wood’s husband, Robert Wagner, and co-star Christopher Walken have given conflicting accounts of what happened the night she died. Both have denied any wrongdoing, and they have refused to cooperate with investigators in the past.
Dennis Davern, the captain of the yacht that Wood was sailing on, has also changed his story over the years. He initially told investigators that Wood was in the master bedroom of her cabin when she went overboard, but he later told reporters that she was in the guest room. Davern said that he heard a commotion and saw Wood run out of her room, and he believed she was trying to get in his boat.
He has hired a litigation specialist to represent him in the reopened investigation. His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.
The sheriff’s department has not released any new information about the case, but they have emphasized that the investigation is still active and they will continue to search for answers. They have not ruled out the possibility of a cover-up by the authorities or the involvement of other individuals, including members of the LAPD.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
The investigation into Natalie Wood’s mysterious death dragged on for decades. In recent years, the case has been reopened on the basis of new information from a witness. But the sheriff’s department says that it has not uncovered any significant break in the case, and that it has no plans to charge anyone.
Wood’s death happened on Thanksgiving weekend in 1981, when she was spending time with her husband Robert Wagner and actor Christopher Walken on their yacht. She was 43 at the time. She was found dead in the water the next day, clad only in her flannel nightgown and red down jacket. Her body was near the couple’s yacht, The Splendour, about a mile away from shore at an area known as Blue Cavern Point. Bruises and scrapes listed on her autopsy report suggest she had been assaulted.
Wagner has steadfastly maintained that he did not have anything to do with her death. But he has never publicly given an account of what happened on the evening she died. Walken has also been reluctant to give his version of events. The author’s close examination of their conflicting accounts and of forensic evidence, including never-before-seen photographs, convincingly suggests that investigators manipulated the official report and covered up the manner of her death.
A number of people have contacted the sheriff’s department after a 2009 book by Marti Rulli, titled Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour, suggested that something odd was going on in the hours leading up to the actress’s death. Davern was also a co-author of the book and has told media outlets that he had information to share, but withheld it from police because he believed that Wagner knew more than he did.
The sheriff’s department reopened its investigation in 2011 after the publication of the book. It has said that the new probe was prompted by new comments made by Davern, who had been interviewed for the Rulli book and a 2008 Vanity Fair article. He has alleged that Wagner and Wood fought in the cabin before she fell into the water, possibly after she slipped off the boat while trying to re-tie their dinghy.