I don't understand the whole reopening a death investigation because you have new information and that one of the people on board who saw the victim last is not a suspect. How does that makes any sense? I guess someone in the Sheriff's office is a fan of Hart To Hart because they announced that Robert Wagner is not a suspect. Now, Lana Wood is also jumping on that train saying she does not believe Robert Wagner did anything intentionally and that he loved Natalie Wood, but that she just wants answers and how the accident happened. If it is an accident then why reopen it? They called it an accident 30 years ago. I thought they were reopening it because the police had new information which would make them think it was not an accident anymore.
This seems like just a big publicity thing for everyone now because of the anniversary of the death. I was hoping to get some answers.
I agree. I was thinking yesterday if RJ is not a suspect then what is the point? Just a publicity stunt because I believe West Side Story's 50th Anniversary Edition DVD has been recently released + the captains book + the 30th anniversay of her death.
ReplyDeleteWhat a waste of time, getting us all in a lather for nothing.
Totally agree. None of this makes sense at all.
ReplyDeleteWould they name him as a suspect without proof of such? Don't they normally use terms like "witness" or "person of interest"?
ReplyDeleteSuspect is for some reason a bit more harsh than the other 2 (though anyone with half a brain can read through the lines). Maybe it's just them trying to act like they care or some crap. I think they were stoned out of their minds, had a jealous fight and she fell while trying to deal with the smaller boat. Even if she was terrified by water, it's astounding the really bad decisions people make while under the influence. Wagner telling the Captain to not go look for her or call the Coast Guard though, that's just shady. On both sides. Him doing it and the captain not telling him to go to Hell and doing it anyway. Who was in charge of the damn yacht? That would be...the captain.
..I meant to add, if they had a fight and she was out of her mind anyway, I can see pride rearing it's head and the whole "I'm leaving" fight happening. Even if it made no sense at the time (especially with someone out of their mind on luudes and alcohol and who had zero idea how to deal with a dinghy due to fear of the water)
ReplyDeleteIf I remember right it was a 'hard liquor' evening. Bet nobody can recall thru that vodka haze.
ReplyDeleteI thought calling someone a "suspect" had certain legal implications. They usually call them a witness or person of interest until they have specific evidence.
ReplyDeleteIt will increase book sales, and Lana gets some press attention. With four people drinking heavily (probably drugs too) on a boat, it was a perfect scenario for an accident. When they discovered Natalie was missing, the other three were either still drunk or barely moving with horrid hangovers. It's a wonder they could function at all.
ReplyDeleteGive a side eye to the captain. He was in charge of the boat and passengers. He was in no condition to be in charge of anything.
It's doubtful any of them could remember then exactly what went on that night, much less remember now.
From the way Natalie was dressed, she chose to go on deck for a reason, but she was in no condition to be there. I vote accident with the others too drunk to be aware that anything was amiss.
SusanB..that's what I was saying:)
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree.
If they name him "suspect" they better have at least reason to say it.
Not sure Jenny..
ReplyDeleteIf it's true that Wagner didn't want the Coast Guard called..that's shady. Then again the captain could be lying because he didn't want a DUI from them. I hadn't heard he was partying with them but I wouldn't be surprised. C'mon you have these huge stars on the boat and they invite you to join in. After seeing him on the Today show I'm shocked he didn't toss all of them over and drink the booze.
Still, I think Wagner was more cognizant and just let it be. Even a friend of mine would make it so I was looked for in the middle of the ocean. Much less my husband.
If Robert Wagner stalled on calling the Coast Guard, it could be that he thought Natalie would be nearby, and calling the Coast Guard would cause unwanted press coverage and speculation. Remember, if a celebrity goes to the hospital for a nosebleed, there is full press coverage for days, so it is second nature to avoid alerting the press about mishaps.
ReplyDeleteI think no one realized so much time had passed before they missed her. They might have thought she awoke about the same time they did.
Just speculation above, and I can easily believe things happened the way it was originally reported. What was left out was exactly who was fighting and why, but I doubt if any of them could remember the exact details.
They had a pretty volatile relationship from what I have read, maybe they were on the verge of splitting up again. He did seem to take up with Jill St John AWFULLY quickly, she was there by his side at Natalies funeral I believe, the tabloids said Jill and Natalie were besties but they weren't. I think it was a cover story for RJ to bring his mistress out into the open at last. It surprised me that they waited almost 10 years to finally marry but if he was really concerned about bad publicity I can see it.
ReplyDeleteNot sure I'm with that.
ReplyDeleteI mean nowadays I wouldn't be shocked if TMZ didn't have someone riding WITH the Coast Guard when they knew celebs were about, but in '81? In the middle of the ocean?
That's kind of a stretch :/
Sure it would get publicity, but would it be so bad? "Natalie wood saved after trying to secure small boat. Robert Wagner counts his blessings"
Anyone could have been paid off to make the story seem heroic.
They left the restaurant in a drunken mess, boarded a small dinghy and motored to the "Splendour." Exactly what happened from this point forward will probably always be a bit unclear. Walken, Wagner and Wood continued their partying as Captain Davern began his last rounds of shutting down the boat. At around 12:20 am Davern noticed that the dinghy was gone. Davern simply assumed Natalie had taken it, as was her custom, to view the evening stars. When she didn't return minutes later, Davern notified Wagner of her absence who immediately set out in another dinghy to look for her. At about 1:00 am Wagner notified the harbor patrol to scout for her. At around 3:30 am the Coast Guard was added to the search party. At 7:30 am helicopters would discover her body, floating face down some two hundred yards from the boat. The small dinghy was discovered adrift, with four life vests aboard, some two hundred yards from her body.
ReplyDeleteMore:
http://www.franksreelreviews.com/shorttakes/nataliewood/nataliewood.htm
Jenny, that whole thing is wrong. Read the captain's declaration located here:
ReplyDeletehttp://tmz.vo.llnwd.net/o28/newsdesk/tmz_documents/1117_declaration.pdf
He explains what transpired that night on the bottom of page 4 and all of page 5. Read it. All six statements are on that location and the statement from the boat moored nearby is also there. What you will learn is Robert Wagner had to have seen Natalie go in the water - one way or another. And he purposefully did not rescue her. He purposefully let her drown. Read the statements.
My big question is the coat. Did she put it on? Did she say she was leaving and put it on? Or did he untie the dinghy (tied in two places) and and put the coat on her, perhaps while she was unconscious, and then she came to in the water? Robert was standing there on the small deck with her when she went in the water. I cannot stand him now.
Enty, if you are an attorney, you would read those documents twice. They are here and yes, they are 17 pages:
ReplyDeletehttp://tmz.vo.llnwd.net/o28/newsdesk/tmz_documents/1117_declaration.pdf
Plot the timeline, the locations on the boat, the way Wagner looked and behaved only minutes later, what the boat next door heard and tell me Wagner is innocent in any possible, conceivable way. Because I do not see how Robert could look at Natalie's children after that.
That boat was less than 60 feet long. The stateroom and deck where they were is SMALL.
The reason I wonder about the coat, was he and she were really fighting big time. The captain found her earring in the corner of the stateroom days later. They were screaming and then they went silent for about fifteen minutes before Robert appeared sweaty and disheveled. The captain says she never took the dinghy and didn't know how to operate it. So why would she suddenly think she could operate it that night? If Wagner was trying to create an excuse, putting her in a coat and pushing her over and untying the dinghy, it would be brilliant. But since the boat next door heard her, she would have had to have come to in the water. So did she really think she could suddenly know how to operate it? It had no light (they had to use a flashlight coming back). If she did take it, why wouldn't she BE IN IT. Could she have put her coat on and slipped getting in? If so, why wouldn't Robert have immediately got her back out when she called and he responded? To me, his not getting her out when she called and he answered, it completely consciousness of guilt.
ReplyDeleteWhy no mention or question about Christopher Walken in all of this? Granted, I would hate to hear he had anything shady to do with it--I recall hearing hint at the time that he was in love with her--but were there not only a very few people even ON the boat, CW included?
ReplyDeleteChristopher Walken went to bed when Wagner broke the bottle of wine and accused Walken of trying to sleep with Natalie. Walken just excused himself and went to his room. He never left until morning and both Wagner and the captain agree on that. When Wagner said Natalie was missing, the captain looked into Walken's room and saw him sleeping. Walken must be amazed that he is part of such a big mystery but basically slept through the whole thing. Although he did see the tension as the weekend built up.
ReplyDeleteWalken has NEVER commented. One way or the other.
ReplyDeleteJust because we like him as a creepy 'actor' doesn't make him a creep in real life.
Yikes, I meant doesn't excuse him as a creep in real life.
ReplyDeleteHis only quotE about it is "It was tragedy"
Someone on another site said the reason they were fighting was because she went on deck and found Wagner and Christopher Walken having sex, which is something that unbelievably has never crossed my mind. If they were taking Qualuudes, nobody remembers anything anyway, LOL!
ReplyDeleteIf you want to see pics of the master stateroom where the big fight happened, TMZ has them here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tmz.com/2011/11/19/natalie-wood-boat-splendour-photos/2/#comments-anchor
ou can tell it's the master since it opens to the back deck.
I either read or heard on the Los Angeles local news yesterday that although the police publicly stated Wagner is not a suspect, he really is. Which makes sense since, as others have pointed out, why reopen the case unless one of the other three people on board are being looked at. It's not like there were dozens of people there who could have been involved.
ReplyDeleteAs has been mentioned, Christopher Walken has never commented on what happened that night. I read the captain's book and CW comes out not the least bit suspicious. It seems like he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and had nothing to do with the drama in their lives. I don't believe he was having an affair with RJ or Natalie Wood.
ReplyDeleteThx, Elizabeth....been too busy with work the last 48 hrs to properly focus on my goss, sorry!
ReplyDeleteI also saw something in the news about a Natalie Wood biopic. Interesting timing.
ReplyDeleteI'm late here, but the reason RJ is not currently a 'suspect' is because Natalie's death is STILL technically an accident. NO ONE can be a suspect until they prove it wasn't. And the cop sure as hell isn't going to name a respected actor a suspect until he's sure.
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ReplyDeleteI think that the thud the captain heard was Natalie hitting something--the floor, a wall--and then she became unconscious. I also think that Wagner is enough of a douche to concoct the drowning scenario. From all accounts, Wood was deathly (pun intended) afraid of water and would not have attempted to tie up the dinghy on her own, drunk and in the dark. So good ol' RJ puts the coat on her, maybe thinking the cold water would revive her, and throws her over. He wouldn't want the Coast Guard involved, because he thinks he'll find her himself. If it's true, a woman heard another woman screaming for help, and a male voice telling the screamer to calm down, we'll get to you a in a minute. And then it goes horribly wrong, because she floats away from the yacht.
ReplyDeleteFar-fetched? Maybe, but it's definitely within the realm of possibility.
And Enty, to your ? as to why they would reopen this case, if someone was involved in my death, I sure as hell would want SOMEONE to keep digging for the truth.
Something's rotten in Denmark, as Hamlet would say.
Oh and Enty: your cynicism is showing.
ReplyDeleteWhy do so many peoples believe in captain's words? he yet changed his version several times!
ReplyDeletewhy don't some people believe in accidents when celebrities died (Cobain,Monroe,Lady Diana)?
i adore how so many people speculate !
i often wonder if that crazy '80s permed hairdo she's sporting will come back in style.
ReplyDeleteOdd - Lana raised this issue and suggested Wagner had something to hide, maybe 2 years ago, before this book existed.
ReplyDelete