Unfortunately, like her “Rebel Without a Cause” co-starsJames DeanandSal Mineo, Wood died tragically.
Still, rumors about foul play swirled after her drowning.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t think he did it: Of course he did!"
So, what exactlydowe know for sure?
According to Suzanne Finstad’s biography “Natasha,” the fortuneteller had two predictions about Marusia’s daughter.
… She spent the rest of her life terrified of dark water."
Unfortunately, Natalie had to confront her fear during a number of movie shoots.
One experience in particular only exacerbated her terror.
“I was petrified, because we were in the open ocean.”
That Thanksgiving weekend, she and her husband, Robert Wagner, invited Walken to go yachting with them.
They boarded the Splendour, captained by Dennis Davern, and headed out toward Catalina Island.
According to Wagner’s attorney, Paul Ziffern, that night started out normal enough.
Later, though, things took an unfortunate turn.
“Since Mrs. Wagner often took the dinghy out alone, Mr. Wagner was not immediately concerned.”
Here’s where things start to get slippery.
According to those initial reports, Wood vanished sometime around 1:00 a.m. “When this proved unsuccessful, he immediately contacted the Coast Guard.”
Captain Dennis Davern disagrees.
He lied from day one."
“Natalie wasn’t anywhere around the dock area, nor was the dinghy,” he wrote.
I was scared and confused."
Around 1:30 a.m., a call finally went out.
“This is the Splendour,” either Wagner or Davern radioed, according toVanity Fair.
“Needs help.”
Corina toldCBS Newsthat Wagner initially called for someone on Catalina to look for her in town.
Pat Stoll, a Los Angeles Sheriff’s Deputy, told the publication that she was found by helicopter.
“She herself is dressed in flannel nightgown and socks,” the coroner wrote.
“Will you like identify her for me, Dennis?”
he asked the captain.
“I can’t, I just can’t.”
Davern did as requested, and he spent the rest of his life haunted by what he’d seen.
According to the autopsy report, Wood also had a bruised cheek.
Ultimately, he concluded that her death was due to a “tragic accident while slightly intoxicated.”
It wasn’t his wife, however; instead, Wagner claimed that he fought with Christopher Walken.
“Why the f*** don’t you stay out of her career?”
Wagner admitted to having yelled.
Dennis Davern disputed Wagner’s version of events.
The argument spilled out onto the deck right about the time Wood disappeared.
“I felt like an intruding employee,” he explained when initially trying to object.
Soon afterward, Wood was nowhere to be found.
The boat captain went into detail about what he remembered happening that night aboard the yacht.
Up first, he admitted that he had lied to police investigators about what exactly went down.
“I made some terrible decisions and mistakes.
I made mistakes by not telling the honest truth in a police report,” he confessed.
Make a phone call, turn on the searchlight.
His instincts told him something was terribly wrong, and Robert Wagner asked him not to."
Allegedly, Davern said Wagner had ordered him to “leave her there.
Teach her a lesson.”
“I don’t know what happened.
She slipped and fell in the water.
I was in bed then.
It was a terrible thing,” he said.
Then he changed the subject.
“Look, we’re in a conversation I won’t have.
It’s a f***ing bore,” he said.
In 1997, Walken went into more detail when speaking with Playboy.
Furthermore, he said, it was a shame that her death ended up the way it did.
So far, nothing has come of these allegations.
What that additional information was, however, wasn’t specified.
Primarily, theAssociated Pressreported that her cause of death was changed to “drowning and other undetermined factors.”
He noticed bruising on her legs, which he found odd.
“It was almost like somebody being pushed off.”
As a result, Franco’s observation was left off of the autopsy report.
This information was also not included in the amended version of Wood’s death certificate.
However, another active period came in 2018 and this time authorities went much further.
Additionally,Robert Wagnerwas now considered a “person of interest.”
“Do we have enough to make an arrest at this moment?
No,” Nishida said.
When the case was reopened, Christopher Walken spoke again with authorities.
She toldInsider, “He did tell them everything he witnessed and he knows.
However, he made them promise that they would never reveal anything that he has said.”
He broke it in anger while fighting with the “Seven Psychopaths” star.
Still, Wagner insists he hadn’t done anything to Wood, and his stepdaughter appears to believe him.
Natalie Wood’s sister Lana, on the other hand, believes Wagner is responsible.
She told the outlet she doesn’t expect the case to be resolved, but she maintains hope.
