Robert Wagner Named 'Person Of Interest' In Natalie Wood's Death

HOLLYWOOD, CA — Los Angeles County Sheriff's investigators Thursday named actor Robert Wagner as a person of interest in the suspicious death of his wife, film star Natalie Wood, opening a new chapter into the mystery that has bedeviled detectives for nearly 40 years.

Investigators say they want to speak to Wagner, who was the last person to see the "Rebel Without A Cause" star alive before she drowned off the coast of Santa Catalina Island. The couple had been on Wood’s yacht, the Splendour, with actor Christopher Walken on a Thanksgiving sailing trip on Nov. 29, 1981, when she perished in what then-Los Angeles County Coroner Thomas Noguchi ruled an accident. However, the case was reopened in 2011 at the urging of the boat’s captain Dennis Davern, who told investigators he had lied about what really happened the night Wood died and that he believed Wagner killed his wife.

Wagner has declined to speak with investigators. He has consistently maintained his innocence.

"We've investigated the case over the last six years. I think he's more of a person of interest now," Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lieutenant John Corina says of Wagner in an interview with "48 Hours" for a story -- ``Natalie Wood: Death in Dark Water" -- to be broadcast Saturday night. ``I mean, we know now that he was the last person to be with Natalie before she disappeared."

Wood's death has long aroused suspicion of foul play. Wood’s sister, Lana, has maintained that her sister was murdered. In 2012 the Los Angeles County coroner's office amended the death certificate, changing the manner of death from an accidental drowning to "drowning and other undetermined factors." Now, Corina says he doesn't believe Wagner has told the whole story. I

"I haven't seen him tell the details that match all the other witnesses in this case," he says of Wagner. "I think he's constantly changed his story a little bit. And his version of events just don't add up."

Investigators note the autopsy report indicates there were a number of bruises that appeared to be fresh on Wood's body.

"She looked like a victim of an assault," says Los Angeles County sheriff's Detective Ralph Hernandez. "I think it's suspicious enough to make us think that something happened."

He added: "We have not been able to prove this was a homicide. And we haven't been able to prove that this was an accident, either. ...The ultimate problem is we don't know how she ended up in the water."

In 2011, Davern told the “Today” show he believes Wagner was responsible for Wood's death. He confessed to lying for years about really happened on the night Wood died.

"I made some terrible decisions and mistakes,'' Davern said at the time.``I did lie on a report several years ago...I made mistakes by not telling the honest truth in a police report.''

Davern and his ghost writer, Marti Rulli, wrote a book in 2008 titled "Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour.'' It suggests foul play. They contend Wood and Wagner has a terrible fight on the night of her disappearance, a detail that was kept from investigators. Davern also said that Wagner went out of his way to squash a search effort the night she disappeared.

"We didn't take any steps to see if we could locate her,'' he said. "I think it was a matter of, `We're not going to look too hard, we're not going to turn on the searchlight, we're not going to notify anybody right now.' ''
Rulli told "Today” the fight was about Walken, who Wagner accused of lusting after Wood.

Walken -- who starred with Wood in the film "Brainstorm,'' which was released two years after Wood's death -- went to sleep in his cabin after an angry Wagner smashed a wine bottle on a coffee table, Rulli said.
When Wood went to her stateroom, Wagner followed and an argument began. According to Rulli, "Dennis made an attempt to stop it, and was told to go away by Robert Wagner,'' Rulli told "Today.'' "Then minutes later, Natalie was missing. ...Dennis wanted to do everything -- make a phone call, turn on the search light. His instincts told him something was terribly wrong, and Robert Wagner asked him not to.''

Rulli, Davern, Lana Wood and Marilyn Wayne -- a woman who was on a nearby yacht and claimed to have heard a woman in the water crying for help the night Wood drowned -- all provided statements to the sheriff's department.

When the case was reopened in 2011, a publicist for Wagner implied that Davern was just trying to make a buck selling copies of his book by making salacious allegations. "Although no one in the Wagner family has heard from the L.A. County Sheriff's department about this matter, they fully support the efforts of the L.A. County Sheriff's Department and trust they will evaluate whether any new information relating to the death of Natalie Wood Wagner is valid, and that it comes from a credible source or sources other than those simply trying to profit from the 30-year anniversary of her tragic death,'' publicist Alan Nierob said at the time.

City News Service and Patch staffer Paige Austin contributed to this story. Photo: Actors and spouses Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner following their reconciliation, Britain, April 24th 1972. (Photo by Roger Jackson/Central Press/Getty Images)