A Los Angeles County Sherriff’s Department investigator says actor Robert Wagner has become a person of interest in the reopened cold case involving the death of his actress wife Natalie Wood in 1981.
CBS News said Thursday that Lt. John Corina says in network’s newsmagazine “48 Hours” airing Saturday that, “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.”
The sheriff’s department, citing interviews with new witnesses, said the recent information had prompted investigators to call it “a suspicious death,” The Associated Press reports.
Robert Wagner
The department had reopened the investigation in 2011, and the following year the Los Angeles Coroner’s Office amended the death certificate to read that Wood — the screen legend who began as a child actress and went on to star in such classic films as “Rebel Without a Cause” (1955), “West Side Story” (1961) and “Love with the Proper Stranger” (1963) — had died not only of accidental drowning but from “drowning and other undetermined factors.”
Wood, 43, had disappeared from her and Wagner’s yacht off Catalina Island, roughly 20 miles from Los Angeles, and was found the next day floating in the water. She had been onboard the boat with Wagner and her “Brainstorm” co-star, Christopher Walken, plus Capt. Dennis Davern. The mysterious circumstances surrounding her death have led to numerous conspiracy theories.
An autopsy report indicated bruises on Wood’s body that prompted Sheriff’s Det. Ralph Hernandez to tell the newsmagazine Wood “looked like the victim of an assault.” Added Corina, “I think it’s suspicious enough to make us think that something happened.”
Since 1981, mystery and speculation have swirled around the death of the actress who had been nominated for three Academy Awards and appeared in West Side Story and Rebel Without a Cause.
Robert Wagner
[caption id="attachment_1507" align="aligncenter" width="640"]<img class=" wp-image-1507" src="http://worldsdigitalcurrency.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/180201-robert-wagner.jpg" alt="Robert Wagner" width="640" height="427" /> Robert Wagner[/caption]
She was on a yacht with Wagner, actor Christopher Walken and the boat captain on Thanksgiving weekend of 1981.
The 55-foot yacht "Splendour," belonging to actor Robert Wagner and his wife, actress Natalie Wood in 1981.
PHOTO: Wood was on this yacht with Wagner, actor Christopher Walken, and the boat's captain the night before she was found dead. (AP: Paul J Harrington, file)
After a night of drinking, her body was found floating in the water off California's Catalina Island.
Wood, 43, said to have had a lifelong fear of drowning and dark water, was found dressed for bed in a long nightgown and socks, but wearing a red down jacket over her nightclothes.
One of the witnesses described hearing yelling and crashing sounds coming from the couple's stateroom, she said. Shortly after that, separate witnesses heard a man and woman arguing on the back of the boat and believe the voices were those of Wood and Wagner, Nishida said.
The statements differed from the original version of events provided by witnesses, including those who were on the boat, she said.
The sheriff's department said Wagner is considered a person of interest.
"Do we have enough to make an arrest at this moment? No," Nishida said.
The police statement was issued after CBS News aired an interview with Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. John Corina, who said he doesn't believe Wagner has told the whole story about what happened.
Investigators have said Wagner has not been interviewed since the probe was reopened. They said in 2013 that they had tried at least 10 times to interview him but he refused.
Wagner has denied any involvement in his wife's death and no charges have been filed. His publicist, Alan Nierob, declined to comment Thursday.
Conflicting versions of what happened on the yacht have contributed to the mystery of her death. Wood, Wagner, and Walken had all been drinking heavily in the hours before the actress disappeared.
Wagner wrote in a 2008 memoir that he and Walken argued that night. He wrote that Walken went to bed and he stayed up for a while, but when he went to bed, he noticed that his wife and a dinghy that had been attached to the yacht were missing.
The captain of the boat, Dennis Davern, told NBC News in 2011 that he lied to police during the initial investigation and that a fight between Wood and Wagner had led to her death.
Robert Wagner
Robert Wagner
Wagner has had numerous TV and film roles
TV star Wagner, 87, has not commented on the latest developments but acknowledged in his memoir that he had argued with his wife before she disappeared.
Investigators say he has refused to speak to them since the case was reopened in 2011.
In 2012, Wood's death certificate was amended to reflect the uncertainty surrounding her death. It now says she died as a result of "drowning and other undetermined factors" and the circumstances of how she ended up in the water are "not clearly established".
As a child, Wood featured in films like Miracle on 34th Street and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.
She was nominated for a best-supporting-actress Oscar for her role in Rebel Without a Cause, and for best actress for Splendor in the Grass and Love with the Proper Stranger.
Robert Wagner
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