Natalie Wood

[DawnM]

Think he let her drown. After altercation.

That has always been my thought as well. And why isn't Christopher talking?

She was afraid of dark water, so there is no way she went into the water willingly. I get that fear, I have it myself. I don't even like to go into pools at night that aren't well lit.

 

[Mizzoufan]

I kinda for some reason thought she saw something between Walken and Wagner she wasn't supposed to see and was killed to keep her quiet. That why Walken doesn't speak he wants whatever happen to be left out of it. JMO

 

[morgan98]

I kinda for some reason thought she saw something between Walken and Wagner she wasn't supposed to see and was killed to keep her quiet. That why Walken doesn't speak he wants whatever happen to be left out of it. JMO

Some gossip sites have this as a reason, which is a bit more far fetched, at least in my opinion. The other explanation is that Robert thought Natalie and Christopher had something going on between them and that is what fueled the argument.

 

[Hikergirl]

So is the supposed story that they were drinking and later got in to a fight and then she wanted to leave the boat so she took the dinghy out and drowned?

I read that the dinghy had washed up next to her body.

 

[GreatLakes]

I have no idea and I doubt anyone will really know but I think it was an accident that she fell in and if anything no one went in and saved her, they let her drown. I'm not so sure that is even a crime. Even a good swimmer would have trouble saving someone in the open ocean.

 

[morgan98]

So is the supposed story that they were drinking and later got in to a fight and then she wanted to leave the boat so she took the dinghy out and drowned?

I read that the dinghy had washed up next to her body.

Yes, that is the original story and how it was ruled an accident in the first place.

 

[luvsvacation]

I've always thought it was very suspicious. Wagner was starring in Hart to Hart at the time playing a crime fighting duo with Stephanie Powers. In 2 weeks time Powers significant other of several years died from a fall and hitting his head on a table and then Wagner's wife mysteriously falls off a boat and dies. All within 2 weeks time...it just seems suspicious...I suppose there really hasn't ever been controversy or suspicion with Powers boyfriends death, but still it has always seemed coincidental to me...

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

I don't know enough about them. All accidents at sea are odd circumstance.
Did they say why they suddenly named him of interest. Did they find some kind of payoff, that's what I'm wondering

 

[Imzadi]

Some gossip sites have this as a reason, which is a bit more far fetched, at least in my opinion. The other explanation is that Robert thought Natalie and Christopher had something going on between them and that is what fueled the argument.

Yes, at the time the original reports came out, the news had reported that the police said Christopher Walken & Robert admitted they had an argument. Possibly over Natalie and them working together, and that was why Natalie walked out of the room and left the two men. Robert had previously admitted (way before her death,) that he was a very jealous man. He had said even after their divorce, when she went out with Warren Beatty that it drove him crazy with jealousy. (Kind of ironic that their boat was named Splendor, after the movie she did with Beatty.)

I can understand why Walken doesn't talk about it. He said what he needed to, to the police at the time. At the time even he was a suspect and witness. I think both men feel a little guilty for Natalie leaving the room because of them and the argument. That was the last time she (allegedly) was with them and it was in a fit of drunken anger between them all. And probably over something incredibly stupid. Had they all been cordial, she wouldn't have left. . . Had they all been drinking less, she might not have fallen. . . Had they. . . She might still be alive.

How many of you know someone who had someone they loved die tragically? Do they publicly talk over and over about their last moments together? Walken has always been an odd person. In some ways, I give him credit for NOT sensationalizing her death and talking about it all the time, to every tabloid, wannabe true crime detective, that wants to run with and scrutinize every word he says and twist it.

 

[Imzadi]

When I saw this come up on the news last week, they said that she had bruises on her torso that were not consistent with a fall. There was some other "witness" account that came out recently also, so they reclassified her death as "suspicious" with Robert Wagner as a person of interest.

I read something online where someone theorizes that as the dingy moved away from the boat and she slipped in, her torso might have hit the edge of the dingy. And that bruise as well as trying to heave herself up a few times into the rocking dingy from the water below could cause all the bruising.

Also, she was found wearing a bathrobe. If it was one of those terrycloth bathrobes, like a bath towel, when they become fully saturated with water, they become heavy really quickly and turn into a lead weight, which may also have hindered her from heaving herself into the boat. He theorized that in her drunken state and panicking, she might not have thought to slide herself out of the bathrobe as she was thrashing around. And it also made her too heavy to either swim & climb back towards the boat instead of the further drifting away dingy. To me, this theory sounds somewhat plausible.

I don't think we will ever fully know what happened to her. But, I do believe it was an accident.

 

[MSPeeler]

Accident or murder? What do you think?

Accidentally Murdered... is that an option?

 

[AppleDumpling]

Also, she was found wearing a bathrobe. If it was one of those terrycloth bathrobes, like a bath towel, when they become fully saturated with water, they become heavy really quickly and turn into a lead weight, which may also have hindered her from heaving herself into the boat.

Actually, she was wearing a flannel nightgown with a down jacket over it, and socks. A soaking wet down jacket would be even heavier, worse than a robe.

 

[Imzadi]

Actually, she was wearing a flannel nightgown with a down jacket over it, and socks. A soaking wet down jacket would be even heavier, worse than a robe.

It's been quite a while since I had read the theory. I just remember it being something that got waterlogged & heavy really quickly. A soaking wet down jacket is definitely worse.

 

[Imzadi]

I have always thought that the original story seemed highly unlikely and that there were people who knew more than they were saying. I definitely believe Robert Wagner was involved. I do not believe he intended to kill her, but I believe they had a fight and things escalated big time. Then everyone had some kind of gentleman's agreement to not discuss details.

If they had a gentleman's agreement, wouldn't they come up with a better story as to what they were doing before she disappeared? If they both knew she was dead and couldn't refute what they said, they could have made up any story. This whole matter could have been filed away so easily as just a tragic accident, without murder theories. It was Thanksgiving weekend. They could have said how they were celebrating on board, drinking it up. They all had too much to drink. Natalie especially so. She got a little sick, got a headache and retired early while the guys stayed up, drinking & partying, being loud and not hearing her yells for help.

Instead, both men told the police how they had gotten into a fight with each other (and maybe with Natalie,) and she left the room. Wagner had been in 2 cop drama-type TV series, Hart To Hart, & It Takes A Thief. So he has to know when an alibi sounds fishy and even makes someone seem guilty. Walken also seems smart enough to know that saying they had gotten into an argument is going to put them both under investigation and in a suspicious light about the incident, possibly forever. But, they thought she possibly would be found alive, so they told the truth.

 

[morgan98]

If they had a gentleman's agreement, wouldn't they come up with a better story as to what they were doing before she disappeared? If they both knew she was dead and couldn't refute what they said, they could have made up any story. This whole matter could have been filed away so easily as just a tragic accident, without murder theories. It was Thanksgiving weekend. They could have said how they were celebrating on board, drinking it up. They all had too much to drink. Natalie especially so. She got a little sick, got a headache and retired early while the guys stayed up, drinking & partying, being loud and not hearing her yells for help.

Instead, both men told the police how they had gotten into a fight with each other (and maybe with Natalie,) and she left the room. Wagner had been in 2 cop drama TV series, Hart To Hart, & It Takes A Thief. So he has to know when an alibi sounds fishy and even makes someone seem guilty. Walken also seems smart enough to know that saying they had gotten into an argument is going to put them both under investigation and in a suspicious light about the incident, possibly forever. But, they thought she possibly would be found alive, so they told the truth.

I am not saying they had a gentleman's agreement. I think there was an argument where Robert accused Christopher of being involved with Natalie. All three of them could have been present for that. I think that Natalie went back to their cabin. Wagner may have followed her back to the cabin awhile later and things once again escalated from there.

I am just speculating. I am more with the poster above about an accidental murder...a heat of the moment thing.

 

[AppleDumpling]

I missed the 48 Hours episode over the weekend, but have been reading more details about the case.

In 2011, the boat’s captain disclosed new information to police, which casts more suspicion on Wagner. The captain claims he lied at the time of Wood’s death, was coached by Wagner on what to say, and wanted to come clean with the truth. While some have questioned his credibility, it led police to re-open the investigation.

There are also new witnesses that allegedly heard and saw Wood and Wagner fighting. And other info that may suggest a history of domestic abuse going back to their first marriage. Yet they still don’t have enough to charge Wagner with murder, and it’s the only charge without a statute of limitations.

So it will probably remain an unsolved mystery. What a shame that the captain waited 30 years before deciding to come forward.