Actor Robert Wagner named 'person of interest' in wife Natalie Wood's drowning: CBS
Source: cbs
Los Angeles County homicide detectives have named actor Robert Wagner a person of interest in the probe of the unexplained 1981 drowning of his wife, actress Natalie Wood, saying he was the last person with her before she vanished off Southern California.
Woods body was found floating in a Santa Catalina Island cove on the morning of Nov. 29, 1981, after a night of dining and drinking on the island and on a yacht with her husband Wagner, fellow actor Christopher Walken, and the boats captain.
Wood who was 43 and 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.
The coroner originally ruled the death of the Oscar-nominated actress, who starred in West Side Story and Splendor in the Grass, as an accidental drowning.
In his CBS interview, Los Angeles County Sheriffs Lieutenant John Corina said attention has now fallen more heavily on Wagner.
As weve investigated the case over the last six years, I think hes more of a person of interest now, Corina said. I mean, we know now that he was the last person to be with Natalie before she disappeared.
Corina also said Wagners story has shifted over the years and his version of events just dont add up, Corina said.
A new coroners report from 2012 revealed that bruising was found on Woods arms and wrists and scratches on her neck, suggesting she was injured before hitting the water.
She looked like a victim of an assault, Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department detective Ralph Hernandez told CBS.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-wagner/actor-robert-wagner-named-person-of-interest-in-wife-natalie-woods-drowning-cbs-idUSKBN1FL6RX
underpants
(182,826 posts)Too soon?
That's skipping over the old really nasty joke about this whole tragedy.
Kristofer Bry
(175 posts)If so, you made a wise decision not to tell it.
underpants
(182,826 posts)Shower ....washed ashore
Response to underpants (Reply #1)
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janterry
(4,429 posts)n/t
BumRushDaShow
(129,068 posts)and had been cleared back then, although the whole sordid affair was... sordid.... and sad. He will be 88 this month.
BigmanPigman
(51,608 posts)democratisphere
(17,235 posts)Nitram
(22,811 posts)samnsara
(17,622 posts)Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)He'd been in love with her since they were teenagers. He adored her. There's nothing in his life to suggest he was violent with anyone in any way, ever. He has always been well liked by men and women, both...an easy going man who got along with people. Although he got into an argument with Christopher Walken on his yacht that night, over flirting with Natalie.
No way do I believe that he had anything to do with it. Except he delayed too long in calling authorities.
It's horrible they're dregging all this up again. Natalie's sister, I think, has been harping on this for years, convinced that someone besides Natalie is responsible.
hlthe2b
(102,286 posts)I do, however think it is possible that in a alcohol (drug and possibly jealousy-fueled) haze, an argument may have gotten out of hand. Her death may well have been accidental in that scenario or, as I guess is being suggested, perhaps Wagner might be guilty of manslaughter.
Regardless, Wagner is 87. This happened almost three decades ago. I see this as media exploitation at this point.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)She had a water phobia, where she would just freeze, if she had to go into water. She spoke of this before. She'd been this way since a child. When she was in Splendor in the Grass, there's a scene where she had to stand on rocks in rushing water in a stream, and she said she was petrified and wouldn't, then couldn't, do it at first. Then she froze when they made her do it. But she had no problem with being in boats, on top of water, she said. So I can see her falling in and panicking, esp if she was drunk, which she was that night.
Wagner just isn't violent in any way. Never has been, that I know of. He's he ultimate nice guy. Even with Walken, there was no physicality. Just words. He just doesn't go that way.
hlthe2b
(102,286 posts)learned in life is that under the "right" circumstances, especially under the heavy influence of drug, alcohol, and emotion, ANY of us are capable of a momentary "snap".
I learned this (along with my Father) in a very sad way... A friend of the family since childhood--my Father's best friend who he'd known nearly sixty years and who likewise had a loving relationship with his wife of fifty plus years (similar to what we think of with Wagner and Wood)and who likewise survived WWII-- only because his CO realized the man was too much of a pacifist to even defend himself and thus got him reassigned to clerical duties-- this man snapped and committed murder pf his wife and suicide. My Father was devastated and for a very long time thought he had NEVER really known this man--this friend of nearly sixty years.
This is why I know that we can never really know for sure.
That said, I think it just or even more likely that Wood fell under the influence of alcohol.
BannonsLiver
(16,389 posts)lunamagica
(9,967 posts)Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)She was a child actor. She met him when she was about 10, he was about 18. She told her mother at that time that she was going to marry him.
He was about 27 when they married. She was 19.
stonecutter357
(12,697 posts)nocalflea
(1,387 posts)They love their dad by all accounts.
If this could have been resolved minus a confession, from anybody, it would have been by now.
Number9Dream
(1,562 posts)I essentially agree with what post 7 said upthread.
As a lifelong Natalie Wood fan, I've read a lot about her life, and that tragic night in 1981. From Suzanne Finstad's biography of Natalie, it was reported that the bay was blustery and choppy that evening. The inflatable dinghy had been tied to the yacht after they'd returned from Doug's Harbor Reef. It seems reasonable that Natalie either had tried to secure the dinghy from bumping the hull, or had tried to climb into the dinghy. She was wearing a down jacket, which kept her afloat, but was so heavy when saturated with water (later weighed at 30 pounds), that it prevented Natalie from pulling herself into the dinghy. The bruises mentioned in the second coroner's report could have been caused by her struggle to climb into the dinghy.
I still miss her, but thankfully we have her many wonderful films.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/14/natalie-wood-death-coroner-report_n_2472840.html
http://www.franksreelreviews.com/shorttakes/nataliewood/nataliewood.htm
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)She had a water phobia, of being in the water. But she had no problem with being in boats. She was drunk that night. I can see her falling in and panicking because of her phobia and drunkenness. I have a water phobia, too. I would not act the same as another person, if I were to fall in.
Wagner is just not physically violent in any way. He also adored Wood and had, since they were teens. There is no way he'd push her or anything. She was a tiny thing, and he was tall and big. Absolutely no way. He was also the rare monogamous married and family man, despite being a rich celebrity. He worshiped the ground she walked on.
It's far more likely she wandered around to do something w/the dinghy and fell in.
Someone in the family has been pushing this for decades. Her sister, I think.
Liberalagogo
(1,770 posts)Mc Mike
(9,114 posts)rooboy
(9,446 posts)bobbieinok
(12,858 posts)Iggo
(47,558 posts)Bear Creek
(883 posts)Stephanie Powers' boy friend was William Holden and he died within a few days from when Wood died. An accident? Wagner and Powers starred in Hart to Hart TV show.
TexasBushwhacker
(20,196 posts)He was drunk, slipped and fell into a bedside table, lacerating his head. He bled to death. No sign of foul play.
Bear Creek
(883 posts)Convenient. Just an accident? Wood just an accident? Baloney.
TexasBushwhacker
(20,196 posts)Drunks fall down. My friend's dad took a header into a glass coffee table, was knocked unconscious and bled to death from a head lac. He wasn't even drunk. My drunk grandmother ran over her own foot with a lawnmower and lost a toe.
Bear Creek
(883 posts)some times things are made to look like accidents.
beachbum bob
(10,437 posts)bullshit preceding a book deal?
still_one
(92,216 posts)beachbum bob
(10,437 posts)still_one
(92,216 posts)OregonBlue
(7,754 posts)speculation and it's horrible to put the guy through the wringer again. He should sue them.
Thomas Hurt
(13,903 posts)in the death of their child. Not sure why this is news.
Skid Rogue
(711 posts)I'm a huge Natalie Wood fan and the facts surrounding her death have never added up. If she was murdered then that person should be found and held accountable. Perhaps, it is just a distraction, but I would love to see a tiny bit of justice here, too.