A live presser held February 5 by the L.A. County Sheriff's Office seemed designed to turn up the heat on 87-year-old Robert Wagner in the renewed investigation into the 1981 drowning death of his wife, Natalie Wood.
Walken & Wood had shot the film Brainstorm, which was released after Wood's death, in 1983 (Image via MGM)
Via CBS News: Wood died off Catalina while relaxing on her yacht the Splendour with Wagner, Wood's friend Christopher Walken, 74, and the ship's captain, Dennis Davern.
Wood's body was recovered a day after she vanished. She was wearing a flannel nightgown and a down jacket.
Her death was ruled an accidental drowning, with the theory going that she drunkenly tried to depart the vessel via a dinghy, slipped into the water and could not get back aboard.
Suspicion has always fallen upon Wagner in that Wood, a non-swimmer, was known to be terrified of the water, and rumors have swirled regarding a fight and also regarding Walken's presence.
The case was reopened in 2011, and more witnesses have come forward, suggesting Wood and Wagner had a potentially violent fight, one the captain says left Wagner seeming "crazy," and one that may have led to Wagner overruling the captain, who wanted to turn on a light to look for Wood when she went missing.
Wood's body is now known to have shown bruising consistent with an assault, and more witnesses have confirmed the sounds of an argument.
Incredibly, Wagner has never been interviewed in the case.
"Yes, of course we want to talk to Robert Wagner," L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. Lt. John Corina now says, "You bet, we want to hear his version of events."
Wagner is now categorized as a person of interest in the case because he was the last person to see Wood alive, and here is no conclusive explanation for how she wound up in the water.
Watch:
“Our biggest challenge is time,” official says. “Many of the witnesses have passed away... The original investigator on the case passed away recently. It is like, you're right, time is our biggest enemy here.” https://t.co/4FNgFlSMvI pic.twitter.com/n6hMk9FIR1
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 5, 2018
Official: When Captain Davern suggests “Hey, we should turn on the light to look for [Wood],” [Wagner] says “No.”Instead of saying, “Yeah, let's look for her.” He said “No.”https://t.co/4FNgFlSMvI pic.twitter.com/gAB1PU8Vgc
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 5, 2018
Reporter: Have you previously interviewed Mr. Wagner?
LA County Official: No. We have not. https://t.co/4FNgFlSMvI pic.twitter.com/QSTfygNVLP— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 5, 2018
“I can't go through the whole three days. There's a lot that went on. We have talked about it before, especially on the program, @48Hours. We laid out a little bit more,” official says on the Natalie Wood investigation https://t.co/4FNgFlSMvI pic.twitter.com/CeZpUZgFwR
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 5, 2018
“Yes, there were bruises on Natalie Wood’s body -- that's the coroners' review, they are the experts. They say their non-mechanical. They were probably caused by another person,” official says https://t.co/4FNgFlSMvI pic.twitter.com/0Sldjve0H5
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 5, 2018
Captain Dennis Davern “said Robert Wagner looked so angry, so crazy that he was afraid for his own safety...Robert told him to get out of here," official says of captain on board Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner's boat https://t.co/4FNgFlSMvI pic.twitter.com/YNTG5TX5g6
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 5, 2018
“This is a suspicious death investigation,” official says on Natalie Wood case. “Were not pressing charges on anyone. We're still just trying to figure out what happened.” https://t.co/4FNgFlSMvI pic.twitter.com/nmeFgsRB3i
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 5, 2018
“He is a person of interest because he was last person with her before she went in the water. He is there and the last one with her and somehow she gets in the water,” official says on Wagner https://t.co/XZfBK3wuEn pic.twitter.com/Zyzw30u1al
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 5, 2018
"And yes, of course we want to talk to Robert Wagner. You bet. We would love to hear his his version of events," official says on Robert Wagner, who is now a person of interest in the death of Natalie Wood https://t.co/4FNgFlSMvI pic.twitter.com/rFqnUqQpNH
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 5, 2018
“There are new witnesses…we’ve interviewed a lot of new people...People who knew the couple or had knowledge of what was going on that weekend. It has been extremely helpful in recreating what happened,” official says on Natalie Wood case https://t.co/XZfBK3wuEn pic.twitter.com/KMgoZG92mq
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 5, 2018
