Natalie Wood homicide case reopened

[ededdeddy]

She was one of my favorite actresses. I don't know how much more they will find out 30 years after the fact though.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lan...gation-prompted-by-boat-captain-comments.html

 

[kenny]

4 possibilities
Her husband Robert Wagner killed her
Christopher Walken killed her
Suicide
Accident

 

[missy]

I love Natalie Wood. I am glad they are going to investigate this further.

 

[lulu]

One other possibility, Kenny- the two men conspired to kill her.

 

[HollyS]

Robert Wagner was distraught when she died. IMHO, I doubt he 'helped' her to her death. She was at least slightly drunk by all accounts, and probably really did just fall into the water. I can't imagine what good it would do, now, to bring up these painful memories for her family.

Accidents happen. Not everything is a conspiracy, a planned homicide, or a crime of passion.

Now Marilyn Monroe's suicide, on the other hand, should probably be reopened as a suspicious death. I'd bet on it being a murder before I'd believe Natalie Wood was offed.

 

[asscherisme]

I just watched west side story with my teenager the other night. She had such talent. Got me thinking about her death. How strange to see it reopened. I did not know Christopher Walken was on the boat with them?

I do remember reading years ago that her greatest fear was drowning and when I learned how she died thinking it was such a tragic way to die, her greatest fear.

I wonder what they found that would make them want to reopen the case??

 

[MissStepcut]

4 possibilities
Her husband Robert Wagner killed her
Christopher Walken killed her
Suicide
Accident

Or, of course, the captain killed her himself and is still talking about it because his guilty conscience is plaguing him.

 

[Imdanny]

4 possibilities
Her husband Robert Wagner killed her
Christopher Walken killed her
Suicide
Accident

Or, of course, the captain killed her himself and is still talking about it because his guilty conscience is plaguing him.

I'm glad this has been reopened. My intuition about this has always been that it was suspicious.

This is the first I'm hearing about this case being reopened and honestly I'm not sure what you mean by "the captain killed her himself and is still talking about it..." is a possibility. Did the captain say something self-incriminating?

I would like to add to Kenny's list of possibilities that maybe Robert Wagner and Christopher Walken killed her.

I agree 100% with Holly about Marylin Monroe. This case was actually reopened and closed again but the suicide scene seems faked in my opinion. I believe that there are a lot of unanswered questions about her death.

Thanks for posting this, ededdeddy.

 

[Imdanny]

One other possibility, Kenny- the two men conspired to kill her.

You beat me to it.

 

[decodelighted]

Robert Wagner was distraught when she died. IMHO, I doubt he 'helped' her to her death. .

So "distraught" he started dating another woman two months later. Barely mentioned her in his book. Her body was covered in bruises when found. Everyone's story has changed over the years - except the one witness who heard her calling for help from the water - and received anon death threats in attempts to shut her up.

I read a bunch of witness declarations last night --- folks who've come forward & agreed to polygraphs. Vanity Fair & 48 Hrs. Mysteries are covering this intently. I just wonder if Rober Wagner will try to flee the country -- or off himself before he's arrested.

 

[Madam Bijoux]

I always thought there was something dicey about this case.

I remember when Brian Jones drowned in his swimming pool the coroner called it "misadventure". Years later they investigted it again and found out that he was murdered by a contractor who was working on his house.

 

[partgypsy]

I honestly don't know what more they will learn from re-opening this case. People's memories get more unreliable over time, not better. And as far as I know there is no new physical evidence. Still, we'll see. I honestly don't know what happened on that boat or ever will.

As far as Marilyn Monroe I haven't read anything about her death, but I read a biography where it was eerily reminiscent of a number of other people going down a self-destructive spiral. Unfortunately some of the drugs that she was taking are very unforgiving, in the sense if one takes alot of them, the amount for them to be effective is very close to lethal doses. It's very easy to accidently overdose in those situations. As far as a motive to kill her, there wasn't one. Politicians back then cheated with impunity, the press didn't cover it.

As far as Brian Jones the reporting of a deathbed confession by the builder (never confirmed), even his own bandmates questioned it. The fact that none of his bandmates (who actually kicked him out of the Rolling Stones for his excessive drug use-how difficult would that have to be!) were surprised by his death I think says something. And judging from the state of his internal organs, he was facing a short life span.

Law of parsimony, guys.

 

[MissStepcut]

4 possibilities
Her husband Robert Wagner killed her
Christopher Walken killed her
Suicide
Accident

Or, of course, the captain killed her himself and is still talking about it because his guilty conscience is plaguing him.

I'm glad this has been reopened. My intuition about this has always been that it was suspicious.

This is the first I'm hearing about this case being reopened and honestly I'm not sure what you mean by "the captain killed her himself and is still talking about it..." is a possibility. Did the captain say something self-incriminating?

I would like to add to Kenny's list of possibilities that maybe Robert Wagner and Christopher Walken killed her.

I agree 100% with Holly about Marylin Monroe. This case was actually reopened and closed again but the suicide scene seems faked in my opinion. I believe that there are a lot of unanswered questions about her death.

Thanks for posting this, ededdeddy.

Well I am saying, he was on the yacht too. If we're listing all the possibilities.

 

[kenny]

Robert Wagner was distraught when she died. IMHO, I doubt he 'helped' her to her death. She was at least slightly drunk by all accounts, and probably really did just fall into the water. I can't imagine what good it would do, now, to bring up these painful memories for her family.

Accidents happen. Not everything is a conspiracy, a planned homicide, or a crime of passion.

Now Marilyn Monroe's suicide, on the other hand, should probably be reopened as a suspicious death. I'd bet on it being a murder before I'd believe Natalie Wood was offed.

Robert Wagner was distraught? Keep in mind that he's an actor, skilled at convincing performances.

You write, "accidents happen, and not everything is a conspiracy, a planned homicide, or a crime of passion"
Sure, of course.
But crimes also happen.
Since new info has come up the right thing to do is find out IF a crime has occurred.
I'm glad they are reopening the case.
IF she was murdered her the killer should be held accountable.

Are you saying investigations are not needed because . . . accidents happen too?

The new investigation and new information may determine a crime was committed, but even if they determine it was an accident then the investigation was successful and a good use of my tax dollars.

Murder is really really bad, even if the victim is not young, white, rich, famous, and beautiful.
As a society we must do what we can to prevent, investigate, and prosecute murder.

 

[kenny]

Partial Snip:

A yacht captain claimed Friday that he lied to investigators about Natalie Wood's mysterious death 30 years ago and that he blames the actress' husband at the time, Robert Wagner, for her drowning in the ocean off Southern California.

Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/11/yacht-captain-blames-wagner-for-natalie-wood-death.html






Keep in mind that two years ago he wrote a book about this, so he stands to profit from media attention.
I'm sure investigators will take that into account.

 

[AGBF]

I just wonder if Rober Wagner will try to flee the country -- or off himself before he's arrested.

He would have to be incredibly naive to do so, and he cannot have survived in Hollywood and remained that naive. Even the incredibly guilty OJ Simpson wasn't convicted and he was arrested right at the time of the crime. Can you imagine how impossible it would be to convict a rich and famous white actor decades after a crime when there was not all the forensic evidence that OJ left? No photos left by Natalie Wood saying, "If I die, arrest Robert", for instance?

Deb/AGBF

 

[lulu]

The captain is writing a book now, so his motives may be pecuniary. I've always thought her death was suspicious and the case was investigated in a very perfunctory manner. 48 Hours is doing a show on it.

 

[lulu]

The 48 hours episode will air on CBS tomorrow at 10pm.

 

[ededdeddy]

The book actually came out a few years ago that he co wrote. There were numerous bruises on Wood's body that were never really explained. Also, the coroner at the time said her down jacket pulled her down in the water. However, the co author of the book about the accident did a test of her own with a similar jacket with a person that was the same height and weight as Natalie Wood. The down feathers caused the jacket to more or less act as a flotation device. Also the woman on a nearby boat who heard a woman's cries for help has never changed her story in the 30 years since Wood's death.

 

[Maisie]

I was just reading about this and it said that Natalie Wood was floating upright in the water. That must have been eerie for the person who found her!

 

[Amber St. Clare]

I have ALWAYS thought her death was suspicious and that SOMEONE on that boat got away with murder.

 

[HollyS]

http://specials.msn.com/a-list/news/captain-passes-lie-detector


Well, that's interesting. But unreliable enough to be usually inadmissable in court.

The question in my mind is this: Who waits 30 years to tell the truth? No one could have made me keep my mouth shut. He may have "told" his story many times before to authorities, but why not AT THE TIME?

Because there were drugs on the boat, maybe?? Because all of them were under the influence of those drugs? I think he was as guilty (then) of covering his ass as Robert Wagner was, and that's why he let Wagner (and probably Wagner's handlers) call the shots. Wagner was TV gold then. There would have been a team of people trying to keep a lid on the 'investigation'.


No one has convinced me of foul play - - yet - - just stupid decisions . . . obviously made for a reason. Find the reason, and the truth may surface.

 

[Maisie]

I find it hard to believe that someone so fearful of the water would be faffing about with the dingy. Mind you, I don't understand why she was even on the boat if she was that scared of the sea.

 

[JewelFreak]

The question in my mind is this: Who waits 30 years to tell the truth? No one could have made me keep my mouth shut. He may have "told" his story many times before to authorities, but why not AT THE TIME?

Because there were drugs on the boat, maybe?? Because all of them were under the influence of those drugs?

No one has convinced me of foul play - - yet - - just stupid decisions . . . obviously made for a reason. Find the reason, and the truth may surface.

Well put. I take this captain guy's story with a very big grain of salt. The lure of their 15 minutes gets all kinds of creatures to crawl out from under the rug. It is possible -- if they were drinking & doing drugs, that RJ shoved her & she went overboard. Not murder, just an accident under stupid conditions. And he, stoned, says, "Let her get herself back," never thinking she wouldn't. Also equally possible that she -- stoned herself -- did try to re-tie or move the dinghy & fell in, smacked herself on it & got bruised before hitting the water. I too have wondered always why she was there if she was so terrified of water.

He never was a good enough actor to pull off the convincing grief he showed. It wasn't murder -- he didn't purposely kill her. So, if one way or another, it was an accident, the fuss is expensive for police & won't result in charges filed -- but it sells papers, tv time & website views. Follow the money.