Who Killed Natalie Wood? 20 Facts You Need to Know


 

In a 55-foot boat called Splendour, four individuals took a trip one day off the southwest coast of Los Angeles. Three of those grown people would return to the coast without incident. The fourth never returned to her home. Her children would never become adults, and she would never work again. In a flannel nightgown, stockings, and down jacket she was found floating in the ocean.

Natalie Wood, her husband Robert Wagner, her pal Christopher Walken, and Captain Dennis Davern were all present on board. After a dinner accompanied by several bottles of champagne, all four of them were very drunk, both on the ship and onshore. Over Wood鈥檚 friendship with Walken, Wagner allegedly lost his cool. Wood and Wagner are said to have argued after the event.

 The body of 43-year-old Natalie was discovered in the ocean about a mile from the yacht the following morning at about 8:00. Despite the extremely odd circumstances surrounding Natalie Wood’s passing, it was found that she drowned accidentally.

1. Wagner and Walken got into a Fight that Night

During an outburst of rage at Wood鈥檚 friendship with Walken, Wagner allegedly destroyed a bottle. Following that, Wood and Wagner are said to have quarreled.

In a sworn statement to police, ship captain Dennis Davern said that he overheard Wagner yell to Walken, 鈥淒o you want to f*ck my wife?鈥 Right before Wood fell overboard, Davern heard a wine bottle smash. In his 2008 autobiography Pieces of My Heart, Wagner confirmed that he and Walken quarreled the night Wood drowned.

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2. There were Contrasting Accounts of a Broken Wine Bottle

When Wagner first spoke with the authorities, he didn鈥檛 say much, but he did blame the broken glass on the choppy waters before later confessing to smashing a wine bottle out of rage. Christopher Walken provided an alternative account of what happened, attributing the broken glass to him dropping a wine glass while raising a toast.

3. Wood Allegedly had a Crush on Christopher Walken

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In the science fiction thriller Brainstorm from 1983, Wood and Walken co-starred. Walken was a rising star in Hollywood and had won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar two years previously for his performance in The Deer Hunter. Robert Wagner, who was in his forties and had made a successful transition to television in the 1980s with Hart to Hart, was unquestionably not as popular at the time as Walken.

While filming Brainstorm, according to Davern, Wood allegedly fell in love with Walken and publicly flirted with him. Davern, who ate supper that night Natalie died with Wood, Wagner, and Walken, asserted that Wood was flirting with [Walken] throughout the meal.

 4. Christopher Walken Finally made a Public Statement Two years after the Incident

After Wood passed away, Walken remained utterly silent. He finally spoke two years after the occurrence in an obvious attempt to put an end to all the irrational speculation.

Walken testified that the couple had fought and gotten drunk for two days before Wood left the yacht. He again chose to remain quiet when his case was revived in 2011. He responded, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know,鈥 when asked how he felt about the matter being reopened.

5. Natalie Wood鈥檚 Body was Discovered with Bruises

Natalie鈥檚 body was discovered at 8 a.m. on November 29. The body was discovered one mile from the boat, with a small Valiant-brand inflatable dinghy beached close. She had bruises on her body and arms, as well as an abrasion on her left cheek, according to the autopsy report, but there was no information regarding how or when the injuries happened.

Surprisingly, Wagner claimed that he was not with her during the Incident. The husband claimed that he was in bed.

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6. It was Determined that She Drowned Accidentally

Photo by Arun Kr:

Her demise was classified as an unintentional drowning. According to the theory, Wood fell into the water after securing the dinghy to stop it from striking the boat. Given Wood鈥檚 hydrophobia, some relatives and acquaintances disputed this interpretation.

Read about the  Top 10 Facts about Natalie Wood

7. Reports Indicated that Natalie was Assaulted Before Drowning

Photo by Life Of Pix:

The coroner’s report from 2013 stated that Wood had unexplained recent bruises on her right forearm, left wrist, and right knee, as well as a cut on her neck and a superficial scrape on her forehead, according to a Los Angeles Times report from 2018. According to officials, it’s possible that she was assaulted before drowning.

8. Wood was Heavily Intoxicated the Night she Passed Away

, , via Wikimedia Commons

The four had drank several bottles of champagne at the restaurant before Wood鈥檚 death. The night manager of the restaurant claimed that he was concerned if they will make it safely to their boat since they were too intoxicated. The night manager claimed that he asked one of the Harbor Patrol to ensure that the group went back safely.

Wood had a blood alcohol content of 0.14 percent, according to the toxicology report made public following her passing. Additionally discovered in the actress鈥檚 system were painkillers and anti-motion sickness drugs, which would have certainly enhanced Wood鈥檚 level of drunkenness.

9. Wood鈥檚 Body was Found Dressed like Someone with no plans to go in the water

Photo by Nadin Sh:

Wood鈥檚 body was discovered approximately a mile south of her yacht, close to an uninhabited inlet known as Blue Cavern Point. Her body was clothed as though she had no intention of entering the ocean.

She was dressed in a nightgown, down-filled jacket, and wool socks that reached her knees. After 24 hours, the actress鈥檚 garments were still damp when her body was examined. Between 30 and 40 pounds was the saturated weight of the wool jacket alone.

10. Wood may have survived if she had taken off her jacket

According to experts, Wood presumably drowned as a result of the wool jacket’s weight. Some evidence suggests that she was in the water and attempted to board a dinghy, but was unsuccessful due to the weight of the wet wool. The actress’s capacity to reason may have been hampered by her blood alcohol level. There’s a chance that if she hadn’t been drinking, she would have realized that she needed to take the jacket off to get back into the dinghy.

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11. The Coast Guard was not contacted Nearly four hours after Wood vanished

The 500 cc of partially digested food found in Wood鈥檚 stomach, according to the coroner鈥檚 report, placed her death somewhere after midnight. Wood went missing around 11:05 p.m., but no ship-to-shore contact was made until 1:30 a.m. Moreover, the Coast Guard was not informed until 3:30 a.m.

12. A Witness Alleged She Received A Death Threat And Ignorance From The Authorities

Three days after Wood鈥檚 passing, a retired stockbroker named Marilyn Wayne, whose yacht was moored close to the Splendour, claimed to have received a written death threat. Wayne asserted that at midnight on the evening of Wood鈥檚 death, she overheard someone pleading for assistance.

She allegedly tried to contact harbor patrol, but nobody answered, according to Wayne. She made separate contact with the neighborhood sheriff, who informed her that a helicopter would be dispatched to the location. But according to Wayne, it never materialized.

13. The Captain of the Yacht Claimed that Wagner Pushed His Wife Overboard

The captain of the yacht alleges that Wagner pushed Wood overboard and abandoned her in the water. Dennis Davern admitted to lying to the police about what transpired that evening in 2013 to 48 Hours and the Today Show. He attributed Wood鈥檚 demise to Wagner. Wagner, who had not been accused, asserted that he was not involved.

14. Robert Wagner Did Nothing to Save Natalie

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Natalie Wood鈥檚 sister, Lana Wood, said that Davern called her one night while intoxicated to admit that Wagner was responsible for Natalie鈥檚 drowning. However, the captain also claimed that he did not believe that Wagner intended for Wood to drown. The sister Claimed that Denver told her that the husband did nothing to save her.

15. Wagner Prevented the Captain from Turning on the Searchlights and Notifying the Authorities

In November 2011, the case was revived as a result of Davern鈥檚 public admission that he had misled police during the initial inquiry and that Wood and Wagner had argued that evening. After Wood vanished, Wagner had stopped Davern from activating the searchlights and calling the police.

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16. Walken was Not Considered a Suspect by Authorities

After the case was reopened in 2011, Walken was not charged not guilty of the murder. This was after he hired a lawyer and cooperated with the investigation.

17. Natalie鈥檚 Cause of Death was Changed After 30 Years

The LA County Coroner determined that Natalie Wood drowned to death in 1981. A 10-page addendum to her autopsy was made public by authorities on January 14, 2013. The actress tried to climb back into the yacht after tumbling over the side, according to the original 1981 coroner鈥檚 report, which explains the injuries on Wood鈥檚 face, wrists, knees, and ankles.

First, Wood鈥檚 demise was deemed accidental. According to a 2013 report, her death cause remained unknown. The modification was heavily influenced by where the bruises were.

18. Wagner was Formally Identified as a Person of Interest in the case in 2018

Wagner was identified by the police as a person of interest in the inquiry in February 2018. According to the authorities, Wagner was the last person to see Wood before she vanished.

19. Robert Wagner was Confronted by His Daughter about Natalie鈥檚 Death

In 2020, Natalie and Wagner’s daughter gained the courage to ask Wagner about her mother鈥檚 death. Natasha Gregson Confronted him on-camera In Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind. Gregson Wagner firmly defended him and stated that she does not think he was at all responsible for her mother鈥檚 passing. He categorically disputed the allegations.

20. Natalie Wood Had Not Finished the Filming for Brainstorm

Though all of her major scenes were finished when Natalie Wood passed away, she had not yet finished the filming for Brainstorm. She died, and MGM sought to use it as an excuse to try to put the difficult movie on hold, but the film鈥檚 director felt they simply got cold feet.

 

Police seem to have made no progress since 1981 despite reviving the investigation decades later. It doesn鈥檛 appear likely that anyone will ever be prosecuted for Natalie Wood鈥檚 death because no one has been.

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