A generation has passed since Natalie Wood died at the height of her stardom. But her death remains a mystery.
The captain of the yacht she was sailing on, Dennis Davern, has repeatedly denied that his account of what happened is true. He said this in a 1992 Geraldo Rivera special and in a 2000 Vanity Fair article. Keep reading the article below to learn more about Who Killed Natalie Wood.
Natalie Wood, the three-time Oscar nominee for such films as West Side Story and Rebel Without a Cause, had a skeleton in her closet that was more than just a little bit disturbing. According to famed director Elia Kazan, the actress had a genuine fear of water, particularly dark water. It was a condition that would resurface several times in her life, including during the filming of Splendor in the Grass. Her phobia drove her to refuse to shoot certain scenes in the film that called for her to be alone in deep water.
It also led her to seek out Wagner, an actor known for his roles in the tv show Hart to Hart and his own big screen hits. The pair married in 1957, and although they divorced six years later, they remarried in 1972. They had a daughter together and seemed to be the picture of stability in Hollywood.
But it wasn’t to last. On the night of November 28, 1981, the actress disappeared from the yacht they were sharing on Thanksgiving weekend off the coast of Catalina Island. Her body was found the following morning, floating a mile away from the yacht and next to a small dinghy. The bruises on her body and arms were a giveaway that she had been assaulted at some point.
The investigation into her death was initially ruled accidental. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reopened the case in 2011, however, after the Splendour’s captain, Dennis Davern, admitted that he had left out some important details about the evening. He also claimed that Wagner argued with her before she went to sleep and pushed her in the water. Davern’s claim was backed up by a 2008 memoir from Wagner, in which the actor blamed himself for his wife’s death.
The reopening of the case did not lead to any new charges against Wagner, but the shadow of suspicion has remained over him. He maintains his innocence and the couple’s daughter, Courtney and stepdaughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, also firmly believe in his innocence.
Christopher Walken
In November of 1981, Natalie Wood went on a yachting weekend with her husband Robert Wagner and fellow actor Christopher Walken. The three were sailing with the boat’s skipper, Dennis Davern, who was also a family friend. At some point during the evening, Wagner claimed that he and Walken started a political argument during dinner that lasted well into the night. Eventually, he said, Walken left the yacht to go back to his hotel. When Wagner returned to the boat, he found her missing. The next day, her body was found floating in the water.
While no one was ever arrested, the case remained unsolved for a long time. However, it was reopened in 2011 when Davern testified that Wagner told him to lie to investigators. He also claimed that Wagner was jealous of Walken, who was a successful film director and had recently won an Oscar.
After the investigation, it was determined that there was no evidence of foul play and that Wood drowned. Her bruises on her arms and legs were consistent with falling off a boat. Moreover, there were traces of alcohol and painkillers in her bloodstream. Ultimately, the Los Angeles Medical Examiner ruled her death an accident.
Wood was a talented actress who starred in West Side Story and many other films. She was also a dedicated animal rights activist and had an outspoken personality. In her personal life, she was a heavy drinker and often fought with her husband.
The last years of her life were turbulent, and she was often alone. She was often in trouble with the law for drug and alcohol abuse. She also had financial problems and was suffering from mental health issues. Despite her troubles, she continued to work. She appeared in several movies, including Brainstorm and Pepper. Her last film was Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, which was released after her death. Although some people believe that Wood was murdered by her husband, most experts agree that the death was an accident. Nevertheless, the murder remains unsolved to this day.
Captain Dennis Davern
The skipper of the yacht that took Natalie Wood, her husband Robert Wagner and Christopher Walken out for dinner on November 27, 1981, has become one of the most controversial players in the case. Davern appeared on NBC’s Today show on Friday and said he had made mistakes in the hours leading up to her death. He urged sheriff’s homicide investigators to reopen the investigation.
According to his version of events, Davern heard the two actors arguing on deck. He then allegedly told them to get their drinks and went back to the kitchen. When he returned, he couldn’t find Wood anywhere. He then saw her dinghy floating in the water and alerted the Coast Guard. After a search lasting over three hours, he found her body in her cotton nightgown and socks, with her parka floating nearby.
He says he then asked Wagner what happened, and he said Wood must have gone into her stateroom afterward. He also said that Wagner then smashed a wine bottle on the table in anger and chased Walken into his room. After the alleged fight, he says he tried to turn on the spotlights to search for the missing actress but was told by Wagner not to do so.
The reopening of the investigation has not led to any major break in the case, but it did expose some inconsistencies among witness testimonies. Bruises were found on Wood’s body, but it was unclear whether they were sustained before she disappeared or after.
Davern has long maintained that the official account of the incident does not match up with what really happened. He has spoken out about this in the past, including in a 1992 appearance on a Geraldo Rivera special and in a 2000 Vanity Fair article. He even co-wrote a book on the subject with Marti Rulli in 2009, called Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour.
Despite his many public statements, he was never officially interviewed by sheriff’s investigators in the years since the case was reopened. He did not return a message left at his St. Augustine business on Friday, but he has given interviews to other media outlets in the past.
Coroner Thomas Noguchi
In the wake of a yacht captain’s confession that he lied to investigators about how Natalie Wood died in the chilly waters off Southern California, detectives are re-examining her enigmatic nighttime demise, which was originally classified as a tragic accident. The book takes a detailed look at Hollywood’s most alluring actress through the prism of her death.
The author examines the known forensic evidence, including unexplained bruises on her arms and legs that may have been the result of a fight or being thrown from the boat. He explains the inaccuracies of the original investigation by examining the conduct of Los Angeles County Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner Thomas Noguchi. Noguchi grabbed headlines with sensational news conferences on his celebrity autopsies, including those of actress Marilyn Monroe, rock singer Janis Joplin, United States Senator Robert Kennedy, SLA leader Donald DeFreeze, and actor William Holden. The author demonstrates that Noguchi failed to follow the required forensic procedures and drew doubtful conclusions from skewed data.
When the body of Natalie Wood was found floating near the yacht she shared with husband Robert Wagner, the authorities immediately assumed she drowned after ingesting alcohol, motion sickness pills, and painkillers. Her family and friends were stunned by the sudden, violent end to a life that had brought her fame and fortune.
Since then, a series of twists and turns have surrounded her mysterious death. In 2009, Davern wrote a book called Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour and revealed that he heard Wagner and Wood arguing in the hours before she disappeared. In 2011, the LA sheriff’s department reopened the case, changing the cause of death from accidental drowning to suspicious. Police re-examined the bruises on her body and determined that they were likely not the result of an accidental fall from a boat. In 2018, they named Wagner, now 91, a person of interest in the case.
The book presents a powerful imaginary closing argument by the prosecution, outlining the facts of the case using reasonable inferences to allow readers to judge for themselves whether the case was a chilling murder or an accident. Sam Perroni is a former trial lawyer and Adjunct Professor of White-Collar Crime and Trial Advocacy at the William H. Bowen School of Law in Little Rock, Arkansas. He served five years as an Assistant United States Attorney and has been a criminal prosecutor for over thirty-five years. He is the co-author of a textbook on white-collar crimes and has written numerous articles on trial practice and forensic science.