For 40 years, questions lingered about the death of actress Natalie Wood. We explore how the Hollywood elite used their power and connections to cover up what really happened.
Detectives say the original story that Wood took a dinghy into town, slipped and fell into the water doesn’t add up. And they believe that the two dozen bruises on her body looked more like assault marks. Keep reading the article below to learn more about Who Killed Natalie Wood.
The American dream was all but over for Natalie Wood when her life descended into a Hollywood nightmare during a fateful yacht trip off California’s Catalina Island in November of 1981. The actress was just 39 years old and at the peak of her career, with multiple hit movies under her belt and a marriage to a fellow star.
The case of Wood’s mysterious death has been dissected for decades. At first, the coroner ruled it an accident — a fall from a yacht into a rubber dinghy, which bore scratch marks that appeared to match those made by her nails. A new theory emerged after a book by the boat’s skipper, Dennis Davern, suggested that Wagner and his wife argued before she fell into the water and he withheld details from authorities because of Wagner’s intimidating personality.
In addition, Wood’s sister Lana pointed out that she could not swim and was terrified of the water her entire life, a fact that seemed to contradict the theory. A subsequent investigation found that the scratches were not caused by the dinghy, and the bruises on her body did not look like she had fallen from the yacht.
Despite all of this, many people still believe that Wagner is guilty of murder. His daughter Courtney and stepdaughter Natasha firmly believe in his innocence, and even when the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reopened the case in 2011 after the publication of Davern’s 2009 memoir, Wagner still supported the investigation.
In Who Killed Natalie Wood, author Sam Perroni uses official records and photographs, never-before-released confidential documents, a full autopsy report, and interviews with witnesses and experts to produce the most far-reaching examination of the case to date. He reveals what the original investigators glossed over in their initial ruling, how powerful Hollywood insiders played a role, and how that has obscured the truth for almost four decades.
The Autopsy
In life, Natalie Wood reigned as one of Hollywood’s most alluring actresses; in death, she remains one of its biggest mysteries. Was her death an accident or was something else at play?
The book examines the evidence in detail. It reveals how forensic, direct and circumstantial evidence point to murder. It applies actual California legal principles to the case and presents a powerful imaginary closing argument by the prosecution.
A reexamination of the facts leads to a few surprising conclusions. For example, the author exposes the suspicious actions of lead detective Duane Rasure during the investigation of Wood’s death. He demonstrates how Rasure was directed by Sheriff Pitchess to close the case of a possible murder as an accident, a decision that appears to have cost Natalie Wood her life.
The author also explores the suspicious background of Los Angeles coroner-coroner Dr. Thomas Noguchi, who grabbed the headlines for sensational news conferences following his pronouncements that the deaths of Marilyn Monroe, rock singer Janis Joplin and SLA leader Donald DeFreeze were accidental. The author reveals how Noguchi used creative forensic autopsy reporting to reach his doubtful conclusions in these cases.
The author then reexamines the crime scene evidence in the Natalie Wood case and, for the first time, presents never-before-seen autopsy photographs of the star. He analyzes a manipulated official report and demonstrates how the original statements made by Wagner, Walken and Davern could have been altered by the sheriff’s office to bolster the official narrative of an accidental drowning. He identifies a new suspect in the case and uncovers stunning new evidence, including a witness who testified that Natalie ran to her neighbors’ house late one night claiming she was afraid Wagner would kill her. A thorough examination of the wills and trusts filed for Natalie Wood Wagner reveals a powerful motive for a murder in which the victim was left with nothing. The book also exposes how the author of a novel about Natalie’s death profited from her untimely and suspicious death. This is a true whodunit that will fascinate readers and compel them to decide for themselves whether Natalie Wood’s death was an accident or a chilling homicide.
Witnesses
In November 1981, Natalie Wood was 43 years old and at the height of her movie-star career when she disappeared from a family yacht on a Thanksgiving boat trip off California’s Catalina Island. She had been on board with her two-time husband Robert Wagner and her Brainstorm costar Christopher Walken, as well as the yacht’s captain, Dennis Davern. Her body was found the next day in the water, dressed in a down jacket and nightgown. Her death was ruled an accident, but questions have always persisted.
One of those questions was whether Wagner, who had been drunk that evening, might have pushed her into the water. A coroner’s investigation ruled that she had slipped on a dinghy while trying to board it and drowned as a result of hypothermia and alcohol poisoning. But there were bruises on her arms and legs, as well as a scrape on her forehead, suggesting she had been assaulted in the time between her fall into the water and her death.
Police did not consider Wagner a suspect at the time of her death, mainly because no other witnesses reported hearing an argument between the couple shortly before she went missing. But in a 2009 book, Davern—who captained the yacht with Wagner, Wood and Walken on it that night—alleged that they had argued shortly before she was reported missing. Police have not confirmed this, but they say that new witness statements corroborating Davern’s claim have led them to reopen the case.
On CBS’ 48 Hours, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Lieutenant John Corina says investigators have been contacted by two new witnesses who claim to have heard an argument between Wagner and Wood on the night she died. Corina says those statements have been backed up by a video interview with Davern, who is no longer a suspect in the case, that was recently filmed for the program.
The program also reveals that local islander Doug Bombard saw the dinghy floating in the water at 7:44 a.m., about four hours after it was supposedly last seen, but he did not call the Coast Guard until 3:35 a.m.
Theories
In her time, Natalie Wood was one of Hollywood’s alluring leading ladies. She was known for her powerful performances in movies such as Gypsy, West Side Story and Splendor in the Grass. However, like most people, she had her ups and downs and suffered a few scandalous rumours in her lifetime. After her marriage to actor Robert Wagner, she went on a hiatus in her acting career, dating Warren Beatty and ultimately marrying British producer Richard Gregson.
When she died, speculation was rife about foul play. Her sister, Lana, pointed out that her sister could not swim and was terrified of water, making it strange for her to be around a boat like the one she was on that weekend. She also had fresh bruises, which seemed inconsistent with her account of falling into a dinghy and drowning.
The Los Angeles coroner ruled her death a tragic accident, but the case was always shrouded in suspicion. Davern, who was aboard the yacht with Wagner and Walken the night of her death, gave many interviews and wrote a book in 2009 that revealed several inconsistencies in his initial testimony to investigators.
This sparked the LA Sheriff’s Department to reopen the case, and after further examination of the evidence, the LA County Medical Examiner reclassified her death as suspicious. The book also reveals that the well-connected sheriff at the time, Peter Pitchess, had close ties to Frank Sinatra and may have influenced the outcome of the investigation.
In this book, author Sam Perroni combines official documents and photographs, never-before-seen confidential documents, interviews with forensic experts and other witnesses and explores the role of powerful insiders in glossing over the investigation and covering up what really happened to Natalie Wood. He uncovers an in-depth look into the star’s life and her death, showing how she was bred for fame and destruction by a mother who would do anything to see her daughter’s name in lights, including ignoring her rape.
This book also dissects a never-before-seen official probate file for Natalie’s estate and demonstrates, through inconsistencies and evidence of Wagner’s actions before and after her death, his clear consciousness of guilt.